Film Review

The Happening

I wish M. Night Shyamalan would branch out into another genre. I assume he feels that horror/suspense is his niche, and it has served him well enough. He probably feels that this type of movie is what audiences expect of him. The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs were all great, or at least reasonably good films. The Village was ok (I'm one of those freaks that figured out the "twist" of that movie in the first few seconds) and Lady in the Water is best left unspoken about. The Happening falls into the "ok" category.

I had high hopes for the film, actually. Elements of the trailer were creepy and visually arresting. Yet, ultimately, it was disappointing on many levels.

The film starts out with a bang and immediately peaks your interest. Without giving away any plot details, it then degenerates into a preachy lesson. Another point: a reviewer recently wrote that Shyamalan has a way of getting poor performances out of good actors. While I don't agree with that wholeheartedly, it is true of this movie. Mark Wahlberg speaks in a higher register than we're used to hearing. He comes across as whiny and condescending (his acting when he talks to his students - he's a teacher - is abominable). Zooey Deschanel, as his wife, is completely out of her element here. She usually plays quirky roles, but this is supposed to be fairly straightforward...and she still tries to imbue it with some sort of quirkiness to no avail. They're supposedly having marital issues...and ya know what?...no one cares. Here's the ultimate proof: I have no idea what either of their characters' names were. No freakin idea.

John Leguizamo is wasted in a small role. Betty Buckley overacts in another small role. Shyamalan uses his usual tricks (like the character we've never seen/heard of before popping up to offer a different perspective/theory...and then whom we never see again), but I have to admit there are some truly horrifying moments (in a good way) along with a few truly humorous ones. However, there also seem to be major holes in the scenario/plot which I can't discuss here. Aggravating.

I don't know why this film was Rated "R," either. Must have been some sort of publicity stunt because there was nothing in this film which was any more gory than in The Sixth Sense and there was no major profanity and no nudity.

Did I like the film overall? No. I only liked moments of it. Shyamalan should put his ego aside and do something completely different.