The Happening (2008) - Shyamalan's out-there, unsettling, undervalued sci-fi horror

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+ Best Mystery of the Year + Best Sci-fi Horror of the Year

 

Something is clearly completely off in the world on this blue-tinted poster for M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening

 

Out of the blue, trees begin to send out a poison that makes people commit suicide, and that is leading people out into grotesque and frightening situations all around the world.

 

The Happening is written and directed by Indian-born American master filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan (Praying with Anger (1992)), whose 8th feature it is.

Widely ridiculed and unappreciated, this film is mainly a problem for audiences who lack imagination. It is a kind of modern version of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963) and similarly unsettling, - if one has the capacity to be taken up by it. James Newton Howard's (Detroit (2017)) excellent score only adds to this dimension of pleasant genre recall. Shymalan mixes horrific images of events not related to the core story; a couple with a girl, who also fight with the logic of making sense of the strange phenomenon. 

Mark Wahlberg (The Italian Job (2003))  has one of his better, charming roles as a physics teacher. Also good are Zooey Deschanel (Yes Man (2008)), John Leguizamo (Sisters (2015)) and Betty Buckley (Oz (2001-03)) as the old, crazy lady. The Happening at times is a bit out there and wacky, to be sure, but it remains a scary dose of existentialism, and to me it is (strangely) very anxiety-provoking.

 

Related posts:

 

M. Night Shyamalan: Glass (2019) - Shyamalan buries past effort in ominous superhero nonsense 

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

The Visit (2015) - Shyamalan's creepy mini-comeback

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]  

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Reportedly 60 mil. $

Box office: 163.4 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 2.72 times its cost)

[The Happening premiered 10 June (New York) and runs 90 minutes. Shooting took place from August - November 2007 in Paris, France, New York and Pennsylvania, including in Philadelphia. The film opened #3, behind fellow new release The Incredible Hulk and holdover hit Kung Fu Panda, to a 30.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#5) and grossed 64.5 mil. $ (39.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 12.1 mil. $ (7.4 %) and Japan with 11.3 mil. $ (6.9 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. In 2010 Wahlberg said in a press conference for The Fighter (2010) that The Happening was a "really bad movie." The film accrued more than 22.3 mil. $ on video sales in North America. Shyamalan returned with The Last Airbender (2010). Wahlberg returned in May Payne (2008). The Happening is rotten at 18 % with a 4.00/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of The Happening?

The Namesake (2006) - Nair succeeds with poignant immigrant tale

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Warm colors adorn this pleasant poster for Mira Nair's The Namesake

Gogol grows up with Indian parents in the US, where he becomes Nick. But following his father's death, he reassumes his birth identity as Gogol, while his cultural division is not without its hurdles.

The Namesake is written by Sooni Taraporevala (Mississippi Masala (1991)), adapting the same-titled 2003 novel by Jumpa Lahiri (The Lowland (2013)), and directed by Mira Nair (Salaam Bombay! (1988)).

The Namesake is a colorful account of fate, beautiful in a way, and it is a terrific contemporary portrayal of a problematic life as a second-generation immigrant in the West.

The acting is fair, and the great challenge of filming this 30-year spanning story succeeds commendably. The Namesake is in a way perhaps almost too well-meaning to really take new ground.

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 9.5 mil. $

Box office: 20.3 mil. $

= Flop (returned 2.13 times its cost)

[The Namesake premiered 2 September (Telluride Film Festival) and runs 121 minutes. Shooting took place from March - June 2005 in India, including in Calcutta, Sydney, Australia, New York, Denver, Colorado and in Boston, Massachusetts. The film opened #26 to a 248k $ first weekend in 6 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #12 and in 335 theaters (different weeks), grossing 13.5 mil. $ (66.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were India with 1.8 mil. $ (8.9 %) and the UK with 1 mil. $ (4.9 %). The film was nominated for an Independent Spirit award and won a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. Nair returned with 3 shorts prior to her theatrical return with Amelia (2009). Kal Penn (We Are Men (2013, TV-series)) returned in Deck the Halls (2006); Irrfan Khan (Haider (2014)) in Deadline: Sirf 24 Ghante (2006); and Tabu (Khanjar (2003)) in Sarhad Paar (2006). The Namesake is certified fresh at 85 % with a 7.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Namesake?