The Village follows the daily life of a group of settlers who have taken up an Amish-like life in a clearing surrounded by a thick wood. The elders tell stories about the atrocities of city life, while embellishing the new life they have built for their children, free from poverty and crime. The woods surrounding the village are infested with an evil demon-like beast. The Elders tell stories about how they originally came to an accord with the monsters; don't come into our village, and we won't enter your woods. The elders build a religion around these creatures, making sacrifices to them, and honoring them for their power. After a twist of events, the future of The Village rests in the hands of a blind girl as she wrestles the demons in the woods.

M. Night Shyamalan builds a beautiful story in The Village. Unfortunately, the beauty is limited to a visual stimulus only. Cinematographer Roger Deakins (House of Sand and Fog, A Beautiful Mind) and Art Directors Michael Manson (Matchstick Men, One Hour Photo, The Cell) and Chris Shriver (Men in Black, Carlito's Way, Malcolm X) team up to bring a visually stunning work to screen. The camera movements are fluid and, as with most Shyamalan films, adds to the draw of the film. The Costumes are impeccable.

Unfortunately, this doesn't make up for the major weak point of the film: the plot. Whereas other Shyamalan films pull you from scene to scene, The Village seems to be stuck on pause. Many times through the film, I wanted to reach up and find the remote because the action seemed to just stop, for no reason. Added to this, the dialogue is difficult to follow at times. Most of the actors struggle with the timing and accents of the Old-English script.

In the end, I didn't care much about the movie, and I was utterly let down by the clich