# PLEASE tell me this rumor isn't true! (Village spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 9, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524 "2004-06-09T20:37:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/1 "2004-06-09T20:37:36Z")
Some people on another messageboard claimed that the big twist in M. Night Shamylan’s “The Village” was that- The only thing outside the village is the modern world. The elders just established a tradition of isolationism by cooking up all this scary stuff about some sort of ‘pact’ to keep people from leaving. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/2 "2004-06-09T20:42:05Z")
Oh crap oh crap I meant to put in spoiler boxes mods please please fix before someone sees by accident and kills me! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/3 "2004-06-09T20:49:04Z")
That’s it, you’re on my hit list. Kidding, kidding. The thread title did say ‘spoilers’ after all, but hopefully a mod will come by soon and edit your post. As to your question:[spoiler]I read that myself a few weeks ago, and then did some determined googling to try to verify it. As best as I can determine, it’s either true, or deliberate misinformation by the movie folk to throw people off. Even if it’s true, I still don’t think it’s automatically going to be ‘teh worst twist evar!!1’. It could be done very well, and I plan on seeing it, and the whole time wondering whether the leaked twist is just a twist on the leak.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/4 "2004-06-09T20:54:17Z")
OK, spoiler box changed as requested. ---
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/5 "2004-06-09T21:00:29Z")
Forgive me, I can’t figure out how to make a spoiler box. The word is that the red marks on the doors are the marks made by the construction workers meaning “demolish,” and the “weird noises” the villagers hear through the woods are their bulldozers, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/6 "2004-06-09T22:29:08Z")
I don’t know…this really feels like a cop-out considering that in Signs, There really WERE aliens and it wasn’t just some pranksters making crop circles and in the sixth sense The kid really COULD see dead people, including Bruce Willis I was really hoping for something spooky and paranormal, like vampire sasquach, or some super ancient biological entity. I think making all their fear based on something so _normal_ as the modern world takes away all the feelings of fear and suspense; the people seem more like escapists. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/7 "2004-06-09T23:08:58Z")
Perhaps the follow up horror movie, _Invasion of the Metrosexuals_, will be more terrifying. I’m still trying to figure out why anybody should see _Stepford Wives_ when the big twist is given away in the trailer, or why the aliens in _Signs_ could figure out how to navigate crafts across the cosmos but couldn’t figure out that _water is lethal to them_. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/8 "2004-06-10T01:10:31Z")
> [@Incubus](#): > > Oh crap oh crap I meant to put in spoiler boxes mods please please fix before someone sees by accident and kills me! :eek: You also have to keep in mind that when you are in a forum and hover your pointer over a thread title, the OP text is readable EVEN IF it’s in a spoiler box. Then again, this is the kind of twist ending that it’s almost better to know beforehand. I am struggling to think of any way that the movie could reveal it that wouldn’t make me go, “WHAAAT? _BULLDOZERS?_ Aw, man. Those bulldozers BETTER be driven by dead people.” It’s just not a twist so incredible that it’s worth wading through a whole movie to get to. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/9 "2004-06-10T01:21:38Z")
No, not just undead tractor drivers, they better be vampire sasquach tractor drivers created by some Nazi-super soldier program. And the villagers should be descended from some ancient druidic order that combats them with MIND BULLETS 😃 _My ADD kicking in_ ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/10 "2004-06-10T01:25:52Z")
Come on Folks, give M. Night some credit. He hasn’t topped The Sixth Sense yet, but he hasn’t made a TOTAL bomb either. Even if the twist is beneath what we think it should be, I’m sure the execution will make it worth the $7 movie ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/11 "2004-06-10T02:59:27Z")
Well, _The Sixth Sense_ had a big twist at the end, but it made perfect sense, and didn’t detract from enjoying the movie on a second viewing; you just saw things from a slightly altered perspective. The same was true of _Unbreakable_. _Signs_ didn’t really have a twist as such; perhaps Shyamalan is moving away from that technique. Also, the twist described wouldn’t make any sense. (Note: I feel compelled, whenever somebody brings up something illogical about the “aliens” in _Signs_, to point out that it’s only an assumption that they were aliens – and not the most likely of possibilities, either.) ---
**Author:** ![TommyTutone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@TommyTutone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TommyTutone)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/12 "2004-06-10T12:52:56Z")
For some reason, I recall it not being a matter that the village elders have kept them isolated for modern society issues, but because the village people themselves are trees and as such, they cannot communicate with the ‘bulldozer people’. ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/13 "2004-06-10T13:11:50Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > (Note: I feel compelled, whenever somebody brings up something illogical about the “aliens” in _Signs_, to point out that it’s only an assumption that they were aliens – and not the most likely of possibilities, either.) Right. I like the interpretation that they’re demons, myself. Makes the water thing work (especially the fact that they were first driven off in the Holy Lands). Also works in regard to their kidnapping (dragging souls off to hell), and makes “divine intervention” more plausible. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/14 "2004-06-10T13:44:21Z")
> [@](#): > > For some reason, I recall it not being a matter that the village elders have kept them isolated for modern society issues, but because the village people themselves are trees and as such, they cannot communicate with the ‘bulldozer people’. Yeah; I think we had a thread about that a couple of months ago, with somebody claiming definite knowledge of such. I could probably look it up if I weren’t so durn lazy. Personally, I hope all this stuff is just unfounded rumors. As a (hack, unpublished) writer, I can see that _The Village_ has a great setup; the trailer gave me a genuine chill. But how to resolve it? There are lots of movies that start with a really promising premise and then just can’t generate a satisfying payoff. A problem with “twists” is that people come to expect them. I didn’t anticipate the one at the end of _The Sixth Sense_ because I was drawn into the story. Also, Shyamalan was good at providing a plausible, unstated explanation for things that seemed odd earlier in the movie Like Bruce Willis and his wife never actually exchanging dialogue in the main part of the movie; we knew that Willis’ character was emotionally damaged by his failure with his earlier patient (and the shooting), and that he felt estranged from his wife. Oddly, I never wondered why we didn’t see Willis and the boy’s mother speaking together; Shyamalan knew most people would simply assume that they had, and then forget about it because the interaction between Willis and the boy was so interesting. With _Unbreakable_, I recognized the clues and saw the ending coming, but still enjoyed it. So, when I go see _The Village_ I expect I’ll be compulsively watching and listening for anything that definitely establishes time and place. Just from appearances, you’d be led to assume a 19th century settlement – but is it? I’m going to avoid any “spoiler” threads regarding this movie from now on; in case anybody comes up with definite information, I’d rather not know about it going in. Some people delight in spoiling surprises for others; I remember back in 1983, when I was waiting with some friends to buy tickets for _Return of the Jedi_, my friend Betsy turned to me and said, “Did you know Luke and Leia are brother and sister? No? Well, it doesn’t matter.” Okay, thanks a lot. She also took it upon herself to tell people the ending of _Sophie’s Choice_ before they went to see the movie. (Note: I’m not criticizing the OP of this thread, which is properly labelled and required my voluntarily opening it in order for me to read it.) ---
**Author:** ![Mal\_Adroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/15 "2004-06-10T14:14:47Z")
> [@Alias](#): > > Come on Folks, give M. Night some credit. He hasn’t topped The Sixth Sense yet, but he hasn’t made a TOTAL bomb either. I am witchoo. Seems a minor critical backlash starts on any filmmaker who makes such an excellent, popular first film. _Signs_ and _Unbreakable_ both had flaws, but all three of his works show the same exquisite care and creepy skill. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/16 "2004-06-11T16:39:54Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > So, when I go see _The Village_ I expect I’ll be compulsively watching and listening for anything that definitely establishes time and place. Just from appearances, you’d be led to assume a 19th century settlement – but is it? I know you said you weren’t coming back, but I read that the time year is stated as “1876”, so they do give a year. Now, whether that is actually 1876 CE, or 1876 years after a group of isolationists settled there and began living seperate from the “modern world”, I don’t know. If the rumour about the twist is true, I think the story could be made into a very compelling allegory about fear of technology - we do have people who are “Neo-luddites” among us. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/17 "2004-06-11T17:04:55Z")
Yes, it’s true. They’re gay. The biker prancing around in tight leather pants should have clued you in. And their songs “In the Navy”, “YMCA”, and “Macho Man”. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/18 "2004-06-11T17:51:10Z")
> [@kung fu lola](#): > > I know you said you weren’t coming back, but I read that the time year is stated as “1876”, so they do give a year. I was of the impression that the year is implied by a camera focus on a tombstone with the year engraved, rather than a “Dateline: the nineteenth century” as the movie begins. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/19 "2004-06-11T19:15:57Z")
Actually, the year I quoted was from either the website or a blurb about the movie (Maybe in _Entertainment Weekly_?). ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524/20 "2004-06-11T19:55:26Z")
I think “the twist” supposed by the OP could make for a great movie. I actually think that sometimes having an actual “supernatural” element takes away from a movie because it’s not believable (6th sense was one exception). I thought _Signs_ was great up until the last 10 minutes or so. Shymalan is a good enough film maker that I suspect it’ll be good no matter what the twist is or isn’t. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-rumor-isnt-true-village-spoilers/249524.md?page=2)