John Hurt, Joaquin Phoenix, and Bryce Dallas Howard star in this fable by M. Night Shyamalan about a group of people who have formed a separatist community in the backwoods of Pennsylvania to insulate themselves from the evil and suffering of human civilization but eventually learn the sad truth that destructive human vices are present wherever human beings are present. When a life-threatening crisis strikes a member of their community, one of their own finds the courage to brave the mysterious creatures in the forest surrounding their village and seek out help from the nearest town, a journey that has the potential either to tear apart or preserve their community. Howard steals her scenes as a blind girl who appears to see more than anyone else. Phoenix exudes a winning innocence as the soft-spoken young man who meekly suggests to the village elders that their community would benefit from reconnection with the outside world. Hurt also gives a strong performance as the patriarch of this social experiment. The film concludes with one of Shyamalan’s signature twist endings. The Village received an Oscar nomination for James Newton Howard’s haunting original score.