The Happening (2008) Movie Review, Trailer, Film Still and Poster

USA, India 2008
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Ashlyn Sanchez, Spencer Breslin, Betty Buckley
Rating: R
Release Date: 13 June 2008 (USA)
Running Time: 1 hour 31 minutes

The Movie Review

The Happening film still 1

What's happening?!


The HAPPENING
Storyline:
Cast:
Ending:
Overall:

Whew, fans of doomsday movies should have been very happy in the recent years for so many vast selections they have. Ranging from 28 Weeks Later, Resident Evil: Extinction, I am Legend, Cloverfield, Doomsday, and Day of the Dead, although their quality differs greatly, but sometimes for fans, the quality difference gap is narrow. And so the selection is getting fatter by the release of The Happening. And this time, M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, The Village) is the man who sits on the director chair.

Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg) is a regular school science teacher in New York. While he's teaching his class, there's a meeting with all the teachers that leads to the dismissal of the entire school for that day. It turns out that strange suicidal incidents are happening rapidly in Central Park. Most of New York residents suspect this as the work of the terrorist, however as more and more strange incident occurs, they know it's bigger than that. And all they could do is evacuate as far as possible. Elliot and his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel) then decide to go to Philadelphia to secure themselves, but when their train is stopped in an unknown small city, Mark and also the rest of the train passengers are about to get even more confused and terrified.

Brilliant..., absolutely brilliant. Another great work from Shyamalan that's truly and truly chilling. One of rare movies that I could actually shiver. Ahh...the sound, the cameraworks, the location, and the storyline (excluding the end scene). It's probably to early to say this but I think this thriller film definitely one of my favorite horror flicks in 2008, may not be the best, but favorite. And what's so best about it? It's different, highly creative, sensitive to global issue and definitely entertaining.

The Happening is not a perfect movie though. The biggest and the worst flaw comes from Zooey, a total miscast, her smiling and comical face makes each of her appearances in this movie makes The Happening becoming less thrilling and less serious. I didn't know what the filmmakers were thinking when choosing her as the lead cast. I did actually wonder how perfect this movie would have been, if Zooey had been replaced by another suitable actress. Zooey should be sticking on comedy romantic genre, she was excellent in Failure to Launch (along with Sarah Jessica Parker). Moreover, Mark Wahlberg's acting is unstable. With a very good acting in some scenes but also incredibly rudimentary in another.

Another flaw is the finale scene which is not as strong as the theme itself. And the ending seems rushed too, arguably a confusion of Shyamalan of how to conclude his movie. And then as usual, the very last scene shows a possibility for a sequel. Metaphorically, if the whole storyline from the beginning is like a daunting scream, the end is merely like a whisper, a whisper that audiences could hardly hear.

The Happening presents terror in a different way, in a subtle way but full of hopelessness for the victims. Yes, because when other movies clearly tell us who the bad guy is and any possible way to defeat them, then in The Happening, the villain is the mystery itself and presumably something that's beyond people power to fight against it. The only thing they could do is run and hide and hope. No, it's not an alien movie, but something more real than that, if I say more, than it would be a sure spoiler.

The Happening's storyline is incredibly creative and smart with its highly shocking isolated horror incidents, added with odd characters along the way (the one at the isolated house, whew Goosebumps), those scenes are mild but pervasively terrifying.

By the end of the movie, you will surely have something to paranoid about.., not to fear of but to paranoid about with a seal of new-found respect of the implied-villain.

© iwan pranowo of Movielogy.com