Movie Review
‘The Happening’ Creeped Me Out
Posted by Kevin Carr (kevin@filmschoolrejects.com) on June 13, 2008
Before I even start talking about The Happening, I have to preface this review by saying that if you aren’t a fan of M. Night Shyamalan, you will probably hate the movie. There are so many anti-Shyamalan people out there (especially on the Internet) that it makes the Boll bashers look tame.
However, if you like the guy’s stuff, you will probably enjoy the film.
I happen to be a big fan of Shyamalan, so take this review with a grain of salt. That’s not an apology, but rather a disclosure. Ultimately, I don’t get bothered by all the things that he does in his movies that annoy some people.
With that said, I enjoyed The Happening. And with reflection, I enjoyed it more and more.
The film follows a group of people who are trying to escape a mysterious attack on the human race. In populated areas along the Eastern Seaboard, people are suddenly committing mass suicide – and choosing some pretty creative ways to do it. No one knows why this is happening. Theories run from terrorists to trees. The bottom line is that people are fleeing this event and being whittled down throughout the film.
The film is loaded with Shyamalan’s style. There are long, static shots, some even plucked from his other films (like the dolly through the parked cars shot in The Sixth Sense). There’s a lot of staring. There’s intense music with people in the middle of the Pennsylvanian countryside.
However, he has learned from his last movie (which I did like, by the way). He resisted the urge to give himself a huge cameo in the film. (He’s there, but you will probably miss him.) He also got his enormous ego a bit in check by not splattering his name all over the credits like a Tyler Perry movie.
For almost a decade, Shyamalan has been trying to live up to The Sixth Sense, and this film is a bit of a departure from that, which is good. The pacing is slow, like most of his films, but I’ve always felt he could pull that off.
At its heart, The Happening is a suspense film, and Shyamalan is a master of suspense. I know that sounds cheesy to say, but I stand behind it. I’m not saying he’s the new Hitchcock or anything, but the man knows how to make a creepy scene.
I do commend Shyamalan for changing things up a bit. Some of his techniques were obvious and used. Others, he baited the audience with and didn’t fall into old traps. Like The Sixth Sense, he shows his hand early but keeps everything deliberately ambiguous so as to not preach. (Of course, if you want preaching, you can find it, but there were enough unanswered questions at the end that I forgave him of that.)
As I watched The Happening happen, I couldn’t help but find myself on the edge of my seat. The movie was just damned creepy. Sure, there were moments of godawful dialogue and others that had line deliveries worthy of a student film, but the film definitely pushed the right buttons in the suspense department.
THE UPSIDE: Creepy. Creepy as hell.
THE DOWNSIDE: Some really bad acting and dialogue moments.
ON THE SIDE: On September 11, 2001, I was on a train from Newark to Penn Station, and I learned about the terrorist attacks via cell phone on that train. There’s a scene in The Happening with people on a train who start getting calls about an attack. The entire thing was eerily accurate and completely chilling. Shyamalan captured the essence of this perfectly.
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17 Comments
June 13th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Hmm, between Sex and the City and this pile of shit getting positive reviews from you Kevin, I just don’t know what to think.
June 13th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Kevin Haters…Unite!
June 13th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
just kidding Kev, you know how I feel about you. Just don’t tell anyone else…
June 13th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
xx oo, bri
June 13th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Okay. A few years back came a Japanese horror film, “The Suicide Club,” in which ordinary folk started killing themselves en masse in extraordinary ways, that had something to do with a teeny-pop girl group and an indictment of bad parenting. A few years before that came an hour-long special animation of the TV series “Sailor Moon” in which an alien species of flower threatened life on earth. Each was excellent in its own right, and I recommend either to “The Happening,” which attempted to clone the two into one cinematic story that just wasn’t worth it.
I don’t know what’s up with Shamalamadingdong, but he would probably kill (himnself or others) to be able to do a “Suicide Club” these days.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
I agree with the totally creeped out feeling. Whether I enjoyed the movie or not…its still up in the air. I feel like M. Night is a brand name, like Chanel or something, I desperately want to like it but im iffy on the new design.
I was expecting a complete twist with the ending, like many of his other movies, that make you rethink the entire plot line, instead it just continued. The movie could be considered a “green” movie, implying that if things on this planet don’t change something as horrific as this could happen. I dont know what Shamalyn’s intentions were but if they were to aware (more like frighten) the masses into changing their current wasteful behavior, he might succeed. Again, the movie left me with a feeling that makes me rethink mother nature’s intention with us and fear for our future.
June 13th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Compare it to his first three movies and you have to wonder what happened??? Attempts to shock were sometimes silly and adolescent, other times very effective (especially at the old ladies house) The blowing grass became more and more silly. And I wanted a resolution, explanation, SOMETHING at the end. Why did it all start, and what made it stop????? I could make up some silly explanation that would be more satisfying than ‘we don’t really know’. Human love deactivates the toxins because it neutralizes some chemical in the plants that was triggered by too much stress and anger from humans blah blah blah. Dumb, yeah. But it would be SOMETHING. Baby born nine months later with sap flowing through his viens….LOL
June 14th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
You’re a poor writer with terrible taste in movies. How are you making money doing this?
June 14th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Kevin Carr, I wholeheartedly agree with your entire review.
I thought the acting/dialogue was a bit off at times, but the overall creepiness, the occasional all-out scares, the message, and, of course, the shock moments, were all on point. I was also at the edge of my seat from early on in the film.
Note: I also enjoyed Lady In the Water, so… (P.S. but very disappointed in The Village)
June 14th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
I will bet $5,000 to be paid to any major studio executive, or major producer’s favorite charity, that I can write a better script with as good a twist or better as any of M. Night’s movies, including The Sixth Sense. I will leave the judging up to any 3 script analysts that the executive chooses.
It’s time that this hack named Shyamalan is put out to pasture. Surely Hollywood can find better than this. My email address is dhall58@gmail.com.
I’m ready to put my money where my mouth is.
June 14th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Hey there Douglas Hall, I’ll bet no one gives a shit! No one knows of you and never will.
How about you lose that beer belly and get off your mother’s couch. Maybe then, you will
find some pussy and you can lie to women! At least lying to women will get you
something! Think about it or just kill yourself you hack.
Kind regards,
Eric Cash
PS. “DAVE” on the comments.. SUPPORT YOUR ARGUMENT YOU FUCKING LOSER. Where’s
your website and why aren’t you getting paid? HAHA KILL YOURSELF! The truth is so
obvious and in your face, do something about it!
June 14th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
i agree with you keven. some parts scared the crap out of me but some times the dialoge was a bit off.
June 15th, 2008 at 12:26 am
@Dave
It’s simple really, we make our money selling our bodies and fluids. There is no money to be made on the internet, thats ridiculous!
June 15th, 2008 at 2:37 am
i stand in solidarity with you, comrade. i really enjoyed The Happening and i suspect there
is just a trend/fad/conspiracy to hate Shyamalan. jealous much? i dunno. what i do know
is that The Happening has a few layers of messages within the story that people just don’t
see (or want to see). with Lady in the Water and this new film he is telling a story the way
he wants. why must Shyamalan follow all the rules of preconceived restraints created by
bitter critics? anyway, the movie’s grand. save the people, save the environment; love each
other and love the planet.
PS: i see beauty in all his films, even the ones that everyone loves to hate like The Village
and Lady in the Water.
June 16th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Kevin,
Are you kidding? “Creepy. Creepy as hell.”???
Did we see the same movie?
The only creepy element to the story was Betty Buckley and her schizophrenic behavior. What M. Night could have done was build a nice, tight story around her character and her house in the middle of nowhere…she was creepy…the house was creepy…the concept of the pipe that could pick up voices coming from the “slave” house was creepy. The thought of grasses, plants and trees that communicate with each other and emit toxic gases that kill people whenever the wind machine blows is not creepy. It’s stupid. Bad acting, lousy script, clueless characters, another messed-up M. Night waste of money coming down the pipeline? That’s creepy!
June 18th, 2008 at 2:00 am
I’ve never watched a show and felt so numb inside. Bad storyline, terrible cast (don’t get me wrong, I like Deschanel but this is not her kind of show), over use of wind machines and did anyone else saw the boom mic creeping in and out of scenes? ok, that HAS to be the creepiest part of the movie. I’m a HUGE Hitchcock fan and am appalled that Shyamalan has the audacity to compare himself to the late Hitchcock, who is truly the Master of Suspense.
June 18th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
M. Night Scamalan’s fans are people that are very gullible. The sixth sense was a good movie, but by no means is this guy hitchcock. He’s more of a hack. His “style” is pure Japanese horror. His premises are reject episodes of Twilight Zone and Outer Limits.
Signs - “Water hurt us, Xenu. Let’s explore it anyways, but lets do it naked.” - Xypher
Unbreakable - “Hey lets make a comic book movie with the hero not wearing tights, tights are sooo gay.” - M. Knight
The Village - “Hey, my fanbase only have a few brain cells, so let me personally explain the twist at the end! I’m a genius.” - M. Knight
Lady In The Water - “My kids came up with the idea, don’t blame me. Also they claimed I was the greatest writer in the world, not me.” - M. Knight
The Happening - “lets out run the wind!”