For a large portion of the film, Shyamalan ratchets up the intensity and suspense quite capably. The middle act was certainly spooky enough to keep me engaged, and it’s a good thing, because taking even one step back to look at the action in the context Shyamalan has presented it in reveals the entire thing to be a farce. In the moment, The Happening manages to be relatively scary, but once you know how it’s going to end, it’s hard to care. Whether the premise is agenda-driven or just the product of a crappy idea doesn’t rally matter – either way, it’s still a crappy idea.
In comparison to his recent work, The Happening is refreshing because it is at least free of the idiosyncrasies that were utterly dripping off of Lady in the Water. For a good portion of the film, Shyamalan plays it as a straight suspense/horror flick, but then we get to the end where we realize what just happened.
Shyamalan has struck out again.
The DVD comes with a nice set of special features, including about an hour’s worth of featurettes that are high in production value. Most of these are fairly interesting, although the subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle self-congratulatory nature of Shyamalan is annoying. Of the four deleted scenes, three are gorier versions of scenes already in the film. (In a different featurette, Shyamalan boasts of the original NC-17 rating the film got, as if to show just how audacious he is. Believe me, if that anecdote is true, these scenes were not the ones earning that rating.)
Probably the best moment on the special features comes on the gag reel where Wahlberg dares to question the mighty Shyamalan and pokes a nice hole through the point and plausibility of an entire scene. It’s really too bad he wasn’t there to do just that for the rest of the inconsistent script.
Article comments
1 - Derek Fleek
First off, I agree that the R rating is just a publicity scam. This supposedly "hard R" film is simply nothing more than a rough PG-13, or what I would call "soft R".
However, your statement claiming that "the subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle self-congratulatory nature of Shyamalan is annoying." isn't quite as accurate as you might think. I recall Shyamalan congragulating the CGI crew among others while being interviewed in the special features. And what might come off as "self-congratulatory nature" to some is just a confident filmmaker in the eyes of others.
Also, what might seem like a ridiculus concept to some is actually pretty intriguing. Science proves that plants do have the ability to evolve rapidly and produce toxins for enemies, and who is to say the humans aren't their number one enemy?
Agree or disagree, this is a very well written review and an assured point of view on the film itself. I just lean more to the disagreeing side.