The Village - Writers' Workshop

Writers' Workshop - How do you write a film with a twist ending?

This week, William takes a look at M. Night Shyamalan's 'The Village', a film that was released with high audience expectations from a writer-director who had notoriously become so associated with the 'twist ending' that the anticipation and predictions possibly undermined the story he was trying to tell. This episode covers the allegory at the heart of this story, thoughts about how to build terror and suspense in writing, and an insight into a critical element of twist endings that might help you write a great one yourself!

Bonus: Hear how the original screenplay 'The Woods' ends.

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Episode navigation:

Introduction and podcast update (0:00)

Audience expectations (8:50)

This week's big question (10:57)

How an ensemble of characters makes a village (14:08)

On distractions and red herrings (20:56)

What you cannot see or describe is scarier (23:36)

The midpoint and Shyamalan's statement (26:41)

What really makes a twist work (29:26)

The best character moment in the screenplay (31:45)

Truth(s) revealed, the power of nightmares (35:55)

Who is affected by the final 'twist' (39:29)