The Happening is an unfortunate mix of an undeveloped script with good potential and a haphazardly approached vehicle for an environmental message.

Rating: 5/10 (4 May 2014)

Created in 2008, The Happening follows the adventures of Elliot Moore (played by Mark Wahlberg), his wife Alma (played by Zooey Deschanel), and for a great portion of the film, their more-or-less adopted daughter, Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez). Other characters make appearances, such as Jess's actual father (Julian, played by John Leguizamo), but none of them tend to stick around for very long. In fact, most of them feel forced, as if they were inserted into the film artificially in order to create more emotional content for the main characters and their situation, but this usually falls short. The main message of the film, that we are destroying the planet and it will eventually seek revenge, is told by way of a "natural disaster". As we eventually learn, the plants are upset at us for what we have done to the planet and are releasing toxins which coerce us into taking our own lives. This prompts cities on the East Coast (which is the main area of "attack") to semi-calmly evacuate and through this we follow our main characters on their quest for safety and a deeper understanding of the events happening to them.
In general, the impending sense of dread in this film is at odds with the rushed feeling of the work as a whole. We are given the sense that in this world the exact nature of the threat is not quite known, and as Elliot tries to determine this (through his scientific methods) the constant lingering chase of death creates a dramatic tension. There is good use of slow cuts and close-up camera angles to enhance the impending sense of doom, but at times the plot gets in its own way. Characters are haphazardly introduced sometimes seemingly for the sole purpose of having them taken away dramatically. For instance, we are heavy-handedly endeared to the two children who accompany Elliot, Alma and Jess for a short while only to have them graphically and violently taken away minutes later seemingly for the sole purpose of keeping the sense of dread heavy and palpable. Their introduction and subsequent deaths are nothing more than contrived mechanisms to enhance tension. We are led to believe that people are being broken down by the terror all around them (even though it is mostly unseen) and reverting back to baser, more violent instincts to protect solely themselves and their property. I suppose this speaks to the moral at the core of the film and to the opinion of the writer, which seems to be that for a majority of the population (the unenlightened perhaps?) when the dark times come, we are all just beasts inside. I feel, however, that with a bit more time and effort, these characters could have either been given more seamlessly integrated roles, or could have been removed completely and the plot reworked to express their ideas more coherently through further development of the main leads.
Still, there are redeeming qualities from a cinematic standpoint that keep this film above water. An emphasis on sound is used to good effect – as we learn more about the threat the plants pose, we are increasingly aware of the wind in each scene. As the intensity ramps up, so does the blustering threat of death, to the point that seeing the trees begin to waver in the background makes everyone, including the viewer, quite nervous. I would like to say that this film at the end of its journey completes its quest to make the viewer more aware of environmental issues we face, but unfortunately I feel that most viewers would leave the film instead wondering more about the other threads of story seemingly jammed into place. Other films centered around this theme, such as the 2007 film I Am Legend more elegantly expose the main issue of man's inability to survive in concert with nature (though this time by means of a virus), but the message remains clear: if we do not correct our divergence from nature we are doomed to be overtaken by it. The Happening just happens to stumble on its way to deliver this message.