The Happening (D+ or 1.5/4 stars)
There's not much happening in 'The Happening' a spooky thriller written & directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The gist: a group of civilians, led by Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg), run from a natural crisis that presents a wide-scale threat to all humanity. I am sad that Shyamalan has regressed so. His 1st film, 'The Sixth Sense', was a huge success because it was scary, mysterious, and actually had a plot. This film has a plot (sort of), but there's no substance to it. I like Mark Wahlberg. But his talent is wasted in this un-scary, uneventful movie.
'The Happening' opens brilliantly in NY's Central Park. People are becoming disoriented by a nameless fear. Frozen. And before you know it, they're killing themselves (by way of jumping off of buildings, stabbing themselves with darning needles, driving their cars into trees, even getting run-over by lawnmowers!). An airborne killer spreads from Manhattan east to Philadelphia; but also as far north as Boston, & as far south as Baltimore. Some think it's a terrorist attack. Whatever it is, no one knows how to deal with it ... but to run from it. Yes, run from the air.
The rest of the plot deals with milquetoast science teacher, Elliot, his emotionally vacant wife (a bland Zooey Deschanel), and a little girl (Ashlyn Sanchez) trying desperately to understand the epidemic, and survive it. They figure out that staying away from clusters of people will help. Later, finding any enclosed shelter is their goal. It all concludes after 85 frustrating minutes. And the sooner it ended, the better. You know, it takes a lot of endurance to sit through this movie. The 1st 20 minutes are great. The manner in which the civilians kill themselves are horrifying & cinematic. But interest in the minimalistic plot began to wane quickly.
The creepy, paranoid atmosphere that was created early on dissipated. The apparent neurotoxin that's released into the air is neither threatening nor captivating. The dialogue is often laughable. And the characters are laughable (i.e., Betty Buckley as a crazy recluse living in the sticks). None of Shyamalan's characters are interesting. And aside from Wahlberg (who's a bit miscast), there are no heavyweights. Although the success of the films varied, think back to performances by Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Joaquin Phoenix, Mel Gibson, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, & Paul Giamiatti in earlier Shyamalan works. IF their films failed, it's not because of the acting pedigree; it was the script. Here, there is futile acting pedigree, AND an awful script.
'The Happening' shows promise early on. It's not necessarily a 'chore' to watch it. I even see what M. Night Shyamalan aimed to do (and it would have been awesome if executed correctly); but he fails to instill the necessary sense of dread in us as we watch his film. It's just dreadful to WATCH.
'The Happening' opens brilliantly in NY's Central Park. People are becoming disoriented by a nameless fear. Frozen. And before you know it, they're killing themselves (by way of jumping off of buildings, stabbing themselves with darning needles, driving their cars into trees, even getting run-over by lawnmowers!). An airborne killer spreads from Manhattan east to Philadelphia; but also as far north as Boston, & as far south as Baltimore. Some think it's a terrorist attack. Whatever it is, no one knows how to deal with it ... but to run from it. Yes, run from the air.
The rest of the plot deals with milquetoast science teacher, Elliot, his emotionally vacant wife (a bland Zooey Deschanel), and a little girl (Ashlyn Sanchez) trying desperately to understand the epidemic, and survive it. They figure out that staying away from clusters of people will help. Later, finding any enclosed shelter is their goal. It all concludes after 85 frustrating minutes. And the sooner it ended, the better. You know, it takes a lot of endurance to sit through this movie. The 1st 20 minutes are great. The manner in which the civilians kill themselves are horrifying & cinematic. But interest in the minimalistic plot began to wane quickly.
The creepy, paranoid atmosphere that was created early on dissipated. The apparent neurotoxin that's released into the air is neither threatening nor captivating. The dialogue is often laughable. And the characters are laughable (i.e., Betty Buckley as a crazy recluse living in the sticks). None of Shyamalan's characters are interesting. And aside from Wahlberg (who's a bit miscast), there are no heavyweights. Although the success of the films varied, think back to performances by Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Joaquin Phoenix, Mel Gibson, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, & Paul Giamiatti in earlier Shyamalan works. IF their films failed, it's not because of the acting pedigree; it was the script. Here, there is futile acting pedigree, AND an awful script.
'The Happening' shows promise early on. It's not necessarily a 'chore' to watch it. I even see what M. Night Shyamalan aimed to do (and it would have been awesome if executed correctly); but he fails to instill the necessary sense of dread in us as we watch his film. It's just dreadful to WATCH.