In THE HAPPENING, M. Night Shyamalan serves up over-the-top, apocalyptic strangeness. The film opens onto New York City's Central Park with a crowd of people enjoying an idyllic summer day. The carefree scene soon takes a terrifying turn, when out of nowhere, hordes of people begin to commit suicide en masse. People scramble to make sense of the pandemonium, and many believe it is a terrorist attack. It appears that some sort of deadly toxin is being released into the air. Cut to Elliot (Mark Wahlberg) a science teacher in Philadelphia. When he learns of the attack on New York, he meets up with his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel), his friend Julian (John Leguizamo), and Julians's daughter, Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez). They make plans to get out of the city via train, but the train is evacuated in the middle of a small Pennsylvania town. When they learn that the mysterious toxin is spreading its way across the Northeast, they break up into groups, with Elliot, Alma, and Jess running through open farmland in search of safety. They are unsure of where to hide, or what exactly they are hiding from, until Elliot slowly forms a theory about the threat. He fights to keep Alma and Jess free from harm, and the film builds to a bizarre, unsettling climax, with Shyamalan's usual surprise ending.

Shyamalan's premise of escaping an unknown, unexplainable attack is a timely one, and is quite chilling in concept. However, while he at times appears to be groping for the frenzied scariness of THE BIRDS, THE HAPPENING's outlandish death scenes and implausible plot line often veer closer to B-movie classics. The film doesn't match the clever creepiness of THE SIXTH SENSE, but for fans of campy horror ą la THE EVIL DEAD, it is truly something to behold.

Blu-ray Disc Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
DTS Master Audio 5.1 Surround - English
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English, French, Spanish
Subtitles - English, French, Spanish - Optional

Disc 1:
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes - 1. Deleted Scenes with Introduction by M. Night Shyamalan
2. Elliot and Alma Fight
3. Lion Attack (Extended Version)
4. Music Recital
5. Survivalist Porch (Extended Version)
Featurette - 1. The Hard Cut
2. I Hear You Whispering
3. The Happening - Visions of The Happening: A Making Of.
4. A Day for Night
5. Elements of a Scene
6. Train Shooting
7. Forces Unseen
8. DBOX (Use Logo)
9. Gag Reel
Trailer - Forced Trailers

Disc 2: Digital Copy

Distributor Notes: From M. Night Shyamalan, the writer-director of The Sixth Sense and Signs, comes a gripping thriller about a family on the run from a mysterious and deadly phenomenon. Academy Award® Nominee Mark Wahlberg (2006 Best Supporting Actor - The Departed) stars as Elliot Moore, an ordinary man trying to save his family from a terrifying, invisible killer. As Elliot begins to discover the true nature of what is lurking out there, it soon becomes clear that no one - and nowhere - is safe.

Source: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Mark Wahlberg: American actor, BOOGIE NIGHTS,
Zooey Deschanel: ALMOST FAMOUS
John Leguizamo: American Actor/Writer
Betty Buckley: American film, stage and television actress
Ashlyn Sanchez: Actress

M. Night Shyamalan: Indian-Born screenwriter, director, THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)

M. Night Shyamalan: Indian-Born screenwriter, director, THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)
Sam Mercer: Producer/"Congo"
Barry Mendel: Producer, 'Rushmore' (1999)

M. Night Shyamalan: Indian-Born screenwriter, director, THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)

James Newton Howard: Composer, KING KONG (2005)

"[With] moments of shivery and twitchy suspense and a solid lead performance from Mark Wahlberg."