Central Park, New York: People on the sidewalks suddenly stop, become disoriented, then calmly and matter-of-factly use whatever means they can to kill themselves. Is it a chemical attack by terrorists? A mutant virus that has escaped into the air? Aliens? Global warming? Something even darker, and more real? M. Night Shyamalan returns to what he does best: exploring and drawing tension from the silent enemy that could very well be walking among us.

The Happening is the quieter little brother of I Am Legend and Spielberg’s version of The War of the Worlds. Mark Wahlberg plays a Philadelphia science teacher who tries to get out of Dodge as calamity approaches, with his wife (Zooey Deschanel) and his best friend (John Leguizamo), who has his young daughter in tow. They attempt to save as many people as they possibly can while they flee the Northeast, where the “situation” seems concentrated. What kind of a suspenseful thriller would it be if they all made it out alive?

This is Shyamalan’s first R-rated film, and though it doesn’t seem particularly gory, it is tense. Granted, the script is a bit awkward and cliché at times – “I’m scared!” "It’ll be all right.” – and James Horner’s score is very heavy handed, but you know a film has been effectively frightful when you start considering selling your house in the big city and moving out to the country, or at least planning your own exit strategy.

Welcome back, M. Night Shyamalan!

Rated R.

LJM