Shamalan's egoistic cameo: really sours the ending.

So, director/writer/producer/actor Shamalan feels the need to include himself in every one of his movies. How very Hitchcockian. And, in The Village, he does it ever so inventively! /s

In this one, in the next-to-last scene, we see the back of an authority figure's head, his head. And then we see Shamalan, in profile, in the medicine window's reflection.

And, I'd even give him license to do this, IF he didn't also feel the need to do the voicework as well. He's just a bad actor. His voice is so boyish, so "L.A.". (And we really notice it because, with the shot intentionally hiding the speaker, we are riveted to the quality, or lack thereof, of voice itself.) It completely took a really good scene and devalued it. If he was going to himself appear, he should have had another person do voiceover in his place.

The scene is well set-up and adds a layer of mystery. It could have worked. But then Shamalan's nasally, boyish voice completely drains it of its value. I disliked the casting and found it jarring -before- i realized it was Shamalan. But once the recognition kicks in, it really becomes deplorable: both for his "peekaboo" and for the fact that he does tank the scene.

That scene is the revelation of the final twist. It needs to be perfect and unsullied. Nothing should interfere with, or distract from, the viewer's receiving this crucial information. And there's Shamalan... Shamalaning it up again: "HEY GUYS! IT'S ME! I MADE THIS! I'M NOT JUST A DIRECTOR-WRITER-PRODUCER, I AM AN ACT-TORR AS WELL!"