Pretty good although very flawed movie.

Rating: 8/10 (10 October 2008)

In a seemingly normal morning in New York City. Some people are experiencing some things like lost of memory, incoherent speaking, some do harm themselves, some turn killing people and others killed themselves. A science biology teacher (Mark Wahlberg), his wife (Zooey Deschanel), their friend (John Leguizamo) and their friend's daughter (Ashlyn Sanchez) find themselves on the run away from their city of Phildelphia. Thinking that they will be safe in the country but it turns much more worst, because of the unexplained phenomenon has something to do with mother nature.
Written and Directed by M. Night Shaylaman (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, The Village) made an intriguing horror film, which the director nearly pulls off making a hard R-Rated flick. There's some memorable violent sequences but maybe not enough of it. Walhberg is good in the role and the supporting cast are fine. The movie starts out great and it's impressive for awhile. Effective first half soon loses its edge and never quite recover but at least, it's an improvement over the director's previous feature ¨Lady in the Water¨.
DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an good Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD includes Deleted Scenes with introduction by the director, featurettes and an gag reel. ¨The Happening¨ isn't quite the feature, i was expecting but it's somewhat close. It's the kind of movie that starts with a bang but ends in a whimper. Although despite all the flaws, it's still worth a look. Alan Ruck and Brian O'Halloran appears in cameos. (*** 1/2 out of *****).