The Happening *

There is plenty of horror, but, after the first ten minutes, little suspense in "The Happening." The scariest moments all come at the beginning, when you don't know what's causing it, but suddenly things are going seriously, crazily wrong. These arresting images, several of which you've no doubt seen in the previews, are the work of a master. Unfortunately, the movie descends into talking heads on TV explaining everything, and a race to the hinterlands where maybe solitude will provide some protection.

It's too bad, because the concept is a good one, and the performances by Wahlberg, Deschanel, and Leguizamo are all fine. There's just this problem with sustaining suspense that M. Night Shyamalan does not solve. It's not the total mess that "Lady in the Water" was, but it is a big disappointment.

Rated R. 91 minutes. M. Night Shyamalan - Director / Writer / Producer, Barry Mendel - Producer, Sam Mercer - Producer, Tak Fujimoto - Cinematographer, James Newton Howard - Composer, Jeannine Claudia Oppewall - Production Designer, Conrad Buff IV - Editor. Distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation.

Principal actors: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Betty Buckley, Spencer Breslin, and Ashlyn Sanchez.