Exclusive Look: "The Village"

When a friend of mine who works at Disney informed me that we could go to an exclusive screening of The Village on the studio lot that only a certain amount of guests would be permitted to, I nearly flipped out. At first I thought he might be joking around with me, as he knew that I had seen Signs four months early, and knew that I loved it, and he has a tendency to play around with you when you least expect it. But he then showed me the pass, and there was indeed a private screening on the studio lot.

When I saw Signs late April of 2002, it was a screening open to roughly 400 people. After that show, M. Night Shyamalan was in the lobby, near the auditorium, catching a glimpse of people as they gossiped on their way out of the theater. With this screening, it was a rather small auditorium and the host mentioned that they were not even allowed to fill the room to its capacity level, as Disney did not want many people seeing the film early.

This time, we were blessed with not only the presence of Shyamalan in the auditorium as we viewed it, but also his producers, Scott Rudin, and Sam Mercer. Afterwards there would be an open discussion opportunity for the audience to pose any questions or comments to the filmmakers.

When Shyamalan walked up to the microphone at the front of the auditorium right before the movie began, the crowd burst into applause, and some people were cheering. He quieted the crowd and commented on how excited he was for showing this film, but how nervous he was at the same time.

Shyamalan?s voice did waver a little bit at times, as he seemed a little shaky, but he seemed to get used to being in front of the audience over time. He even joked saying that he?s a director who?s supposed to be a big leader on film shoots and then is like a timid student when it comes to speeches.

Shyamalan didn?t want to say much before the show began, as he wanted all of the talk to come following our moviegoing experience. He did tell us that while he didn?t want to come off as having a big ego, he had a gut feeling that this was going to be the surprise of this year, as he is aware that a few people here and there were not overly satisfied with Signs. He admitted that while The Village is not perfect, he firmly believes that this is the movie that audiences will remember him by, replacing The Sixth Sense.

The audience applauded again, and as Shyamalan left the little stage and the lights dimmed, the room got quiet real fast. I will get to my personal opinion of the film in a little bit, as first I will elaborate on the discussion.

When The Village concluded, this audience was ecstatic, but not in an in-your-face fashion. This was more of a quiet, rave reception, as you could tell that everyone in the room was spooked like hell.

When Shyamalan returned to the microphone, people didn?t clap. Parts of the crowd started to laugh in an uneasy manner, and so did Shyamalan; and his first question was (with a sly, childish smile), ?So, what did you think?? Someone started clapping loudly, and then most of everyone joined in. Shyamalan simply chuckled and responded: ?Good, then I?ve done my job.?

Shyamalan said that what really inspired him to make The Village was a hardcore desire to freak the living crap out of the little kid inside him. He said that growing up, there were a share of horror movies that were truly scary and spooky (which had him up late at nights unable to sleep), but he thought that the marketplace over the years had lacked truly moody horror films, and that you rarely get even one that makes you uneasy late at night.

His goal was to change that, as he wanted to challenge the Hollywood routine; instead of focusing on the jump for the scare, he wanted to scare the audience with silence, the unknown, and the idea of contradicting one?s psyche. He wanted to play with the audience and toss in scenarios where you really aren?t sure what will happen in a few seconds.

Asked about how the specific idea came about, Shyamalan said that it was all about what scared him as a kid, and even what creeps him out today. He mentioned that to the average person, the woods are one of the creepiest places to be at night, let alone during the day if no one is around. And so the answer was obvious: write a horror movie set in the woods, with a catch.

Shyamalan started writing the screenplay in the confinements of his own home, but quickly realized that he was at a disadvantage. Though he was sort of nervous about this idea at the time, he figured that this movie would be one thing if written while at home, but it would be a completely different movie if he were to write it while in the woods, in the environment.

Shyamalan packed a tent, along with a clipboard with enough paper to write notes and feelings, a little food, and went to the woods for a campout by himself. He also refused to take a cell phone, and just had a spotlight (flashlight); though he admits that the idea was stupid (if anything happened to him, no one would know immediately), he wanted to incorporate that fear factor into the script. His wife was far from thrilled about this approach, but Shyamalan convinced her that the movie would be better if this was done.

Shyamalan said that the experience in the woods was like being a kid again at camp, except with no counselors and no other kids (or people). He mentioned that when he first walked around the area, he instantly knew how Stephen King gets his spooky concepts, and was even a little uneasy once he started thinking about Pet Cemetery out there. Listening to Shyamalan talk about all of this was like listening to a little freaked out kid convinced of what he just saw, which made his discussion a little amusing, but also sort of humanistic.

He said that once the sun started to fade in the evening, he literally got the vibe that anything freaky could go down once the sun disappeared. Shyamalan got most of his ideas when it was dark out, and he said the experience got even freakier when it was time to contemplate sleeping.

It didn?t help much that he had The Blair Witch Project on his mind, which he says once you have a frame of mind like that, your mind will start playing with you. As a result, from inside his tent he started hearing slight sounds nearby, which he claims is the beauty of what the imagination is capable of.

Shyamalan said that he seemed to get used to the darkness, silence, and the wilderness most of the way through that first night; between listening to the environment and writing notes, he didn?t get to sleep until around 3:30 a.m.

Shyamalan embarked on the campout already knowing what the twist of the story was going to be. He had the general story down, but he needed layers that would be essential to the tone of the film. Had he not taken this course of action, Shyamalan said the movie would probably be more like in the style of Signs in terms of suspense. But having witnessed what the wilderness is actually like during the silent hours of the night and during the day, he thinks he?s made a different picture, and a more moody, killer film.

Now, on to my opinion of The Village?

I will admit that Signs is not a masterpiece as I had almost branded it as. I will still admit that it's my favorite film of 2002, and will also admit that I?m not that content about how I had reviewed the film. While the review did create excitement, I ended up ticking a few people off after my rave comments heightened their anticipation a bit much (and I apologize to those whose moviegoing experience I may have murdered to some degree).

But believe me when I tell you, my friends, that The Village is an experience. This is not Signs; though it has ingredients in common with the said film, this is not Signs. Signs in a nutshell centered on the restoring of faith, with the alien invasion having been a device to allow for such a theme.

Some might call Signs a drama with elements of horror attached, like The Sixth Sense. The Village is not a drama and it's not necessarily a horror film either ? it is something more effective: if the term "creepy" had its own genre, The Village would be one of the first films to mark that genre.

There have been creepy films made over time, but none to my knowledge have pulled off an approach the way Shyamalan does here. The approach can't even be described appropriately, as it is all in the mood, which between Shyamalan's direction, cinematography, and music, is superb. The Village is not a superb film, but in terms of mood, this film is awesome.

Some people complained that The Blair Witch Project was not scary, and that it was only a demonstration of a shaky camera depicting nothing going on for 90 minutes. I am pretty convinced that in the first ten minutes of The Village, many of those people are going to wet their pants. This film is essentially what many wanted from Blair Witch and didn?t get, and once moviegoers realize that, this could end up being quite a trip at the box office.

The film's introduction wastes no time in building a tone that immediately gets under your skin. The way the camera presents the woods, with utter silence (besides from natural noises), we are ready for just about anything to happen before our eyes. And with the quiet music that eventually sets in during this intro, it is one of the creepiest openings I've ever seen.

There are two components that The Village boasts flawlessly, to the point of an absolutely classic production; those two factors are the cinematography and the musical score. There isn?t much of a soundtrack to this film, and Shyamalan has maneuvered that very cleverly. The musical score is very subtle in its emotions, but once it?s heard, you are sucked into its universe.

If you?ve ever had the feeling late at night that someone may be watching you or that ?something? may be out there in the unknown, there are scenes that have the genuine ability of giving you nightmares. And coming from someone who is rarely scared by movies, this film had my nerves rattled through the roof.

Regarding The Village?s jump factor, there are some jumps, but not a single cheap jump. And when those moments arrived, people weren?t just jumping ? there were loud shrieks every time (by both genders); there is one huge startle that got one of the biggest eruptions of screams that I?ve ever heard.

Though I don?t want to say much about the specifics of this movie quite yet (I?ll wait for summer), the film leads you to a finale that is very torturous in a teasing manner. The trailer hints at this, but the buildup to what this movie is really about will likely have people on the edge of their seats, irritated at Shyamalan for being so sneaky. After seeing this film you may also have a whole new reaction to the chime of a church bell, or any such bell.

The Village also has a very decent chance of giving Joaquin Phoenix and Adrien Brody award nominations at the end of the year. Their performances, while quiet, are the highlight of their career. And this might just be the year that Shyamalan makes the Best Director?s list again, as with any other filmmaker, The Village would probably not be what it is (not even with Tim Burton).

Since Scott Rudin kept quiet during the discussions, producer Sam Mercer said a few words, commenting on how enjoyable his partnership with M. Night has been over the years. He said that he was literally waiting for the day that Shyamalan would write a story like this, as he said if you know Shyamalan, he loves to tell spooky stories that you?ll be intimidated by.

He also commented on the beauty of Shyamalan?s reputation, as Disney doesn?t even have to say much in their marketing campaigns to get moviegoers excited to see his movies. He noted that all a trailer of his has to do now is vaguely hint at the story and show Shyamalan?s name at the end, and fans are either going to be cheering aloud or cheering in their minds.

Mercer mentioned that when Disney saw the first cut of this movie a few weeks ago, they could not believe what M. Night had accomplished via the storytelling and the visual awe of it all. One of the top executives there, who is rarely impressed by horror movies, thought it was one of the most well crafted films he'd ever seen. As a result, they didn't want to include any story or key scene specifics in the trailer, as they wanted audiences experiencing it all for the first time once the film was released. One other executive apparently labeled The Village as the ultimate Halloween summer film.

Mercer also added that when they were filming the movie, crewmembers would play creepy pranks on each other in the middle of the night. He also said that Shyamalan insisted that there be no trailers for actors or crewmembers available on the shoot. Shyamalan wanted everyone to have only tents to build the sensation that they?re really alone out there, but he said that people found luxurious ways of getting comfortable even so.

Shyamalan admits that it was somewhat of an evil Hitchcock-like tactic (like spraying cold water on Janet Leigh in Psycho when she didn?t expect it, to make the blood-curdling scream), but he claims that the move appropriately added to the mood while shooting. Mercer said that the gags on the set mirrored the events in the film, and so every time you had to leave your tent at night when it seemed like there wasn?t anyone awake, you always had the feeling that someone could very well mess with you and try to freak you out.

Shyamalan then thanked everyone for coming out that night for the show. He finished off by saying that anyone there who actually believed that what was discussed was true and who thought that we had actually seen The Village was in on a big April Fools joke, and so are all of you reading this.