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The Happening is based on an intriguing concept: mother nature attempts to get revenge on mankind, via releasing an airborne neurotoxin into populated areas (starting with New York's Central Park). The resulting film is reminiscent of Spielberg's War of the Worlds without the martians or Hitchcock's The Birds without, well, the birds. Writer-director-producer M. Night Shyamalan, as usual, chooses to focus on a small family unit: a science teacher (Mark Wahlberg), his wife (Zooey Deschanel), and the 8-year-old daughter of one of Walhberg's colleagues, who go on the run from the city of Philadelphia - Shyamalan's regular stomping ground - to escape the "event", as it's repeatedly called. The event in question involves large groups of people simultaneously committing suicide for no apparent reason, which is depicted rather chillingly in the film's opening sequence. After initial suggestions of a terrorist attack - every wannabe-intelligent thriller has to mention terrorism these days - the characters, particularly Wahlberg's Elliot, slowly begin to suspect that it's actually nature causing the disturbing happenings. The film's original title, The Green Effect, gives an indication of its subject matter.
The problem is that trees just aren't particularly scary, no matter how many shots of rustling leaves and creaking branches Shyamalan wants to give us. Some sections of the film induce unintended titters due to the sheer ridiculousness of the subject matter and the earnestness with which the director and his cast treat it. Thankfully, there are some signs (no pun intended) scattered throughout of the director's talent. The aforementioned opening scenes set up the film well, and the thrust of the narrative is established economically and effectively. Strangely, though, for a film that was always intended to be R-rated at the request of the studio, there's a reluctance to show any gore, with most if not all of the suicides taking place just off-camera or just as it cuts away. There is a general shortage of suspense, too, which is unusual for Shyamalan. The best parts are when the humans start to turn on each other, particularly towards the end when the central trio come to an isolated house inhabited by a creepy old lady. This part builds a palpable sense of dread, but it feels like it's from a totally different film from what has come before.
Infuriatingly, many of the ideas here feel only partly formed, as if Shyamalan needed to write a few more drafts of the script. The characters are not particularly fleshed out, with very few hints at backstories or depth - Wahlberg and Deschanel are just saddled with the old cliché of a married couple who are having problems, but who learn that they really do love each other over the course of the film. Thankfully, the cast that has been assembled all acquit themselves well despite the occasionally dreadful dialogue. (For example, there are some attempts at humour that fall completely flat and seem shoehorned in.) Fundamentally, The Happening falls into the category of a near miss: generally not bad, with some genuinely excellent parts but also some utterly lacklustre elements. Perhaps the worst part is the ending, or the lack thereof; the film comes to a rather abrupt stop with no real third act. It really seems like Shyamalan just ran out of ideas, so tagged on a couple of rudimentary epilogue scenes followed by the words "Fade out".
The summary
Some may no be so generous, but The Happening isn't terrible, just ultimately unsatisfying. There's plenty of potential and some of it is capitalised upon, but it's unlikely that this will be the film to reinvigorate Shyamalan's stalled career.
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