The Happening

The Happening



Following on from the abomination that was 'Lady on the Water', M. Night Shyamalan brings us The Happening. Can the master of movie twists salvage his reputation or does he continue to slip into obscurity?

First off we're expected to suspend our disbelief long enough to accept Mark Wahlberg and John Leguizamo as geeky high school teachers. A tall order, as we're used to seeing them as gangsters and hard men. If you can get over that hurdle, then you can concentrate on the plot.

Some sort of airborne chemical is making people commit suicide. The problem spreads, but only as far as North East America. The desperate survivors try to flee the infected zone and work out the cause of the outbreak along the way. Lucky for Mark Wahlberg, there is a radio for him stare open-mouthed at every hundred yards.

Initially it is thought to be Terrorists. And you'll wish it was, as the real reason is far harder to accept. It doesn't come as a twist revelation like most of Shyamalan's films, so I can't spoil it by telling you. The trees and the grass are communicating and they've decided that the land is too densely populated by humans, so they're thinning the crowds.

Yes, you read right. The trees and the grass are making people commit suicide.

When people criticisized The Village for not being all that good, Shyamalan came to its defense by telling us it's all about the Iraq war and living in fear. Well, I can already hear him say, "Oh, The Happening is a warning about Mother Nature getting it's revenge. Global warming. Blah. Blah..."

Fair enough, he wants to use his movies to relay an important message. But he could have at least made it entertaining.

The James Bond films always made a point of mentioning the film's title during the proceedings. "The Happening" is said so many times in this film, you're left wondering if Shyamalan has a child's vocabulary. I can't wait to see the Youtube edit of this film.

The only reason I'm gifting this film any points is the sheer comedy value of some of the suicides. The best one being the guy who turns on the lawnmower and lies underneath.

I'm sorry if this review is laced with vitriol, but it feels good to get it out my system.

Verdict 2/10
The Crappening: Shyamalan's films sink further into a swamp of his own Bullshit.