Wow - that's 12 long pages of M. Night observations, so... I'll now add to it.
Okay, the mudroom scene scared the s*** out of me. Why does Mel have to look underneath? I dunno, but I pulled my feet off the floor onto the sofa when I watched for the first time.
The cornfield flashlight scene, just like the E.T. shed scene, also made me uncomfortable. So did the alien on the roof of the barn. Creepy.
My conclusion on M. Night is that what he does almost better than any other director is create well-engineered vignettes - almost always very frightening to watch. But in the end, they're just scary, disjointed little parlor tricks masquerading within what should be the larger story.
Aliens cannot open doors or windows, airplanes have been told not to fly over the wildlife preserve and Bruce is dead too.
Really - my kid, aged four, with an assist from John's boy, could tear that shack completely apart in less than 10 minutes. I don't buy the water explanations - not a bit. Anyone and everyone who saw that for the first time had to feel like: "...uh, you're kidding - right?"
Raise your hand if you hadn't figured out the entire story of The Village before he takes her to the creepy woodshed? Hell, I think she'd figured it out!
The thing is, regardless of what I think of his greater storytelling style, I'll probably continue watching M. Night movies, because I like his creepy style.
I'd liken it to seeing a P.T. Barnum sideshow - you know it's all an empty parlor trick and that the payoff won't meet the hype the barker was laying on you before you went in.
e
Okay, the mudroom scene scared the s*** out of me. Why does Mel have to look underneath? I dunno, but I pulled my feet off the floor onto the sofa when I watched for the first time.
The cornfield flashlight scene, just like the E.T. shed scene, also made me uncomfortable. So did the alien on the roof of the barn. Creepy.
My conclusion on M. Night is that what he does almost better than any other director is create well-engineered vignettes - almost always very frightening to watch. But in the end, they're just scary, disjointed little parlor tricks masquerading within what should be the larger story.
Aliens cannot open doors or windows, airplanes have been told not to fly over the wildlife preserve and Bruce is dead too.
Really - my kid, aged four, with an assist from John's boy, could tear that shack completely apart in less than 10 minutes. I don't buy the water explanations - not a bit. Anyone and everyone who saw that for the first time had to feel like: "...uh, you're kidding - right?"
Raise your hand if you hadn't figured out the entire story of The Village before he takes her to the creepy woodshed? Hell, I think she'd figured it out!
The thing is, regardless of what I think of his greater storytelling style, I'll probably continue watching M. Night movies, because I like his creepy style.
I'd liken it to seeing a P.T. Barnum sideshow - you know it's all an empty parlor trick and that the payoff won't meet the hype the barker was laying on you before you went in.
e
