THE VILLAGE
by Heatherlyn
Reamer, guest reviewer
Rated PG-13 (for
a sense of violence and frightening situations). 120 minutes. Written
and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. DVD released Jan. 11, 2005.
Stars: Joaquin
Phoenix, Bryce Dallas Howard, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Adrien
Brody.
Residents of a rural Pennsylvania
community believe that the woods surrounding their village are
filled with strange, unseen creatures. A truce has been struck,
allowing the community to peacefully co-exist with the dangerous
beasts, so long as no one strays beyond the town's borders.
But when curious, headstrong
Lucius Hunt (Phoenix) plans to step beyond the boundaries of the
town and into the unknown, his bold move threatens to forever change
the future of the village.
When the reviews for this came
out, everyone expected to be scared. In fact, this movie really
isn't a horror story; it's a love story. Although it had a couple of
startling scenes, it's not "scary" in the traditional sense of the
word. In fact, it has an incredible plot twist -- one so compelling
that at the end, you realize those earlier scenes weren't scary at
all.
THE LOW-DOWN: This movie
makes you wonder if something like this is truly possible. It gets
inside you and makes you think -- in a good way, though.
SCORE: 3 out of 4 Reels.
DVD EXTRAS: Deleted scenes with director's introduction;
"Deconstructing The Village" - a look at the making of the film;
"Bryce's Diary"; A special M. Night Shyamalan home movie.
Jane's Reel Rating
System:
One Reel Pathetic.
Even The Force cant save it.
Two Reels
Tolerable. Coulda been a contender.
Three Reels
Pleasant. Something to talk about.
Four Reels Wow! The
stuff dreams are made of.
E-chat with me
at
jane@reellifewithjane.com - I
LOVE to talk about movies!
Read my other reviews
here.
