best post 9/11 disaster film

Rating: Null/10 (14 June 2008)

This is not just light, silly popcorn fare, as some people would present it. Expect to see something disturbing, something that sets your nerves on end. It may take shocking, unflinching scenes to reach certain people and put them in a state receptive to the speculations planted along the way which allow us to reflect on the mystery of the story's threat and by extension the fact of human influence upon the environment. The tone set and the gradual reveal of each new stage of trouble makes the Twilight Zone premise play as plausible and the inevitability of horror is riveting. After the first coda, there was one yahoo that booed at the screening, but his second noise after the final coda seemed less critical. A misanthrope at the end personifies the worst of community spirit but so much has been woven by the time she turns up that she is clearly part of the film's fabric and thesis. The film should at least appeal to people who like to slow past an accident knowing they may see something awful. Awful but very well done and unflinching. We become our own worst enemies, on more than one level. The film seemed to fly by, as well. I recognized an actor from Clerks in a silent bit role that must have included some dialog when he signed on; it plays as a bit of a distraction for me but it wouldn't register for a non-clerks fan. What we may gain is a sense of loss as each fleeting character is introduced and confronts death. I had thought the movie would be about a mere prank, but it is not. I hope the makers of the proposed remake of the Birds give up when they see The Happening. Maybe not give up on life, but just their own stab at man-versus-nature. The Happening is a keeper, ultimately not as dark in its resolution as The Mist but likely to be appreciated by the same audience.