[edit] # 16:29

Yellow team vs. Red team

THE VILLAGE is a beautifully shot psychological drama that takes place in a village surrounded by Covington Woods in Pennsylvania. Shyamalan brings us a thriller that has been mistakenly marketed as a horror film.

As the trailers reveal - an uneasy truce exists between carnivorous creatures living in the woods and the villagers. Soon the peace between the two is disrupted as Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix) pushes for permission to go into (and through) the woods (for medicine) after the death of a 7-year old boy. Once he even passes beyond the barrier and is spotted.

Soon the creatures from the woods are wandering into the village . They leave markings on the doors and skin and hang up dead carcasses. The Elders are sure this is a sign that the villagers must not venture into the woods. The young people in the village begin to get more and more agitated as events seem to escalate.

Phoenix and newcomer Bryce Dallas Howard do an amazing job of carrying the story through drama, a love story, and extreme courage. The movie is fraught with an incredible amount of tension and real moments of beauty (such as a scene with confessed love!). Those who don’t enjoy Shyamalan’s pacing may have some difficulty with the movie as many scenes are low-key and best described as balletic (if you’re a fan) and slumberous (if you aren’t).

The ending has a SIXTH SENSE like surprise, but once you guess it- it seems obvious. The film begs for repeat screenings as the viewer searches for clues.

In the end what emerges from THE VILLAGE is the lengths that people will go to protect themselves and those they hold dear.

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