M. Night Shyamalan is known for creating stories that always have an unseen twist at the end. Some of his movies use this storytelling device effectively, and others fall a little short of the mark. In The Village, M. Night Shyamalan gives audience members not one, but two very unsettling twists. Though The Village has not received very positive reviews, it is still a good movie—albeit something other than what audiences expected to see. The film was marketed as a horror movie, but in reality is a dark tale of romance, mystery, and fear.
The movie presents itself as a village of Amish people in the 19th-century who are trapped in their little town because just past their borders is a forest filled with demon monsters who will kill them if they go into the forest. The people in the village, especially the youth, are terrified to even go outside at night. The monsters haven't presented themselves in years, and they never attack unless the villagers enter the woods. This is due to a truce the elders of the village made with the monsters. As long as no one enters the forest, they will leave them alone. They can still be heard within the village, and it is enough to keep everyone frightened.
Bryce Dallas Howard plays a young blind girl named Ivy. She and Lucius—played by Joaquin Phoenix—are in love and plan to marry one another. But there is another young man, with some obvious untreated mental illness, who is also in love with Ivy. The man, Noah, has a history of violence against other villagers. Noah stabs Lucius, who then needs medicine the village does not have. The village leader is forced to tell Ivy the truth the elders have been keeping for years. This is the first twist in the movie.
A lot of people will say that this is a disappointing twist because it is revealed too early, when in fact, it sets up for an even more convincing and unseen second twist. The leader, Edward, tells Ivy that the monsters have been a lie the whole time in order to keep villagers from leaving. The monsters are only costumes the elders put on to frighten the younger people enough so that when they die, they will pass on their stories and lie. This is frightening just to begin with. The idea that everything you believe is just a made up story can make a person rethink their entire life from a different perspective. And it is a scary thought.
Ivy goes into the forest and has to overcome her fear of the monsters now that she knows they are not real. But it's hard for someone to instantly change how they feel about the very thing they've been terrified of their whole life. The audience is too distracted by the first twist to ever see the second one coming. Yes, there is a person with one of the monster suits on chasing Ivy through the woods; but the audience knows there's no threat. Or do they? If the monsters are not real, then who is chasing Ivy?
In a game of cat and mouse, Ivy outsmarts her stalker causing them to fall into a hole in the ground and be tragically impaled. What is scary about this scene is that the same person who stabbed Ivy's soon-to-be husband was the one coming after her. When Ivy escapes, the second even more creepy twist is revealed. Ivy hops over a fence and hears the sound of a cop siren. Ivy is blind and cannot see who it is or what made the sound. And then it all starts to make sense for the audience.
It is not the 19th century, it is present day. And not only have the elders been lying about the monsters to keep their villagers from leaving, they have also kept modernity a secret. The village is actually a wildlife refuge. In exchange for keeping the place safe, the area has been blocked off from the rest of the world. The twist goes further to show that the elders in the village rejected modern life because of the negative things it caused in their lives. The 'monster' to them was just the outside world. And the 'agreement' they had was real—"we stay out of your world, and you stay out of ours."
The reason The Village is the scariest twist in any M. Night Shyamalan movie is because its premise is believable. The elders use Ivy knowing she is blind and won't understand what is happening if she retrieves the medicine. When she comes back, the lie will be able to continue. The elders say that Noah's death will allow them to keep up the fear within their village. Telling the youth that Noah was killed by the monster will inspire enough fear for the next generations. And now that Ivy is in on the secret, perhaps she will do anything for her love; even put on the monster suit to continue the myth herself.