Question: Does anyone know if Noah knew all along that the elders were dressing up as the "monsters?" I think he did, and that he thought it was just a game. Is that why he laughed and clapped every time the bell went off and they had to hide? Perhaps the elders didn't hide this from him because he was simple-minded and couldn't talk. So, when he went after Ivy in the woods, he thought it was all for fun. Does anyone else agree with this?
Answer: Noah had figured out shortly before the movie begins that the monsters were a hoax made by the Elders, having found a creature suit in the "punishment room." This can be seen early when everyone is eating. They hear howling from the woods (it's actually sound devices in a big tree deep in the forest that create sounds from the wind), and Noah simply laughs at it. He probably thought it was all a game, never understanding the true purpose of why the Elders created the hoax. During the Covington Woods quest, he most likely went to kill Ivy. Recall the "daring game" played by the children. We learn that creatures imitate their victim before they attack. Noah does the same to Ivy. She snaps her cane, and the creature also snaps something. She throws a rock, he does the same. Noah was actually smarter than we think. He was THE creature, the usurper of the Elders' hoax. So, he tortures Ivy mentally first before trying to kill her. He was kinda sadistic (he also massacred the livestock).
Question: Was there ever a name provided for the character who was dancing with Ivy when she heard the children's screams? He also was one of the men carrying the sacrifice of meat, and might have been the Villager in the tower in the opening credits. He is tall and bearded, and seems to be the "go-to" guy here in the Village.
Chosen answer: There was no name, and I was not under the impression he was indeed the "go-to" guy. Other than dancing with Ivy and participating in the meet ritual, he was not seen in the movie at all.
Question: Why was everyone standing up in the last scene of the movie? Did not make too much sense to me, but it was very apparent so it must have been some intentional directional move.
Answer: One of the elders asks if they all want to continue the village the way it is by telling the younger members that Noah was killed by the creatures in the woods and keeping the truth about the village from them. Standing up was the other elders' way of saying "yes."
Question: What is the significance of the dead 7-year-old boy in the opening scene of the movie? Does it have anything to do with the 7-year-old mentioned on Shyamalan's newspaper?
Answer: No, they establish early in the movie that the boy died of a disease. The reason Lucius keeps requesting permission to go to the town to get medicine is to prevent someone else from getting the same thing. They are very effectively cut off from the outside world. The purpose of the newspaper report and radio news heard in the guard shack is to lend credence to their motives for establishing the village (ie, to escape a violent society).
Answer: I had a thought about this. The main elder let his daughter go to get medicine because he loved her. That was not supposed to be allowed to happen, but he made an exception because it was for his daughter. I wonder if the boy that died at the beginning could also have been saved by outside medicine. So, was the main elder OK with this boy's death but couldn't bear his daughter's fiancé to die?
Question: Does anyone have any insight as to where all the people in the Village came from? I understand the motivation in being there as expressed by the elders, who know of the outside world and are escaping it, but what about everyone else who seems ignorant of that other world? The group scenes show at least a hundred people there. Were they all brought as children and raised with the stories of the creatures to keep them out of the woods? Seems like a lot of children for 8 or 10 elders to bring. Are all the adults, not just the elders, "in-the-know", having brought their children and kept them deceived? Any thoughts, or official insight, would be appreciated.
Answer: As covered towards the end of the film, the elders met at a support group for the families of victims of violent crime (if you listen to the voiceovers, they all talk about how a loved one was murdered, and the photo shows them all standing in front of a consolation centre). At the end of the voiceovers, you hear Mr. Walker talk about how he "has an idea" if they are willing to hear him out. Presumably, this idea is to separate from society as they end up doing. It is assumed that all of the adults in the village are there by choice. As for the children and young adults, they were likely born there, or moved there when they were too young to remember the outside world. Given the clothes and surroundings in the picture of the group, and the fact that the guard at the end is reading a 2004 newspaper, we can assume they have been in the village for at least 20-30 years. The end of the film does a very good job of tying up loose ends. The newspaper and radio reports in the guard shack reinforce the idea of the violent society they are escaping. The conversation between the guards establishes that a wealthy benefactor is both paying them to protect a "wildlife preserve," as well as ensuring the government does not allow flights over the village, which would spoil the illusion. The fact that Walker mentions that his murdered father was an excellent and wealthy businessman, coupled with the fact that the area surrounding the village is called *Walker* Wildlife Preserve, leads us to believe that his inheritance is financing their secret. All in all, it's a tidy bit of storytelling.
Answer: That's the rub of why it's a movie. You are exactly right - if the original 9 elders, who were already all probably in their 40s in the Counselling Center pic, even had 3 more offspring each that would have made the village approximately 30 people. The village wouldn't have increased from there for another generation. Also, if you are astute, you will see that Lucius is an infant in the Counselling Center pic, so he would have been the "oldest" non elder, which would have probably made him be in his early 20s. All that being said, I absolutely LOVE this movie, because this actually "could" happen - escape this horrible world by pretending it's maybe 150 years earlier and act like it. Fascinating.
Answer: The guard reading the newspaper mumbles, that a group of people, ex hippies, became disillusioned with the modern world and pooled their resources and established a quiet simple way of life. The Phantom creatures are to put fear into the young ones from getting to curious about venturing beyond the forest.
Question: Maybe I am being too analytical, but why do the villagers wear yellow robes? Taking into consideration the colour wheel and the red robes of the "things," wouldn't it make more sense to wear green as the safe color because green is the opposite of red?
Answer: They used the color yellow to represent caution, the red color means danger it does not have to do with the color wheel, but it is more psychological.
Answer: It would probably depend on the colourings available to the villagers. Maybe it was easier to make yellow dye and paint than green. Also, if green was a safe colour, then the 'creatures' wouldn't have been able to walk on any grass and there wouldn't have been as much fear of them entering the Village.
Answer: Red attracts colors. Planes, onlookers. If they are trying to keep a low profile in the forest, avoiding red is a good idea.
Answer: Plot wise, there was no practical reason for yellow being used because it was just part of the elders' scheme to "sell" the fake beasts story to the younger villagers. The youngsters were conditioned from childhood to believe that red attracted the creatures, and the village was protected as long as no-one wore or displayed it. The "safe" yellow color was probably an arbitrary choice by the elders, though it is also associated with "caution." From a movie-making perspective, the color choice probably had to do with what visually worked best on film. Green or blue would blend into the forest and meadow background, while yellow stands out, making the characters more visible.
Answer: Blood! Red was the bad color because it was the color of blood. Remember, all the elders were trying to avoid violence. The father in the movie was a psychologist. It just makes sense, knowing what he knew of society, to use red and yellow (being caution) as cultural guidelines.
The father was a history professor.
Answer: Just a word about this: opposing green to red makes sense only if you think about light. If you think about paint for example it would be yellow... kinda (actually 3 primary colors blue, red and yellow / 3 primary "light colors" blue, red and green).
Answer: I would think yellow is a color of passive/yielding to notify the "beasts" they are inferior to them.
Question: If the elders know the creatures are an invention they created/use and they know what the outside world is like, then why didn't one of the elders go grab the medicine? They literally create this utopia because of violence in their past, yet are willing to let two members possibly die to preserve what secret?
Answer: For one of the Elders to leave, would cause the younger generations to question the danger of 'those we do not speak of' and possibly embolden them to venture into the woods, and possibly finding the limits of their known world, destroying everything the Elders originally sacrificed everything for. The younger villagers are shown already pushing the boundaries of these creatures, so it is not a stretch of the imagination to believe if they witness an Elder going into the woods, that the creatures aren't nearly dangerous as told. This is why the Elders got so angry when August sent Ivy without their consent. Her knowledge of the fabrication risks jeopardizing everything.
Question: I'm not sure, but do the security guys, especially the one behind the desk, know about the people inside the village?
Answer: It isn't very clear, but the movie does give the impression that the guard in the shack (played by M. Night Shyamalan) probably knows, while the younger guard definitely did not. However, the young guard probably knows now... he obviously believed that Ivy lives in the sanctuary, and when he asked her name, he almost definitely noticed that she shares the same last name as the sanctuary (as seen on the guard vehicle).
Answer: Aha! It makes sense now...both the elders of the village and the older security guard represent the "old way" and the younger guard meeting Ivy was innocence coming together to help one another. Which is what the village wanted to preserve.
Question: The trivia section states that this film was originally given an R rating for "a single sound effect." Anybody have any idea what that sound effect was?
Answer: The sound effect that was not included in the movie was the sound of Lucius Hunt being stabbed by Noah. Once this sound effect was removed, the movie was allowed to be rated PG-13.
Question: Could someone please tell me the name of the woods in the movie? I've been trying to think of it ever since I saw the movie.
Answer: Covington Woods (actually located in the Walker Preserve).
Question: How did the big hole get made? Is this a literal plot hole?
Answer: The fallen tree that Ivy finds after she has managed to climb out of the hole is the cause of it. Clearly, from what dried up roots remain exposed above the ground at the base - it was huge - leaving a vast root system to rot in the ground; that then created the sinkhole. We see that the roots are so big Ivy hangs her bag on one and she uses it as a landmark in her mind - which we know is later beneficial.
Question: Perhaps I'm just grasping at straws here, but isn't there still a possibility that the woods are inhabited by monsters? No one was able to explain what killed the livestock.
Answer: There were no real monsters. Noah Percy, who was not an elder, killed the livestock. He had found his father's monster costume that was hidden under the floorboards. He secretly began wearing it and acting like one of the creatures that the elders were pretending to be in order to frighten younger members to keep them from leaving the village. Noah was mentally handicapped, and it was like a game to him, but it became more deadly over time. The elders did not know until the end of the movie that it was Noah who had killed the animals.
I believe the dad, Walker, explained to Ivy that it was the Elders. He also said the 1st ones that started popping up was likely one of the elders but he wasn't sure which one.
Question: Given that Ivy could see some people's "color", did she know it was Noah chasing her in the woods?
Answer: It is presumed that Ivy cannot see Noah's color as she was unaware that he was inside of her coat closet after he had hidden there during a game of hide and seek. In the scene she is seen hanging her coat inside of a closet occupied by Noah. She puts the garment inside and goes about her business completely unaware of his presence. This indicates that he does not give off a color.
Chosen answer: This was left very ambiguous. Ivy knew the "creatures" were not real because her father had told her it was a ruse the elders used to frighten the youths to keep them from leaving the village. However, it was mentioned by one of the elders that the creatures were based on old stories, myth and legend that's why she was freaking out when her cloak was darken by the mud and why she became frightened by Noah's monster costume. As for her sight of color it does not appear that Ivy knows it is Noah who is chasing her.
Ivy could smell Noah wearing the suit. She made a statement in the shed not to be used that there was a strange smell in there. I imagine some sort of latex smell given off by suit. I think. I had figured it was a professionally made movie costumes the elders brought to Covington woods when they first settled. But it is also possible I guess they could have been crafted after the fact. But either way she was able to recognize Noah by the scent. I believe.
Answer: She stated in the beginning she couldn't always see color in people.
Question: After being locked up in a room, how did Noah know that Ivy went to the woods?
Question: Does anyone know the alternative endings for this movie? I can't wait until the DVD. Was this the ending the M. Night Shyamalan wanted in the theaters?
Chosen answer: According to Shyamalan, the ending we saw was the only ending created for the film. He has stated numerous times that the rumors of any alternate endings were untrue.
Answer: The only "alternate" ending was one of the movie ending with Ivy climbing over the wall. There was a stolen script, and M. Night Shyamalan didn't want the movie spoiled by it being leaked, so he added everything after that originally intended ending.
I watched a version of the movie that had added scenes, not necessarily an alternate ending, and have been trying to find it ever since. It had, for example, a scene where Ivy finds huge chimes hanging in the forest that give voice to "those we don't speak of." Any info on that?
Question: Was Edward Walker married? Is that why he wasn't allowing himself to touch Alice Hunt? I noticed that there is a Tabitha Walker in the credits, but it doesn't seem clear in the movie.
Answer: Yes, he is married. He is thought to secretly be in love with Alice Hunt, but he is faithful to his wife, Tabitha, and that is why he never allows himself to touch Alice in even the the most platonic manner.
Are we sure Tabitha isn't his sister? She sure doesn't ever act like Ivy and Kitty's mother. She looks a hell of a lot like Edward Walker, and seems upset like a daughter, not a daughter-in-law, when they reminisce about the slain father. Also, this would make the whole Walker/Alice Hunt relationship much purer, much more hopeful (themes of the film), as it isn't going behind anyone's back. I wonder if there's a deleted scene that made it clear Tabitha's relationship to Mr. Walker?
Answer: Ivy refers to her parents which indicates that Mr. Walker has a Mrs. Walker which is Tabitha Walker. She is his wife and not his sister. She is referred to as his wife in one of the elder meetings early in the movie too.
Question: The creature comes to the village and Ivy waits for Lucius to grab her hand. But Noah was in the house under the house floor with Ivy's family. So who was dressed as the creature?
Answer: It was one of the male village elders who was disguised as the creature. The elders had perpetuated the hoax that strange, dangerous beasts lived in the woods and would attack the village if anyone strayed beyond its borders. It was all part of the ruse to frighten and restrain the younger villagers when they became too curious and adventurous and tried to cross the perimeter. The elders wanted to prevent the youth from learning about the modern world outside. Noah later found his father's costume under the floorboards and secretly began pretending to be one of the creatures.
Question: Can somebody tell me why the elders don't allow people to leave the village at the start of the film?
Chosen answer: They left modern civilization to escape violence. They have been living a lie and do not want their children to know about the real world, fearing they will want go there and might never return. That is why they concocted the story about the monsters in the wood to frighten them from leaving the village.
Question: Is the man who married Ivy's sister, Kitty, the same man who was supposed to escort Ivy into the woods, but chickened out before going in?
Answer: Yes. His name is Cristoph Crane.
Question: What is the significance of the red markings on the doors of some of the buildings after the monster visit? Are they specific to the people that live inside these buildings? Are they on all doors or specifically selected doors?
Answer: The markings on the doors were to scare the young villagers. No other reason is mentioned.
M. Knight used red in sixth sense too. Must signify something. Maybe bc the monsters robes were red and the villagers were to bury all red objects.
Answer: When the Elders found Noah missing, they referred to a costume that had been hidden under the floorboards. My guess is that at some stage Noah found that costume and may have figured out that it was a game then. I doubt if the Elders realized this until he went missing. Also, given that Noah had already stabbed Lucius, I don't really think that he was joking when he went for Ivy in the woods.
kendra jackson