THE HAPPENING
February 16th 2010 02:55
Category: Videos
Directed by: M Night Shyamalan
Written by: M Night Shyamalan
Producer: M Night Shyamalan, Sam Mercer & Barry Mendel
Starring: Mark Wahlberg (Eliot), Zooey Deschanel (Alma), John Leguizamo (Julian), Betty Buckley (Mrs Jones), Ashlyn Sanchez (Jess), Spencer Breslin (Josh), Robert Bailey Jnr (Jared), M Night Shyamalan (Joey), Frank Collison (Nursery Owner) & Victoria Clark (Nursery Owner’s Wife)
Produced by: 20th Century Fox in assoc with UTV Motion Pictures & Spyglass Entertainment
Released by: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Running Time: 88 minutes Rating: MA 15
The other Saturday my local library had another one of its book launches and amongst all the goodies arrayed on tables for patrons to peruse and borrow was this particular flick in DVD format. Another production from the mind and pen of M Night Shyamalan who frankly is noted for his truly suspenseful and somewhat eldritch storytelling, I think he really understands the nature of horror and that the mundane is often the most horrifying thing of all; a fact that he seems to employ to masterful effect in this feature. Even more so when he takes real world fears and events and also weaves them into the tapestry of the tale to unfold on the screen before the audience.
When I first heard about this film it had appeared at my local cinema and then just as quickly disappeared before I could see it or even work out what the heck it was all about. In fact when I heard a few people I knew talking about the impression I received from them was completely different from what actually occurs, just goes to show that sometime it pays not to pay attention to the opinions of others, best to discover things for yourself as it were. Once again Mark Wahlberg is in the starring role, and I have to confess once the dust had settled I don’t think anyone else could have played the part any better. But more of that later…
From the Big Apple to the City of Brotherly Love, where we first meet Eliot, a high school science teacher who is explaining that for some reason all across the country the bees have just vanished. He is polling his class as to what might have caused such a major event. Eliot is the kind of character in a movie like this who exemplifies all the positive qualities of humanity as well as being somewhat out of his depth in the situation into which he suddenly finds himself dropped. He is effectively an everyman kind of character who the audience is meant to emphasise with and frankly Mark Wahlberg hits the right notes smack on from go to woe. You can’t help but like the character and he is ably supported by Zooey Deschanel who plays his girlfriend Alma. This is a couple who are the cusp of their relationship, it is starting to go somewhere and then the catastrophe hits them and the world in which they live.
Naturally with a sudden major spate of deaths in New York City and recent history being what it is, what with 9/11, the first reaction of the authorities and the media is to claim that it is the work of a terrorist group releasing some kind of nerve toxin or bioweapon into the atmosphere of the Big Apple. Oh my god the tragedy, the tragedy, but then things begin to expand rapidly throughout the North East Atlantic Seaboard and eventually even the authorities realise that there is something more going on than what they can comprehend. Could it be an alien invasion or a precursor to said invasion? The answer is somewhat more mundane than aliens but no less frightening for the implications of its impact on human society.
Fortunately for all those living in the United States the whole thing eventually reaches a conclusion, the carnage and chaos peters out and Eliot, Alma and the daughter of deceased friend Julian survive. Why they have managed to make it through the catastrophe that has beset their country is unknown, still they are not alone and after three months it seems as things gradually return to normal in the North East Atlantic seaboard. Conspiracy theories abound along with dire warnings that what has been survived is but a warning of things to come, a test if you will of a more devastating event. And with that warning things drift to gay Paris and we see the same events that occurred in the start of the movie begin to play out in the city of lights.
For me The Happening was a pleasant surprise, I enjoyed watching it and felt that my time was well worthwhile spent sitting in front of my computer letting it wash over me. Actually one thing that did crop into my head after watching this film, would it make Vegans reconsider their lifestyle after watching it? If you’re looking for a horror movie with a difference then this would definitely be right up your alley, coming in at just a little bit under an hour and a half it’s a feature that you can cruise few without any hassle.
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