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Movie review: ‘The Happening’

By Jennifer Iverson/Contributor

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Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel in s scene from "The Happening." / 20th Century Fox

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, “The Happening” is a tense and often gory thriller/fantasy that unfortunately lacks the originality and twists of his most ambitious and successful film, “The Sixth Sense.” Presenting an underlying (although thinly drawn) “message” about protecting the environment, Shyamalan stumbles a bit with the goofy and ambiguous script that doesn’t offer much for the cast to work with and results in a number of overwrought performances.

When an unidentifiable “plague” infiltrates Central Park causing immediate disorientation and suicidal behavior, a Philadelphia science teacher, Elliot (Mark Wahlberg), agrees with his best friend and colleague, Julian (John Leguizamo), to gather their respective families and evacuate the Northeast.

After Elliot picks up his inexplicably spaced-out wife, Alma (Zooey Deschanel), they meet Julian and his young daughter, (Jess) Ashlyn Sanchez, at the train station and more reports attributed to terrorism begin to come in as a serious of random “attacks” occur and estimates of self-induced fatalities escalate. Eventually the train breaks down in the sparsely inhabited countryside and Elliot and Alma agree to accompany Jess to a “safe place” so that Julian can hitch a ride to New Jersey and locate his wife who he can no longer reach via cell phone.

After some frantic speculation, Elliot forms a theory determining that the wind, plants and trees are emitting some sort of deadly toxins and after witnessing some particularly gruesome occurrences the trio ends up in a spooky farm house owned by a peculiar recluse Mrs. Jones (Betty Buckley), who begrudgingly offers them shelter and due to her bizarre behavior ultimately saves their lives.

Wahlberg and Deschanel don’t share much in terms of screen chemistry. Their characterizations seem forced and disingenuous at times which is exacerbated by the often corny dialogue. Buckley fares the best in her small but appropriately creepy role.

While appreciating the “don’t mess with Mother Nature” theme, fans of Shyamalan will likely find this offering rather disappointing but that probably won’t keep “The Happening” from enjoying a respectable run at the box office at least until the upcoming wave of summer blockbusters hit theaters in the next couple of weeks.

2 stars