It 's All About the Incredibly Tense Atmosphere

Rating: 7/10 (18 June 2008)

I purposely went into this movie knowing nothing about it. We learned from his debut film and hit "The Sixth Sense", that you should not try to find out about his movies' plots before you go see it. After the success of "The Sixth Sense", the reviews had been mixed. However, I still consider his movies must-sees on the big screen. While I liked "The Village", "Signs" was just so-so. But I positively hated "The Lady in the Water" to the point that I almost walked out on it. After that, I have learned not to expect too much anymore.
Now in this latest one "The Happening," the concept is very interesting. People in the Northeast United States are suddenly stricken with an inexplicable urge to kill themselves. You can imagine the tension built around people trying to figure out and escape this unknown entity that seems to be coming from the wind and the plants around them. As I wrote that last sentence, it seems to be an absurd storyline. But on screen as directed by the suspense master M. Night, it was not bad at all. The way it was rendered made me empathize with the plight of these hapless people.
The lead star is Marky Mark Walberg was like I have never seen him before. He plays a high school science teacher in Philadelphia in this one. He struggles with his own problems with his wife (played by the very cute Zooey Deschamel) as he tries to escape the unknown scourge of nature. The train they were riding to get out of town had to make a forced stop in small town Filbert, Pennsylvania as transportation systems also go haywire. From there it was a process of figuring out how on earth they could keep alive.
Maybe it will take an open attitude to like this film. Skeptics and nit-pickers will find a lot of things to criticize. For me, I liked this movie as a whole. The corny parts were there all right, but I felt they can just be glossed over without affecting the overall feel. Just be there to "enjoy" the tension and the atmosphere of the whole (hopefully unreal) human experience unfolding on the screen. It is most definitely there for all of us to feel and be enveloped in.
P.S. As a bonus, they finally showed the trailer of the very hush-hush upcoming "X-Files" Movie!!! That is definitely my most anticipated movie event in the coming month.