Trivia: At the ranger's office when the security guard was stealing the medical supplies, you see a cameo of M. Night Shamalayan in the reflection of the glass.
Continuity mistake: When the two villagers throw the slab of meat on the rock for the creatures, it lands rib side up. A second later the meat is shown from a different angle, and now it is lying skin side up. (00:38:05)
Continuity mistake: When Ivy was talking to Lucius about how her older sister is spoken for, and how she is free to receive interest, her hand is on the other side of the pillar from her. When the angle changes, her hand is wrapped around to the front and she is almost hugging the pillar.
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Lucius first goes into the woods, he picks a branch of berries off of a bush. The size of the branch and the number of berries on it is different when he is walking out of the woods. There are more berries and the branch is bigger than when he picked it. (00:26:50)
Answer: As covered towards the end of the film, the elders met at a support group for the families of victims of violent crime (if you listen to the voiceovers, they all talk about how a loved one was murdered, and the photo shows them all standing in front of a consolation centre). At the end of the voiceovers, you hear Mr. Walker talk about how he "has an idea" if they are willing to hear him out. Presumably, this idea is to separate from society as they end up doing. It is assumed that all of the adults in the village are there by choice. As for the children and young adults, they were likely born there, or moved there when they were too young to remember the outside world. Given the clothes and surroundings in the picture of the group, and the fact that the guard at the end is reading a 2004 newspaper, we can assume they have been in the village for at least 20-30 years. The end of the film does a very good job of tying up loose ends. The newspaper and radio reports in the guard shack reinforce the idea of the violent society they are escaping. The conversation between the guards establishes that a wealthy benefactor is both paying them to protect a "wildlife preserve," as well as ensuring the government does not allow flights over the village, which would spoil the illusion. The fact that Walker mentions that his murdered father was an excellent and wealthy businessman, coupled with the fact that the area surrounding the village is called *Walker* Wildlife Preserve, leads us to believe that his inheritance is financing their secret. All in all, it's a tidy bit of storytelling.
Gabbo