Op-Ed: Movie Review of the Happening

In his latest attempt Writer/Director M. Night Shyamalan proves that an original concept does not always make for a great film.

One of the main reasons the movie fails is because Shyamalan is overly aggressive with the environmentalist overtones in the film. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with a writer throwing his opinions into a movie, but it did not work in this case. Take, for instance, the movie Rendition. There was a political message in that film, but it worked because the audience expected the message to be there. How could a movie about the United States government's involvement in the torture of individuals overseas not have a political message? The problem with The Happening is that the audience expects a suspenseful thriller with multiple interesting twists and turns in the plot and maybe a few gruesome deaths here and there. What they do not expect is the overly obtrusive political message. Shyamalan does deliver on the gruesome deaths (a man runs himself over with a riding lawnmower) and the suspense (through his skillful directing, not his writing), but it is not enough to save the film from its uncharacteristically linear plot. Another thing worth mentioning is the decision to use phrases like "Something is happening", "An event is happening" and "What's happening?" nearly every ten minutes in the film. It begins getting redundant and incredibly annoying after the first half hour. The movies finale is also relatively dull and prototypical for a Hollywood flick, so don't expect a profound final plot twist. If your looking for some cheap thrills and don't mind being beaten over the head with the constant message of "Stop killing the trees or they might start killing us" then you should go see this movie. Otherwise, spend the money on something more valuable. Even if you are an environmentalist, your time might be better spent watching An Inconvenient Truth again.