The Happening (2008): A Review

Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg) is a science teacher at a school in New York. While giving a lecture, he's interrupted by the vice principal for a teacher meeting. He learns that Central Park has been hit by what the authorities think is a terrorist attack and that class will be cancelled for the remainder of the day. On his way out, he meets fellow teacher Julian (John Leguizamo). The two hatch a plan to head to Philadelphia with their families in order to avoid any further attacks. Soon they discover that the infection actually flips a switch in your brain that disengages an individual's sense of survival. The group is now trying to stay away from any populated area and figure out the origin of this devastating disease.

When I first heard about the idea of this film I was pretty excited. The notion of biological warfare that took away one of our basic instincts was very frightening. Unfortunately, we find out that it isn't a terrorist attack at all. I don't want to go into that any further for fear I'll give portions of the movie away. Wahlberg does a very good job with his character as does his wife Alma Moore. Both show a lot of emotion for Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez) the more the film progresses. Alternately, the relationship between each other seems like a monk wrote it. There's no passion, and the dialogue between the two is, at times, completely horrible. The lighting is decent, as are the limited special effects. These things don't help dig the story out of the hole it digs itself into. I really like Mark Wahlberg as an actor but he should have run away from this script. I give this one a 5/10. I'm really not sure what M. Night Shyamalan was thinking while writing or directing it. I wouldn't advise watching this one unless there is absolutely nothing else on television.