MovieChat Forums > The Village (2004) Discussion > Did anyone else guess the twist?

Did anyone else guess the twist?


While watching, I noticed a few things that lead to the twist seeming to be that theyre in modern times.

1) they seemed to linger a bit too long on the "year" in the first scene

2) the vernacular in the village seemed a bit over the top, which led me to think it was awful writing but then I thought maybe its sort of intentional like they're pretending

3) cherry jones says something about her sister being killed in an alley and it just sounded for some reason like a more "modern" alley

4) lastly there was this great episode of South Park. It's called Super Fun Time. I always thought it was just a spoof of historical Reenactment towns (and Die Hard) but it was def in part spoofing this film

So about 1/3 of the way thru I thought "I bet they're actually in modern times".
The specifics with thecounseling center and animal preserve parts, etc. I didn't know were coming

Anybody else see it coming?

Considering how low my expectations were going in, I actually kinda dug this movie. Probably shamalans second best IMO

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I always remember that's one Cherry Jones line, about the murder in the alley. I've always felt the same way about it.


But I remember guessing the twist even before seeing the movie. At the time it came out, my 3 friends and I had been obsessed Shyamalan fans at this point, him only having made 3 amazing films, and when I heard he was making a "period piece", my first thought was "maybe the twist will be taking place in present day"

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I didn't guess the twist but still looking back it seems obvious. especially in the way you describe above. I would say this is the least predictable twist of his films. saying that if the twist is too unpredictable the audience would feel a bit cheated so there has to be a small amount of clues

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I just saw this for the first time, and luckily, I had no knowledge of the twist, or twists. There really are two twists.

You are right about the vernacular being over the top. The conversations are unnecessarily long and slightly redundant as well. There were things in the town which seemed out of place for the 1800's. The fabric in the clothing looked a bit too perfect. The lights all around the village were too bright. And, the monsters looked almost too bizarre.

So, I had an inkling that it may have been modern times. I'm really glad I got to see this without spoilers. Very good film.

The Noah character was really interesting. There's more than meets the eye with him. Did he know the elder's secrets, and just played dumb to fool people?

I'm a civilian, I'm not a trout

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SPOILERS



There really are two twists.


chas437,

If a twist is defined as a plot device which runs counter to what the audience has been led to believe, then perhaps there are 4 twists:

1. Until Lucius is stabbed by Noah, the main story seems to focus on Lucius as protagonist, and his plan to go to the towns for medicine. Then the focus shifts to Ivy, who takes on Lucius's quest as her own.

2. Edward reveals to Ivy that the creatures are a farce put on by the elders, fueled by their fears and grief.

3. When Ivy is being stalked by a creature in the woods, she remembers her father talking about stories of creatures from before the founding of the village. Could the one stalking her be one of the real creatures? Nope, it's juxt Noah playing the elders' game better than they ever did.

4. Reveal that it is modern times.

The Noah xharacter was really interesting. There's more than meets the eye with him. Did he know the elder's secrets, and just played dumb to fool people?


There are some hints sprinkled throughout the movie that Noah had already discovered the elders' secret game by the time the movie begins:

1. At the dinner following the funeral at the beginning of the movie, the sounds of the creatures are heard emanating from the woods, We see looks of concern in the faces of the elders and looks of dread and anxiety in the faces of the younger villagers. However, Noah laughs hysterically, because he probably already knows that the whole thing is a game of deception, and he is in on the trickery.

2. We see the stream in the woods, then a red reflection in the water, which is probably Noah out in the woods in a creature outfit.

3. Lucius enters the perimeter of the woods, sees some berries of the bad color on a bush, hears a rustling, then sees the tail end of a creature slinking away. This could be either Noah in a creature outfit or one of the elders. At this point in the movie, the elders knew that Lucius was pondering a journey to the towms, so they may have assigned someone to dress up as a creature to frighten Lucius or any other inquisitive younger villagers.

4. Various appearances of dead animals show a progression of a killer becoming more and more bold as time progresses. First, a baby pig near the schoolhouse. Then, a fox at the edge of the orchard, near the edge of the woods. Then, the massive slaughter of livestock during the wedding of Kitty and Christop. Probably, Noah had been taught some butchering skills to help with the preparation of food, which gave him access to knives. None of the elders caught the warning signs that Noah was a serial killer in the making.

5. When Noah and Ivy are playing hide and seek one night, we see Noah hiding in a closet as Ivy hangs up her shawl. Noah is grinning because Ivy does not see him, and one of his hands is curled in the shape of a claw, suggesting that he is in "creature" mode.

5. When Ivy strikes a deal with Noah, making sure that he repeats the phrase "No hitting!", ironically this may have pushed Noah toward stabbing as an alternative to hitting.

6. The clearing in the woods where Noah's creature hangs out has a few berry bushes of the bad color, which the creatures are supposed to be attracted to. Also, there are pieces of fur and feathers from past kills strewn around the circle. Then when Noah's parents check in on Noah in the quiet room and find that he has escaped, we see the floor boards pryed up, pieces of fur and feathers strewn around, and the back window busted out. Apparently Noah had found one of the creature outfits under the floorboards and had gradually added fresh material to the outfit in the form of added fur and feathers over time.

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Yes, it occurred to me that Noah knew that the elder's secrets about the monsters.

4. Various appearances of dead animals show a progression of a killer becoming more and more bold as time progresses. First, a baby pig near the schoolhouse. Then, a fox at the edge of the orchard, near the edge of the woods. Then, the massive slaughter of livestock during the wedding of Kitty and Christop. Probably, Noah had been taught some butchering skills to help with the preparation of food, which gave him access to knives. None of the elders caught the warning signs that Noah was a serial killer in the making.


Yes! Serendipitous for the elders that Ivy witnessed and 'killed' a monster and that Noah died, forging a mythology for the Village in the future.

Individuals like Noah are why there can't be utopia.

I'm a civilian, I'm not a trout

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chas437,

If a twist is defined as a plot device which runs counter to what the audience has been led to believe, then perhaps there are 4 twists:

1. Until Lucius is stabbed by Noah, the main story seems to focus on Lucius as protagonist, and his plan to go to the towns for medicine. Then the focus shifts to Ivy, who takes on Lucius's quest as her own.

2. Edward reveals to Ivy that the creatures are a farce put on by the elders, fueled by their fears and grief.

3. When Ivy is being stalked by a creature in the woods, she remembers her father talking about stories of creatures from before the founding of the village. Could the one stalking her be one of the real creatures? Nope, it's juxt Noah playing the elders' game better than they ever did.

4. Reveal that it is modern times.


The Noah xharacter was really interesting. There's more than meets the eye with him. Did he know the elder's secrets, and just played dumb to fool people?


There are some hints sprinkled throughout the movie that Noah had already discovered the elders' secret game by the time the movie begins:

1. At the dinner following the funeral at the beginning of the movie, the sounds of the creatures are heard emanating from the woods, We see looks of concern in the faces of the elders and looks of dread and anxiety in the faces of the younger villagers. However, Noah laughs hysterically, because he probably already knows that the whole thing is a game of deception, and he is in on the trickery.

2. We see the stream in the woods, then a red reflection in the water, which is probably Noah out in the woods in a creature outfit.

3. Lucius enters the perimeter of the woods, sees some berries of the bad color on a bush, hears a rustling, then sees the tail end of a creature slinking away. This could be either Noah in a creature outfit or one of the elders. At this point in the movie, the elders knew that Lucius was pondering a journey to the towms, so they may have assigned someone to dress up as a creature to frighten Lucius or any other inquisitive younger villagers.

4. Various appearances of dead animals show a progression of a killer becoming more and more bold as time progresses. First, a baby pig near the schoolhouse. Then, a fox at the edge of the orchard, near the edge of the woods. Then, the massive slaughter of livestock during the wedding of Kitty and Christop. Probably, Noah had been taught some butchering skills to help with the preparation of food, which gave him access to knives. None of the elders caught the warning signs that Noah was a serial killer in the making.

5. When Noah and Ivy are playing hide and seek one night, we see Noah hiding in a closet as Ivy hangs up her shawl. Noah is grinning because Ivy does not see him, and one of his hands is curled in the shape of a claw, suggesting that he is in "creature" mode.

5. When Ivy strikes a deal with Noah, making sure that he repeats the phrase "No hitting!", ironically this may have pushed Noah toward stabbing as an alternative to hitting.

6. The clearing in the woods where Noah's creature hangs out has a few berry bushes of the bad color, which the creatures are supposed to be attracted to. Also, there are pieces of fur and feathers from past kills strewn around the circle. Then when Noah's parents check in on Noah in the quiet room and find that he has escaped, we see the floor boards pryed up, pieces of fur and feathers strewn around, and the back window busted out. Apparently Noah had found one of the creature outfits under the floorboards and had gradually added fresh material to the outfit in the form of added fur and feathers over time.[/quote]

Great post, I noticed some of these but not all. Very good stuff. 



"I'm the ultimate badass,you do NOT wanna f-ck wit me!"Hudson,Aliens😬

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I was really looking forward to watching this movie because the trailers reminded me so much of "The Giver". I knew going in that there was something off about the village but I did not know what it was.

Many people I've spoken to pointed out right away the "problems" in the movie such as tools and cultural customs not syncing up with the year the movie takes place. These aren't problems with the movie as obvious hints that the characters don't live in the past. My girlfriend watched with me recently and pointed out to me that the pain on the doors is actually spray painted on-a clear sign of the times. Me personally I did not pick up on any of that and only knew that outside the village was something different.


The elders of the village took what they thought were the best parts of "old times", they liked the way people talked and courted in relationships but they didn't take into account that back in the 1800's there was crime then too and so there is crime in the village. The "old days" are romanticized and in trying to relive those days we ignore what's going on around us and we isolate ourselves instead of growing.

When I was in high school I was apart of a very fundamentalist church and my youth minister didn't like how I conducted myself. He tried to "fix" me, tried to make me behave better and more "proper". He told me to watch The Andy Griffith Show and learn how people conduct themselves. Calling before coming over for example. What my youth minister was doing was taking his concept of "old times" that were more "Godly" and trying to force it upon a teenager who was just acting the way any modern kid would do.


Transformers Age of Extinction makes The Happening look like a masterpiece.

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3) cherry jones says something about her sister being killed in an alley and it just sounded for some reason like a more "modern" alley

Yes! Exactly because of "killed in an alley".

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3) cherry jones says something about her sister being killed in an alley and it just sounded for some reason like a more "modern" alley

Yes! Exactly because of "killed in an alley".

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As soon as we were first shown the village, I turned to my stepmum and asked her 'are they meant to be Armish?'

So fairly early on, but I didn't know the creatures were actually the elders. I thought they were going to draw on the El Chupacabra legends when I saw the skinned animals.

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I thought it was set in the present day anyway. I didn't even realise there was a twist

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Yes just because they were not able to leave the village. I knew there was something on the other side that was completely out of synch with what the people of the village thought. I even said it was some type of cult and I bet out side it was probably like now. when he send his blind daughter with those two good for nothings. And said she had to be alone. Well she would not notice the difference when she got to the road because she could not see.

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^^This. Agreed!! 

"I'm the ultimate badass,you do NOT wanna f-ck wit me!"Hudson,Aliens😬

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I blindly threw out a guess while I was watching it. While Ivy was out walking before the big twist, I imagined, just for laughs, that two cyclists would come through the forest and she would stare at them as they stared at her, asking if she was ok or lost. Not even a minute later, that SUV comes roaring at her almost running him over. I was shocked that I was right. Unfortunately, this ruined the movie for me because now I didn't have much of a reason to watch it again. Once the twist is made clear, what's the point? Today I watched it for only the second time since 2005 (it's on Netflix). I admit now, I've been a bit hard on it, though it wasn't as much fun the second time since I knew the twist. However, it's still amazing listening to the sound design and James Newton Howard's beautiful score. I will admit also that the costumes of the creatures are still scary. I also forgot the part just before the reveal that William Hurt and his wife had pulled out the box with the old newspaper clippings of their old life. That kind of half ruined the big twist but since it happened simulatneously, the audience would still be trying to figure out what they were looking at as it became clear this group of people have been living a type of amish lifestyle.

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