The Happening

Like just about everyone else, I was terribly disappointed by The Lady in the Water and wasn't sure what to expect from Shyamalan's latest release. I'd heard the rumors about The Happening being predictable, pretentious, and stupid, but as always, I wanted to see it for myself before I decided anything.

Essentially, the film is about -- and no, this isn't a spoiler -- a mass outbreak of confusion, panic, and death. As the population on the East Coast rapidly whittles itself down, the survivors search for answers, looking for someone or something to blame for hundreds of gruesome suicides.

Some suspect the government may be to blame, and some worry about a connection to nuclear testing. Others think plants may have caused the outbreak, as plants are known to release chemicals to aid their own survival. Yet others suspect water contamination. The behavior of the characters leads the audience to suspect a connection to the exhibition of strong emotions or to the number of people in one spot when an outbreak occurs.

In the end, the audience isn't given a reason why people spontaneously stop what they're doing, say nonsensical things, and then kill themselves. This is the point where the average viewer says, "Oh god, that was stupid. I can't believe I wasted my time with this."

But the entire point behind the movie is that there is no cause.

To me, the movie is a metaphor for behavior in society today. People are constantly looking for something to blame -- the media, terrorism, specific ethnic or social groups, technology, education, environmental changes, religious sects, etc. -- for a great number of problems. However, people are so focused on finding a cause that they don't attempt to fix current problems (just as none of the victims in the film were given any help) or prevent anything further from happening. Instead, they panic, point fingers, and end up focusing on something that's not really the cause.

I think Night intentionally threw in things to distract the audience and make us think they might have caused the deaths, but the point is that we're not supposed to find the cause. Our behavior as an audience mirrors the behavior of the society Night is criticizing and analyzing through the film.

Again, Night has created a film that is hated by people who are afraid to think deeply enough in order to like it. It's much easier to dismiss it as "not that scary" or "pointless" than to stop and think about how our behavior as viewers is reflected in the very film we're watching.

True, the film isn't perfect. I agree that showing the characters' horrified faces as they look at a yet-unknown terror has become trite. The music in the film is too obvious (although I did appreciate knowing when I should brace myself for a jump scene). The dialogue is stilted, and the stock footage of scenery was forced when he started using it two films ago in The Village. But I don't think it deserves all the criticism it's getting. It's a great film, as long as the audience is willing to feel confused and move to a degree of thinking that most Hollywood films don't require.