Verbalism Personified

What will Utopia offer You?

With "The Sixth Sense", Director M. Night Shyamalan has fallen into the self-laid trap of impossible expectations.

As the bleakest of his horror films, "The Village" has a surprise ending most viewers may guess long before it is revealed. However this is a mere technicality and Shyamalan's orchestration of mood and terror is as superb as ever.

Sadly, there is an impossible expectation from fans looking for a mind-boggling ending and hyperbolic twist. While "The Village" succeeds as a gothic nightmare, it has become a victim of its publicity buildup.

Looking deeper however, the disappointments are merely superficial. It is easy to get caught up in the mechanics of the script while failing to hear the underlying message of the movie. And what "The Village" says about human behavior is more chilling than any plot twist.

The story centres on a small settlement in a clearing surrounded by forest. The elders of this village, having fled a society they considered evil and corrupt, have built their own self-sustaining colony.

Sealing themselves off from the world, the settlers have struck a bargain with the monsters to remain within the clearing and never enter. They would also never display "the bad color", red, taken as the symbol for desire and longing.

With the children of the elders coming of age, they are naturally curious about the outside world. Offering to contact the outside for supplies, a promising young man is repeatedly turned down by the elders. This is also when strange incidents start occuring.

The villagers have created a utopian society free of strife and inequality. They experience no crime, hatred or greed. They live as an agrarian commune in the late 1800s with no need for money or want. Life is simple, pure and idyllic, save for the monsters on their perimeter.

Yet it is also a life of repressed desires and terrible secrets hidden behind knowing looks and locked boxes. Most of which are discerned by an intuitive but unlikely character.

Tension and mood are trademarks of Shyamalan. Strong performances are also gleened from his cast. As if sensing how thinly veiled the movie's secret is, he tosses an arch into the middle of the story that no one will see coming.

However the disappointment of the plot twist isn't important here. Meditate on the symbolism of the monsters and motives of the elders. You may discover the truly unsettling horror that lurks within "The Village".

posted by Teutoburg @ 1:18 AM