The Happening (2008) ***1/2

Rating: 9/10 (12 January 2009)

I'll never understand why so many people are down on M. Night Shyamalan, who I like to call my Savior of Modern Horror. I've only seen SIGNS, THE SIXTH SENSE (both exceptional) and THE VILLAGE (decent enough) but I love the way the man relies on tension and fear, trying to make you think a bit when telling a story, without blowing it up into mind-numbing action and special effects overkill. I am especially surprised when it's purists like me, who usually prefer the older styles of the genre and science fiction stories of the Twilight Zone variety, who are first in line to pounce. I just don't get that. The man is good at what he does (though I admittedly have yet to see LADY IN THE WATER, and I have trepidations reserved for when I do get to it).
In this terrifying story written by Shyamalan, a strange and unknown source is causing citizens of cities and small towns in the Northeast to begin rambling incoherently and then seeking to commit suicide, by any gruesome means readily available to them. Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel are a married couple swept up in the nightmare, who join up with strangers bonded together in their mad dash to try and vacate the infected areas, though the deadly plague keeps surrounding them. Is it terrorism? Something in the water? The wind? Nature gone berserk?
This is a scary concept that works, though I'm a sucker for desperate end-of-the-world movies of this type which leave us no sure-footed understanding or way to escape the horror. The only things I could find mildly lacking here was that Wahlberg isn't a great actor, and he wouldn't be my prime choice for a film like this. Zooey Deschanel leaves something to be desired as well, but the events that are going on around these two are suspenseful, intriguing and frightening enough that it doesn't interfere with the intense experience. Some of the kill scenes are properly disturbing, and I liked the ominous music score. There are a few silly lines now and then ("cheese and crackers!"), but this is a quibble. I very much enjoyed Betty Buckley's eccentric old lady character, and she was also an asset to the film. John Leguizamo touched a nerve in his part as a loving father/husband, and good friend of Wahlberg's.
M. Night is a master horror/sci-fi filmmaker, and we need more of him and his work, especially in this present day and age of mindless cookie cutter genre films that rely on an over-abundance of CGI and chess piece characters. I am completely baffled as to why there's such an outcry against his movies after THE SIXTH SENSE. ***1/2 out of ****