The Happening

Let me preface this review by saying - I will not spoil anything. M. Night Shyamalan's latest thriller follows unsuspecting Northeasterners who fall victim to an unexplained and fatal phenomenon. Never before has a director followed his or her debut (Sixth Sense), which was one of the all time great thrillers with such a piece of garbage (Unbreakable). This alone is cause for suspicion in the actual quality of Shyamalan's body of work. I personally enjoyed both Signs and the Village, but Lady in the Water was absolutely awful, and actually worse than Unbreakable. Anyway, lowered expectations prevail, and I went to see the Happening on the off chance that Night has regained his magic touch.

For a director/writer/producer who typically shrouds his stories and twists in a mysterious web of secrecy, he must have given up on caring on this one. The entire plot from start to finish can be discerned simply by watching the previews. In fact, with the exception of one particular sequence, the most heightened level of tension resides in the first few minutes of the film. Night creates these fantasy worlds that suck the viewer in and make them temporarily believable, which to his credit is what really keeps his films afloat.

This brings me to my biggest concern: This movie is being advertised specifically on the platform that this is Night's first R-rated film. Why? The content rivals his other work, and the graphic sequences would be equally if not more effective if they were left to the imagination. Why make the step up now, knowing full well that an R-rated film will probably gross fewer dollars, when there is already a marketable and proven writer/director behind the project? It doesn't make sense to me, and I can't understand the logic except that Night must have taken some cues from the "gore porn" films of the past few years and wanted to see how his take would do on audiences.

Getting back to the film, the premise is quite intriguing, and elicits some deep thoughts early on, because the looming overtone is not "what is happening", but rather "why is it happening?" Unfortunately, the film somehow loses its grip on the viewer, and eventually the question becomes "who cares?" The end finally arrives, and the questions have only partially been answered, although the explanation is what would be expected. As anti-climactic as the would-be-ending is, the film continues, and actually regains some of its steam, leaving the viewer in the middle of a political current events debate neatly guised as a cautionary tale.

There were some bright spots along the way. The premise alone evokes shudders, and the explanation is somewhat plausible although highly unlikely on so many levels. Many of the scenes are comprised of trademark Shyamalan camera work - lingering and deliberate shots of either irrelevant or foreshadowing people or objects. Blending the eerie music with the mundane makes his movies the thrill rides that they are, and for me, the anticipation of something fresh, new and revealing makes it worthwhile. Perhaps the magic is gone, but the journey is fun. I enjoyed this movie for nothing more than an original story with some good tension.

Wahlberg is pretty good as the easy-going science teacher on the run, but he used his "wrinkled brow, confused and a little bit anxious" expression a little bit too often. Of course, that is his bread and butter, so we can't blame him for that, can we? The rest of the cast is mostly forgettable except for the old recluse, who made for some good seat-edge moments. Overall, it's worth checking out. Definitely creepy and fun. 7/10.