Literary HackThe Happening
December 12th 2008 21:50
The tale of an eerie and unknown phenomenon causing people to kill themselves, M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening is just an overall sad piece of work. Despite having a cast of several great actors and actresses it definitely missed its calling. The characters in this film did little to engage the audience, they were underdeveloped sad portrayals of people trying to survive a horrible occurence. What little spark of emotion that may have been provoked came from feeling pity for the veritable onslaught of humans taking their own lives. And even this was fleeting as it was almost in the form off screen gunshots or screams, followed by the occasional body falling to the ground or far off and fleeting glimpse of the aftermath.
As a suspense film it was lackluster, relying heavily on sadly haunting music and slow filming speeds to create a sense of foreboding that just made for a somber tale. The only true suspense in the film came via a cranky old women who opens her home to our leading actor's small group seeking shelter from the happening. Her outbursts of cruelty and psychosis come far too late to make up for the rest of the films lack of intrigue. What little the story offers in way of explanation for the happening seems like an ill-begotten attempt to promote consciousness of the impact humans have on the earth
| 66 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
Subscribe to this blog
