Period Piece | 31 Nights of Horror

Storyline

M Night Shyamalan’s The Village revolves around a desolate town in Pennsylvania. The residents of this town live by strict rules – They are not to leave the village or the monsters beyond their boundaries will surely attack them. Lucius and Ivy have an attraction – a strong one. But when Noah – a man with an intellectual disability and who also has feelings for Ivy, finds out that the two are In love, Noah attacks Lucius. He will die if brave Ivy (who is blind) does not breach the borders and find help to save Lucius.

Out Thoughts on The Village (2004)

Firstly, this is not a horror movie but a psychological thriller spelled loosely. I really like M Knight. and this is the second movie of the challenge by him but this is not my favorite.

6 out of 10

Trivia

Director M. Night Shyamalan put the entire cast through a 19th century “boot camp” in order for them to get a good feel for the time period.

Joaquin Phoenix made a wooden walking stick for Bryce Dallas Howard during the 19th-century preparation the actors participated in before the film. He engraved the name of her character, Ivy, on the walking stick.

M. Night Shyamalan initially had a different concept for the “those we do not speak of” creatures. They were originally conceived to be monsters similar to the rock drawings featured in the movie trailers: similar to lions walking on their hind feet, complete with shaggy manes. When the creatures were built to full scale and brought on set, Shyamalan felt that the design was completely unbelievable. The creatures were quickly redesigned, most noticeably with the addition of the red cloak.

The inspiration for the story comes from two unlikely sources: “Wuthering Heights” for the period drama, and King Kong (1933) for the community living in fear of predatory creatures.