DVD Release Date:  October 7, 2008
Theatrical Release Date:  June 13, 2008
Rating:  R (for violent and disturbing images)
Genre:  Drama/Sci-Fi
Run Time:  91 min.
Director:  M. Night Shyamalan
Actors:  Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Spencer Breslin, Jeremy Strong

EDITOR’S NOTE:  The following review contains discussion of adult subject matter that is not appropriate for young readers.  Parents, please exercise caution.

Back when Haley Joel Osment’s character was “seeing dead people” and audiences discovered that his psychologist, played to perfection by Bruce Willis, was really dead all along (gasp!) in 1999’s The Sixth Sense, director/writer M. Night Shyamalan earned rave reviews for his unexpectedly twisty endings. In fact, that’s exactly what everyone grew to expect with each new film he created—which, in turn, is probably why he started rebelling stylistically with 2004’s The Village and 2006’s Lady in the Water.

But for anyone who sat through either of those films and inevitably left with far more questions than answers, let’s just say you ain’t seen nothing yet—thanks to Shyamalan’s latest endeavor, The Happening. Not only are there no tidy (or even quasi-rational) answers to why people are spontaneously killing themselves (yep, you read that right), but the movie actually gets more confusing—and eye-roll inducing—as the minutes tick on by.

See, one of the chief problems with Shyamalan’s first R-rated flick is that it’s all style and little substance. The story begins on what seems to be a particularly ordinary morning in New York City’s Central Park. The sky is blue; people are out and about, enjoying the day. Well, until the unthinkable happens. …

With no explanation, a number of people momentarily freeze in place before simultaneously ending their lives in a number of gruesome ways. And unlike the subtle eeriness that’s building until those freaky green monsters show up in 2002’s Signs, Shyamalan opts for the Saw variety of gruesomeness (see “Violence” under Cautions, below) that someone can easily execute within the wide parameters of the “R” rating.

Sure, there’s no doubt that the movie is beautifully shot and hits all the right notes with a moving score. But apparently all of Shyamalan’s attention was focused on the inherent shock value, because the script itself is an odd, clunky mess that doesn’t give an otherwise talented cast much with which to work.