My movie-going life in Pune is doomed. It must have a hex on it for all I know. I mean look at
the record; this was my second ?intermission? movie in 2 weekends. 2 flops out of 3! That?s
horrible.
Anyways, I have not read any other reviews for this so I don?t know if there are actually people
who like this movie but I am going to give you my honest, straight-from-the-shoulder opinion
about the movie; at least about as much of it as I have seen.
Don?t worry about reading the plot here as there is not enough of a plot in the whole movie to
make a 10-minute documentary.
The movie starts with the meeting of the council of the elders of the village. No, sorry, if I
narrate the movie scene by scene I?ll be guilty of the same crime as the director of the movie.
So let me just sum it up.
All the characters in the movie seem like mentally retarded plus one who?s shown as mad in the
movie itself. It?s supposed to be a horror movie and the horror comes from the fact that there?s
a forest beside the village that houses the ?things we do not speak of? and they are attracted by
red color.
In one scene, the director has actually shown some of these ghosts or ?things?
invading the village. But there?s no actual horror in the movie, a good director could have
really scared the audience without even putting the ?things? on screen. But not Shyamalan. My
friend had her face in her hands but not from fear of looking at the screen but from despair. The
movie is horribly?yes, horribly boring. As I have a horrible fear of being bored, you could say
the movie achieved its objective. Now I am scared of ?this movie?.
The hero is a young man of the same village, his mother one of the elders, his only virtue being
brave to the limit of mindlessness. There?s a blind girl who I would take to be the heroine if
she wasn?t so plain-looking. She loves this guy, our hero. Then halfway through to intermission
he is killed, yes, killed by the mad guy who loves the blind heroine. Lovely plot, no? My only
consolation was that I didn?t choose the movie, she did, my friend. ;)
We watched it in the 11:40 PM show and still didn?t feel scared at all despite the fact that the
cinema was all but empty. It?s not usual for the night show, Pune being a very safe city; the
last shows are pretty crowded.
The usual elements that make a movie entertaining and successful ? romance, horror, drama,
courage, comedy, sacrifice ? they are all there but none good enough to grip. I can recall two
very brief moments; one of comedy and one of romance that I liked, apart from that, total flop. I
think the poster design is scarier than the actual movie.
I would have loved to stay and watch the whole show so as to be able to give you guys a full
review but as it broke for intermission, my friend was at her wits end and she implored me to
please leave. Sorry, guys! J
So if you are scared of boredom please stay away from ?The Village.? Thank you.