Hunter Powell’s review published on Letterboxd:
Trading in trauma for blind fear leads to far more suffering no matter the intentions. Lying and sheltering to protect people from pain never works. No matter how much we run from it, trauma is a part of who we are as the human race. Facing that fact saves more people than hiding from it does.
Split still has the edge as my favorite M. Night film, but this probably just slightly surpasses Unbreakable for me. The more I dive into his filmography though, the more satisfying it is to see just how dedicated the man is to giving his career to delve into every facet of human trauma and how it shapes us. Truly, Shyamalan will go down as one of the most underappreciated directors of all time (with two or three exceptions you can probably guess. Those are the ones that don't stick to his usual theme of human trauma though so it's no wonder). The film's consistently eerie and masterful cinematography and score paired with some solid performances (most notably from Bryce Dallas Howard, turning in one of her career best) solidifies this as another excellent addition to M. Night's filmography. The thing I appreciate most though is that no matter how dark the themes Shyamalan deals with are, he always concludes with the hope that humanity can triumph over our demons. Through the end of The Village, Shyamalan makes it clear that it is only through facing them that we can really hope to protect those we love.