Since the epic failure of this film has come up in the Switching Main Characters thread, it may be worth discussing why it sucked so hard. If you have not seen this film (and actually want to!?), be warned that spoilers lie ahead.
I watched The Village based on the great trailers. The premise was compelling, and appeared to be a classic fantasy yarn: a rustic village lives in fear of monsters who dwell in a forbidden forest. There was real promise here.
I went to see it on opening weekend, and the theater was packed. Perhaps the most stinging part of the experience was that the film's first act was actually good. I really enjoyed seeing how the villagers coped with the looming terror of the monsters, and witnessing the consequences of breaking "the rules." It was interesting and different.
And then, almost inexplicably, we learn that the monster is just a dude in a bad costume. I remember the moment in which this was revealed. You could actually feel the suspense being sucked out of the theater.
From then on everything went downhill. The magic had been killed, and there was no turning back. And then we came to the ridiculous twist ending, which I saw coming from a mile away. What a disappointment.
This could have been a great film. The performances were solid, and the autumn atmospherics were evocative. If M. Night had made the monsters real and left out the twist, it wouldn't be remembered as such a disaster today.
Your thoughts?
I watched The Village based on the great trailers. The premise was compelling, and appeared to be a classic fantasy yarn: a rustic village lives in fear of monsters who dwell in a forbidden forest. There was real promise here.
I went to see it on opening weekend, and the theater was packed. Perhaps the most stinging part of the experience was that the film's first act was actually good. I really enjoyed seeing how the villagers coped with the looming terror of the monsters, and witnessing the consequences of breaking "the rules." It was interesting and different.
And then, almost inexplicably, we learn that the monster is just a dude in a bad costume. I remember the moment in which this was revealed. You could actually feel the suspense being sucked out of the theater.
From then on everything went downhill. The magic had been killed, and there was no turning back. And then we came to the ridiculous twist ending, which I saw coming from a mile away. What a disappointment.
This could have been a great film. The performances were solid, and the autumn atmospherics were evocative. If M. Night had made the monsters real and left out the twist, it wouldn't be remembered as such a disaster today.
Your thoughts?