A young couple, Elliot and Alma Moore (Mark Whalberg and Zooey Deschanel) go on the run with their friend Julian (John Leguizamo) and his daughter Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez) when an unexplained epidemic sweeps across America, apparently causing its victims to commit suicide in gruesome ways.
The end of the world is nigh? An environmental disaster? Big Brother back on the telly? Maybe all three.
After his poorly received previous efforts The Village and Lady in the Water, director M Night Shyamalan, a man once touted as 'the new Hitchcock', really needs a safe hit with The Happening to rebuild his flagging reputation.
They say:
Variety: "A patchy, uninspired eco-thriller."
Total Film: "Boasts a sinister first act but speedily unravels."
Empire: "A disappointingly slight offering from a filmmaker that we know is capable of so much more."
We say:
So little was divulged about this movie prior to release that it could have been a documentary on 1980s hip hop and we wouldn't have known.
On viewing the finished result, it's not clear why such secrecy was needed - this might be M Night Shyamalan's first film not to have a 'twist' as such, but if you have seen the trailers there won't be too many surprises in store.
Except for maybe how good it is. Critics have been unanimous in panning The Happening - mostly it appears due to the slow pacing and risible acting.
Yes, undeniably, the pace is slow, yet slow burning would be more apt. The story progresses with care and thoughtfulness. This is not a thrill a minute piece - it's an atmospheric tale that rewards with genuine shocks instead of big bang explosions and a hamburger tie in.
The performances, however, are just wrong. This could have been an intentional ploy to create a B movie feel (look out for a nod to Invasion of the Body Snatchers), but it should be remembered that even the worst of the horror B movies were not intentionally bad.
Mark Whalberg makes for a limp lead, his feeble voice so camp that we quite expected him to come out in the last act. Watch too as the crisis announcement is made to teachers in the school - one of them looks like she is doing musical theatre. This overacting was too obvious not to have been intentional.
Being Shymalan's first R rated picture has ensured controversy, and for no apparent reason. Many of the on screen deaths are implied or shown in aftermath and, especially with the mass construction site suicide, fluidly shot.
Here we have a director who cares so much about his ideas that he presents them with admirable pedantry. His approach is sincere, pounding home a passionate eco message of ‘save the planet, save ourselves’. Subtle, it ain’t.
Even so, you cannot help but be pulled into his mission. As each scene develops, the more tantalising the premise becomes. If the story tips its hat in the first ten minutes, that is only because cause and effect so rarely unfold in that order- the situation often gets much, much worse before we have any time to figure out why.
For those with a short attention span, Shymalan's latest patience tester is not for you. If you demand to be scared rather than allow yourself to be, you’ll be asleep the moment the protagonists decide to walk their getaway rather than drive.
An unfortunate tact really, as reaching beyond the implied snugness, flat humour and sixth form amateur dramatics, this film would scare you half to death if you’d let it.
Don't follow the herd, appreciate something different. The Happening is a minor classic.
CAST
Mark Wahlberg
Zooey Deschanel
John Leguizamo
Ashlyn Sanchez
DIRECTOR
M Night Shyamalan
TIME
91 mins
POSTED...
Sun 22 Jun at 11:38am
