The Film
Writer/Producer/Director M. Night Shyamalan's first R-rated outing is a tad more disturbing for its graphic depictions of bloody violence, but was just as noteworthy earlier this year for being a highly publicized "green thriller." With his famous pseudo-signature, the movie does end with a surprise of sorts, despite the environmental angle being common knowledge beforehand, so this time the truth is revealed in layers instead of as a cinematic bombshell. Fox in particular seems to have gone all Earth-sympathetic in recent years, and this cautionary tale works fairly well, as did The Simpsons Movie, and much more successfully than the would-be-operatic The Day After Tomorrow.
Combining a bunch of popular scientific theories, The Happening recounts a sudden rash of erratic behavior and unexplained deaths throughout the American Northeast. A science teacher and his wife (Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel) flee New York City, the first site affected, only to learn that there may be no escape. At times no more than a few steps away from certain doom, they assemble all of the available facts to determine that what was once suspected to be terrorist activity might instead be something far more dangerous.
The Picture
The 1.85:1 image shows a very faint but omnipresent film grain that is never particularly distracting. There is some twitchiness to the shadows and occasional artifacting on out-of-focus blades of grass and the like, but other than that The Happening has received an outstanding video master. Blacks are natural and a carefully balanced palette suggests a restraint to the colors. Most of the exterior scenes take place beneath overcast skies, and even the hues at sunny moments are a bit subdued versus what we would expect. More than enough of the fine textures of clothing, scenery, and actors' faces are clearly visible.
The 5.1-channel DTS HD Master Audio track exhibits excellent rear channel use, from some of the earliest scenes as bodies fall from high rooftops and crash-land behind us. Deliberately freaky directional effects are employed throughout to help keep us from becoming too complacent in our seats, while the shifting sounds of a busy park and all of the little sonic touches are so thoughtfully placed to render maximum creepiness. Wind is a character here, one of increasing malevolence as the story unfolds, and it literally surrounds us; loudly, quietly and every other way. James Newton Howard's music also drives the movie forward with deep, effortless bass.
The Extras
Fox is straddling both sides of the Blu-ray fence with a thoughtful Bonus View feature that supplies both picture-in-picture and an onscreen trivia track. Your player's not BD Profile 1.1-capable? No problem, you can choose to enjoy the running trivia without P-I-P, and/or watch those video segments independently, after the movie.
The rest of the bonuses are lower-tech, although almost all are in high-definition. About twelve minutes of deleted scenes are presented in HD with standard-def introductions by Shyamalan. "Train Shooting" (four minutes) analyzes the logistics of shooting in and around choo-choos, "A Day for Night" (seven minutes) shows the director at work on a typical day, "The Hard Cut" (nine minutes) discusses the pursuit of an R-rating, while "Forces Unseen" (five minutes) takes a look at how the wind effects were created.
"'I Hear You Whispering'" borrows a quote from Betty Buckley's character to introduce a four-minute tribute to the actress. "Visions of The Happening: A Making Of" provides a 12-minute overview of the production, and "Elements of a Scene" offers a ten-minute breakdown of a complex shot involving special effects. The gag reel shares two-and-a-half minutes of on-set laughs. The disc also includes the Motion Code file for D-Box interactive home entertainment systems, while a DVD inside the package carries Digital Copies of the film.
Final Thoughts
No, it's not another Sixth Sense but The Happening is a well-crafted film that keeps us off-kilter with more than a few jolts. The great audio and video quality help achieve that dark magic, and the Bonus View/HD extras are definitely worth a second look.
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