Avis Metacritic

A third-generation performer, this daughter of actor-director Ron Howard makes a stunning feature debut.

The Village, even when its step falters, is on to something more provocative than seeing dead people. Its power, unrelated to digital monsters, comes from the tension building inside the characters.

It gives nothing of the plot away to say that there's a fine line between an ''Aha!'' and an ''Oh, brother!'' Whether you feel The Village crosses that line may hinge on whether you think Shyamalan's screenwriting ability is beginning to lag behind his skill as a director.

A big, creepy dollhouse of a movie--a sometimes engrossing shocker with a surprise ending that isn't especially shocking or surprising.

The film's payoff raises more questions than it answers, which may be Shyamalan's intent in this political parable of fear.

Pours on creepy atmosphere, but this dud is too intent on delivering its liberal "message" to actually deliver the kinds of scares it promises in the terrific trailer.

The Village is Shyamalan's weakest story, and its ending - whether or not you're surprised by it - is a genuine clinker.

I will tell you what The Village is not: It is not scary. It is not all that interesting. It isn't even much of a movie.

This undeniably talented writer-director has been repeating himself with steadily decreasing potency ever since the wonderful "The Sixth Sense," and his latest excursion does nothing to buck the trend.

For the most part, the film's a bewildering disappointment.