Trailer Tuesday: The Happening

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The Happening is the latest from Sixth Sense writer-director M. Night Shyamalan, who seems in recent years to have developed a bloated sense of cinematic self importance to rival Uwe Boll. Shyamalan's last film, the fairy tale-tinged Lady in the Water was an absolute turkey, but his earlier efforts, The Village, Signs, Unbreakable and, of course, The Sixth Sense, have endured film audiences to him.

I know I for one have seen all of Shyamalan's films at the cinema, lured in by the supernatural mystery so often hinted at in the trailers.


The Happening looks more like Shyamalan is returning to a topic he is most comfortable at depicting - mass hysteria as humans face an unknown threat. It's obvious that The Happening is, like The Village, a commentary on irrational fears generated by governments and the media towards the threat of terrorism.

Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel star as an estranged couple who flee mysterious, cataclysmic "attacks" on US cities with Wahlberg's teaching colleague John Leguizamo and their children in tow. Rumour has it that the "attacks" have something to do with a gas that triggers mass suicides.

From the trailer, The Happening looks like a solid survival horror flick, and it certainly piqued my interest. The first, and to my knowledge, only, preview review of the film has however been exceptionally negative. Read it here - but beware of spoilers.


I'm still keen for the movie though, and will definitely be there on the first week of release. With Shyamalan films, you really need to make up your mind for yourself, even if in the end you are disappointed.

The Happening opens in the USA on the oh-so-appropriate Friday the 13th (of June). A South African release date has yet to be announced but I believe its opening will be sooner rather than later this year, given that the trailer is already showing in local cinemas.

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