Honestly, I’m not sure what the hype is about. My mother has been telling me to watch this for years, and she loaned my wife and I her DVD. I thought it was predictable — every part of it was something we saw coming — and a somewhat shallow look at the Amish lifestyle.
Thing is, it’s a well-made film, and I imagine it was much less predicable at the time of its release. It’s not that I wouldn’t watch it again; I think I just prefer thrillers with more modern sensibilities.