A Solid, Albeit Imperfect, Tribute To 50s Sci Fi B Movies

Rating: 8/10 (15 August 2016)

"The Happening" is arguably one of the most critically slammed blockbusters of the past 10 years. Beloved as "so bad, it's good" cinema at best and regarded as an abysmal failure at worst, it's regarded by many as the film that began M. Night Shyamalan's descent from beloved visionary to embarrassment of the industry. However, when one looks at the movie from the perspective Shyamalan intended (As a cheesy tribute to 50s Sci-Fi a la "The Day The Earth Stood Still") it's not half bad. Don't get me wrong, "The Happening" isn't a film like "The Wolfman" or "Attack of the Clones" where I genuinely can't understand why people think it's terrible; it has problems. BIG ones. But for what it was trying to do, the film succeeds more often than it fails.
One thing I loved was how "The Happening" never took itself 100% seriously. Clever themes on the dangers of uncontrolled fear, emotion overpowering reason, environmentalism and strength of community aside, the story is somewhat silly; plants releasing toxins in the air making people kill themselves. However, unlike insipid films like "Winter's Tale" or "It Follows" that seem to be under the impression that "seriousness + themes=intelligence", "The Happening" KNOWS that the concept is BS. I know this because of the film's frequent use of bonkers dialogue ("You know hot dogs get a bad rap? They got a cool shape, they got protein. You like hot dogs right?") and intentionally campy (But not at all "bad." John Leguizamo in particular is outstanding as Elliot's terrified friend Julian, a character EXTREMELY out of his element in such a horrific and catastrophic event) acting reminiscent of B-Movie classics like "The Blob" and "The Body Snatchers." It's in the smart execution of an inherently stupid premise that "The Happening" shines.
And the execution is smart indeed. Hokiness aside, "The Happening" is extremely subtle in the delivery of its themes and certainly worthy of post-viewing analysis. Shyamalan's use of color to convey emotion (Blue representing calmness and yellow representing hope for example) is brilliant, and refreshing in an age where too many directors merely use a particular color scheme cause "it looks cool." Whatever issues one may have with the writing, visually it's an undeniably well directed film. Major props must also be given to Shyamalan for not being "on the nose" with the delivery of its themes or giving easy answers to questioning viewers. For example, while the film says that plants are responsible for the outbreak, there are several background visuals that many audience members may not even notice that imply that the film may not be talking about literal botanical plants, but by polluting, power plants (An idea that is also supported by easy to miss visual cues such as Elliot and his party hurrying past a real estate billboard subtitled "You Deserve This!") The film also toys with the possibility that the virus was released in the air long before the start of the movie, but only triggered/activated by negative emotion; that said, we never get a clear "yes" or "no" to said possibility.
The musical score is positively chilling, certainly among my personal favorites. There is an almost delicate beauty to it that slowly transitions into a much darker and more ominous tone. The music fits in perfectly with "The Happening"'s truly horrific and disturbing kills. M. Night really makes the most of his first R-Rated movie, making the suicide scenes as graphic and uncomfortable as possible (One particular scene involving a zookeeper is downright cringe worthy, and I mean that in the best possible way)
As I stated earlier, "The Happening" is not perfect, and I recognize that it has some major problems. Zooey Deschanel is positively DREADFUL as Elliot's cheating partner Alma, almost unbearably so. Her delivery barely resembles anything even REMOTELY humanoid, and every time she opens her mouth, my immersion in the film is shattered. Also, while I can enjoy most of the dialogue as part of the 50s Sci-Fi B movie thing the film was going for, some of the characters can occasionally speak in lines so over dramatic I could have sworn they were written exclusively for the trailer.
That said, I don't think that these problems are enough to wreck the mostly enjoyable experience I had with "The Happening." It's no masterpiece, but it's a damn impressive tribute to a long forgotten age. Distracting flaws aside, "The Happening" is a refreshingly self aware but surprisingly clever B-movie directed with the skill of a true artist.