Indian-born writer-director M. Night Shyamalan forged his reputation as a film-maker of daring and audacity with his thriller The Sixth Sense.

His comic book fantasy Unbreakable and alien invasion thriller Signs have similarly delighted audiences, not least for the final-reel twists which have become something of a Shyamalan trademark. The Village is his most ambitious project yet -- a lushly photographed and staged period piece that toys deliciously with the conventions of the monster movie.

Set in 1897 Pennsylvania, the story revolves around the close-knit, self-sufficient community of Covington (population 60), which is encircled by dense woods protecting the village from attack or prying eyes. Not that anyone would dare to stray into the woods because the trees are home to a race of strange, clawed creatures.

These beings -- referred to only as "Those We Don't Speak Of" -- do not trouble the villagers so long as the humans refrain from straying into the woods. When rebellious Lucius Hunt (Joaqum Phoenix) dares to venture into the trees, the creatures leave their seclusion to daub red paint on the doors of the residents: an omen of impending doom. As death and jealousy stalk the locals, blind girl Ivy (Bryce Dallas Howard) gathers her strength and courage to save her loved ones from a grisly fate. The Village is an enigma that will doubtless spark countless pub conversations in the coming weeks. The heavily stylised writing and sleight-of-hand plotting conceal so much, not least the huge suspensions of disbelief which Shyamalan expects us to make without question. An air of choking tension hangs perceptibly in every frame. Shyamalan shoots many scenes at a slightly unexpected angle or distance which is highly disconcerting: an emotionally charged conversation between two characters is photographed so far away, they are just figures in the background.

There are some truly bravura sequences like four boys playing a potentially deadly game of dare on the village boundary, and Ivy waiting for Lucius at her front door as something wicked drifts, in slow motion, out of the fog of night.

Phoenix brings a quiet intensity to his role and there is solid work from William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver (right) et al as the elders but the film is distinguished by two mesmerising performances.

Adrien Brody is superb as the village simpleton Noah Percy, whose love for Ivy may not be as pure as it seems and Howard delivers the sort of impassioned, fearless and unselfconscious portrayal of a young woman battling against adversity that tends to win Oscars.