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THE VILLAGE There's a reason Alfred Hitchcock didn't write the vast majority of his movies: He knew his forte was directing, and he left the scribbling to others. M. Night Shyamalan would do well to learn from The Master. As a director, he has a distinct visual style, and this thriller about a town whose surrounding woods are filled with monsters includes scenes that shimmer with an eerie beauty. But as a writer, he's becoming a parody of himself: Eager to top the climactic twist of The Sixth Sense, he has masterminded three subsequent movies in which the "gotcha!" endings seem to be the only reason for their existence. This one isn't really worse than Unbreakable or the silly Signs, but Shyamalan's carny act already feels like it's decades old -- it's a shame, because some good ideas are squandered in a muddled piece that ends up duping itself.

OPENS FRIDAY:

ANACONDAS: THE HUNT FOR THE BLOOD ORCHID: Johnny Messner, Morris Chestnut.

HERO: Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi.

MARIA FULL OF GRACE: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Guilied Lopez.

SUSPECT ZERO: Ben Kingsley, Aaron Eckhart.