The Happening (and then The Incredible Hulk)
Two films reviewed in one day? Well, I saw them one after the other, but to make things a bit more readable, I have separated them in my mind for your pleasure. Incredible Hulk review will probably be later. I’ve been on a train all day, stop hassling me.
First though, The Happening, by M. Night Shyamalan, purveyor of such fine wares as The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable and wanky poo giant porcupines in The Village. The Happening is one of those films that I could really ruin with spoilers (well, taint at least) so it’ll be after the break.
The Happening is much what I expected from M. Night; a creepy makes-you-think story in which a toxic, air-bourne gas is causing people to act very strangely and partake in some mass suicide. Although it seems inevitable these days, the gas at first is attributed to terrorists, but is later thought to be a chemical released by plants when they are threatened. Obviously, the toxin is then spread over a large area causing hundreds of people to off themselves in some really gruesome ways, my favourite of which is when a group of people drive down a road lined with trees, each one adorned with a ladder and several people who have hanged themselves from the branches. This isn’t a jumpy moment, or film, for that matter, but the woman in front of me treated us all to some wonderful blood curdling Scream-esque shrieks throughout.
Anyway, it goes on for a bit longer, and more people die. Our main leads by this point have been established as Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel (I could listen to her talk all day, but I’m increasingly irritated by the spelling of her name) and some little girl. I would have mentioned this earlier, and it sounds like a really big problem, but for me, this film is let down by the cast. The concept and the ideas are awesome, despite the slightly preachy ‘the earth is defending itself against people’ message, but there is not one ounce of chemistry between Wahlberg and Deschanel and it makes it all a little bit harder to engage with. As I’ve come to expect with Shylaman’s films there isn’t a proper ending either. Just a big space where all the stupid people in the cinema go “But I don’t understand why there wasn’t an ending.”
Overall, I loved it. 4 Marky Mark crotch shots out of 5.
