[70times7]

The other aspect of this film was how the younger villagers dealt with and even confronted their fears. They were unexposed to the real world and knew only what they were taught by the elders (an allegory for how we were taught and how we teach our children). Noah had likely discovered the truth about the village long before we stepped into the story. Perhaps the discovery drove him crazy or perhaps his mental state allowed him to appreciate the irony he lived in. He seemed to relish the idea of "those we do not speak of” attacking the village. And as we learn towards the end, he donned one of the costumes and chased after Ivy. Told from a villager's point of view, this was a monster movie.

I tend to disagree that Noah knew the truth. It's more plausable that he operated from a simple perspective. But then there was the way he behaved in the woods after finding the costume... Hmmm. Some interresting ideas - I'll have to chew on them a bit.

[new cruelty]

Noah may have appeared simple, but I think he was actually more in tune with what was going on. He behaved strangely from the moment he is introduced to the audience. For example, he takes the red berries and places them in Ivy's hand. He knew there was nothing to fear from the color red. He laughs hysterically when the creatures are attacking the village. He knew it was one of the elders in the costume. He likely found the costume long before the elders learned he took it to chase after Ivy. Note how the room where the costume was hidden was wrecked, the floor boards ripped open. It wasn't that he just discovered the costume and took off with it. He knew where it was and in took it in a rush to chase after Ivy so he could herd her back to the village.