The Happening

Right now you can watch The Happening on Hollywood Suite — and it goes further with its ideas than most genre entertainment bothers to. A tight runtime that never overstays its welcome. 3,996 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. Mark Wahlberg leads a cast that never lets the concept overwhelm the characters. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Hollywood Suite.

The Happening arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. What makes The Happening work is that the ideas never crowd out the people having them. When a deadly airborne virus threatens to wipe out the northeastern United States, teacher Elliot Moore and his wife Alma flee from contaminated cities into the countryside in a fight to discover the truth. Is it terrorism, the accidental release of some toxic military bio weapon -- or something even more sinister? Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel lead a cast that makes the ambitious moments land. It was released in 2008. The rules of The Happening's world are consistent enough that the big swings never feel like cheating. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

Sci-fi fans who want ideas alongside the spectacle will find The Happening genuinely rewarding. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. Best experienced as a single, sustained watch from start to finish. Watch for Mark Wahlberg in particular — the performance elevates the material. Satisfying on multiple levels.