If you follow back through the discussions and multiple comments made you will find many details on why I disliked the movie, and what I had to say about hidden clothing.
It seems as if you disagree with everyone who did not like the movie without having read what was written, nor have you stated what you liked about it. (If you have done this in an earlier post please direct me - I haven't looked but would like to read it - Thanks PP)
I thought the premise was excellent, and there was much depth to ironies that were hinted at but went unexplored. To me the ironies that were explored were insufficient to salvage a poorly executed plot device (one that I guessed at within the first 30 minutes or so). I also readily confess that I went in expecting a scary tale and was disappointed. I am pleased that you did enjoy the film.
I think this film could have been much improved if we had been in on the elders secret, and reasons for it, from near the start. The individual and group tensions could have brought a very different dynamic to the screen. If you have not seen Alfred Hitchcocks film "Rope" rent it and then imagine what the film would be like if you didn't know the truth until the last ten minutes. The tension is huge, and it comes directly from the audience being in on the truth. In essence, this tension is what MNS is trying for, but he substitutes the threat of monsters for the more difficult task of maintaining tension with the truth known. Of course, that is not the only reason for the monsters, but IMO too much potential was sacrificed so that MNS could have his "gotcha" at the end. And to me it was a very weak gotcha.
So basically what I hear you saying is that within 30 minutes of the movie, you knew it was a group of people from the year 2004 who met at a counseling center because they all had had major traumas (murders)in their lives and they established this settlement as a way of "hermetically" sealing themselves off from the rest of civilization????? Honestly, not to hurt your feelings, but I don't buy it. I'd be curious though to see what kind of foreshadowing or clues you saw (that I obviously didn't) that allowed you to leap to this point. I may just be astounded.
Oh and you made a good point about my not expressing my reasons for liking the movie. I will tell you why I liked it. I liked the scenery and the filmmaking in general. I liked the brooding sense of the movie. I also liked that it wasn't scary (e.g. I had to hide my eyes in Sixth Sense) since I'm a little bit of a scaredy cat. I thought the acting was good (Brody, Phoenix and Howard) and I was totally surprised at the twist at the end.
Take care.