Film Review: The Happening
- Very Average Joe
- Apr 21
- 3 min read
Title: The Happening
Director(s): M. Night Shyamalan
Screenwriter(s): M. Night Shyamalan
Studio: Blinding Edge Pictures
Released: 2008
Runtime: 1h 30m
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, Ashlyn Sanchez, John Leguizamo
In Central Park, people suddenly freeze and then commit suicide. This spreads and, in a post-9/11 landscape, it is of course suspected to be a “terrorist attack” using some airborne neurotoxin.
The main viewpoint character is high school science teacher Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg) who is talking about the mass disappearance of bees in class when he is told to dismiss the students given the events.
He and math teacher Julian (John Leguizamo) then discuss evacuating NYC, the latter inviting Elliot and his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel) to his mother’s home in Philadelphia. So, Elliot and Alma meet Julian and his 8-year-old daughter Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez) at the train station. Julian’s wife is stuck in traffic so she will get on a later train. The plot follows the four as they leave the city.
The opening is effective, given the tone and the deaths shown. It is intriguing and even moderately freaky. On a related note, there are gruesome deaths throughout the film but this is very measured, quantitatively and qualitatively. It is never about gore or graphic violence for the sake of it. If anything, the director deliberately does not show details in some cases.
As Elliot and company train out of the city, things quieten down. As the mysterious “attacks” spread through the northeast of the continental US, Elliot and those around him speculate what is going on and where and how to get to safety so there is some tension.
This quieter approach is expected and presumably deliberate. It is not action-packed and, whether the tension works or not, some criticize the lack of drama. But there is movement as the characters are consistently moving from one point to the next, so it is never boring even if it seems uneventful.
The plot uses, perhaps excessively, mobile phones and media reports for exposition. Given the sound of wind at the start, an airborne agent is obviously part of the cause. Natural phenomenon and government conspiracy are both suspected. True to the horror genre, it takes something realistic and applies it in an extreme manner.
The performances are solid although the way the characters are written is convenient. The whole film is filled with horror tropes, for both characters and plot. And since it is full of them, this is presumably deliberate.
For example, Elliot and Alma had a fight and there is the suspicion that the latter may have had an affair recently. The so-called relationship doesn’t play a big part but it is there. Alma comes across as strangely distant, almost artificially so. That being the case, if anyone can pull off that kind of offbeat weirdo, it would be Zooey Deschanel. Another example is Julian’s wife not joining them, an obvious setup for some tension.
In fact, the film starts in the park with a bit character asking another which part of the book she was up to. It is obviously a writer’s joke. The conclusion is a typical contemporary horror ending which, amongst other things, includes the main characters being happy because… well, they just are now.
Visually, it is shot and edited well with an effective use of tight one-shots for a sense of surrealism which are then contrasted with wider shots for added effect. If anything, it can go further.
The music by James Newton Howard is the usual score found in just about any film with suspense. This is not a bad thing. It’s a quiet film but when the music is there, it is fitting.
Although it is normal for contemporary horror to not provide an explanation of the phenomena with certainty, the film resorting to environmentalism is cringe. But then again, it is also possibly criticizing those who use the environment and climate change as an excuse for everything.
This film has its haters but if one can accept the premise and quiet approach, then it is not a bad film. It is tight and the pacing is mostly handled well. In most ways, it is trying to be B-grade without actually being B-grade. The opening act is nicely executed and all the tropes are amusing if not comical, in effect a parody of itself, even if along with the supposed cause of the phenomenon make it silly.
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