It Happened One Night. . .

Rating: Null/10 (16 June 2008)

As a writer, I enjoyed The Happening because I recognized it immediately as M. Night's tribute to Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.
He pulls out headlines from the news--the disappearance of bees, the mysterious red tide, a lethal prehistoric bacteria discovered in Australia--and uses the real or perceived threats from these as the backdrop to develop fear. In fact, the three fears are shared and spaced evenly in the beginning, middle and near the end of the film.
Instead of killer birds, there are killer plants. Well, actually the plants emit the neurotoxin that induces people into a state of creative suicide. Instead of the caged peace-loving lovebirds in Hitchcock's film, there are small houseplants--like cactus and succulents present in the homes they seek refuge in. True, there is no icy blonde like Tippi Hendron to save, but Zooey emits a blue-eyed vacant look and she's emotionally detached. Instead of crossing over by motorboat to the sleepy community of Bodega Bay, the main characters enter the small town of Filbert, which coincidentally, is the name for a small nut. The action moves to smaller and smaller groups and locations until it centers on three main characters--the husband, wife and their friends' 8-year old daughter.
There are horrific and violent scenes implied in the movie. We see the calm movement of people intent on offing themselves via lions, lawnmowers, guns, ropes, broken glass, etc. Sort of reminded me of the Suicidal Bunnies book.
Most fans of Night are used to tidy endings wrapped up with a bow--endings filled with heightened emotion and resolution. But he left this film open-ended, much like The Birds. The first attack was a warning to mankind. The plants are mad, menacing and malicious. Are they out to rid the planet of mankind, because man has not been kind to the planet? Maybe. We kill plants, don't we? And eat them! Not me though. Really, if any plants are listening, I've never liked salad.
At the conclusion, the happy family is filled with the promise of life back to a semi-state of normal except with a lot less people on the streets. Also the promise of a positive pregnancy test. Life goes on, right? The conflict is over. Things are back to normal. . .or are they?