Happening, The (DVD)

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M. Night Shyamalan disappoints me. He really does. The writer/director quickly rose to the higher elevations of my favorite filmmaker list after his early films "The Sixth Sense," "Unbreakable" and "Signs" entertained me. They were incredible stories that captivated my attention and gave me a sense that the Philadelphian was a special talent. I sat on the fence after watching "The Village." I brushed off my mixed feelings towards that film as M. Night´s first average film. There isn´t a singular filmmaker in existence that doesn´t have his off films. Then came 2006´s "Lady in the Water" and that picture was god-awful when compared to any of his earlier films and for the first time my confidence in M. Night was shaken. Now with "The Happening" completely shattering my confidence in Shyamalan, I am starting to believe he is destined to become a B-Movie has been.

How can one go from being such a clever storyteller that breaks tradition with a film such as "The Sixth Sense" and make a movie with no soul or character in "The Happening?" The clever use of the color red and the final reveal of "The Sixth Sense" were remarkable and made watching the film repeatedly an exercise worth undertaking. There were little clues strung out throughout the film that made that first picture such a modern classic. "Unbreakable" was a beautifully done super-hero film that served as the perfect ´first issue´ comic book movie. I had always hoped for a continuation of that story. "Signs" was a wonderfully done science fiction film that didn´t have the clever twists of his first two films, but it was such a solid story with fine acting and may stand as the most polished film from Shyamalan. These films were wonderful.

In "The Village" Shyamalan attempted to mix his cleverness with social commentary on modern society and created the first of three misses and perhaps signified the downfall of his once brilliant career. There were things I liked about "The Village," but I wasn´t overly surprised when the big reveal occurred and there were times when I simply lost interest in the film. It had some redeeming moments, but for the most part "The Village" could not compete with any of his first three major films. His storybook "The Lady in the Water" was a massive misfire and lacked any of the originality or entertainment value that was part of his better films. This was a personal project that Shyamalan had great love for and I had originally written off this blunder as a vanity movie that was something he wanted to do and a gift to the filmmaker for his first three pictures.

However, "The Happening" shows that "The Village" was the end of Shyamalan´s ability to tell a captivating and original story and that "The Lady in the Water" was not an isolated case of filmmaking going bad. M. Night Shyamalan has lost his edge after just ten years. I´ve not seen "Wide Awake" and maybe his first film should be lumped with these most recent endeavors, but two solid failures and one forgettable film my confidence in M. Night Shyamalan ever again producing something worthwhile is lost. Whereas "The Sixth Sense" symbolically used the color red for storytelling purposes, Shyamalan could only conjure up a little wind in his latest offering. There is no deep meaning or hidden clues throughout the film. It is just a formulaic apocalypse film that is inferior to anything previously done by the director.

To touch a little on the story and its plot, "The Happening" is about a revolt against humanity by the planet´s flora population. Yes, the trees, grass and flowers decide to wage war on vegetarians by releasing a deadly toxin into the wind that causes people to instantly lose their soul and quickly commit suicide. Whether it is to jump off a building, smash a car into a tree or lie down in front of a large lawnmower, people are driven to commit hara-kiri. A small group of survivors led by science teacher Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg) and his estranged wife Alma Moore (Zooey Deschanel) manage to flee the city of Philadelphia on a train bound to my neck of the woods, Harrisburg. They take with them Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez) the daughter of Elliot´s friend Julian (John Leguizamo) and find themselves alone as everybody around them contracts the airborne contaminant that brings nothing but self-inflicted death.

That is all of the time I´m going to dedicate to the plot and story of "The Happening" because I would just be wasting your time if I went into further detail. Eventually, Elliot figures out that the plants are responsible for the contagion and that it is not a terrorist attack and some semblance of tree-hugging social commentary is loosely thrown into the film. The film was marketed as the first R-rated film by Shyamalan and the better moments in the film are the often-grisly deaths of the suicidal victims of "The Happening." There is far more gore and violence in "The Happening" than Shyamalan´s entire filmography before this picture. Often times after watching the film I wondered if the filmmaker just wanted to kill some people on screen and cared more for creative death sequences than he did story and plot.

The story and plot are ultimately my biggest gripe against "The Happening." This is a science fiction film that was supposedly inspired by "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," but it lacks any sense of horror. There is a strong feeling of doom, but never once does "The Happening" put its viewers on the edge of their seats. You know from early on that an airborne virus causes people to kill themselves, but it is also realized that wind predates infection and when somebody begins to stand still you know their end is near. It is awfully difficult to feel tension over somebody that suddenly stops and stand stills. What is the expected reaction here, "OMG! The dude stopped walking! They are all going to die!?!" No. What happens is the audience sees somebody freeze and they are given a brief recess of emotion before the person brings about their own demise. This may be the worst horror plot device in history.

The acting of "The Happening" isn´t all that remarkable either. Marky Mark leads a relatively small funky bunch of talent through the film and the veteran actor´s own persona doesn´t translate well to the role he was cast in. Instead of being an overly warm and caring science teacher with a lot of brain, Wahlberg would have better been cast as a caring, but street smart physical education teacher with some brawn. Whenever he is trying to come across as a legitimate nerd, Wahlberg feels very miscast. Deschanel was good in "The Hitchhiker´s Guide to the Galaxy," but I have trouble viewing her as an everyday woman. She needs to be quirky or outgoing and the role in this film doesn´t suit her well either. Young Ashlyn Sanchez is the best actor in the film and her character is hardly given any lines. Poor John Leguizamo is given little screen time in a supporting role.