You've got to feel a tad sorry for M. Night Shyamalan. He just hasn't been able to satisfy film goers or critics' insatiable lust for his sophisticated storytelling after the tumultuous success of his 1999 debut 'The Sixth Sense'.

If any of his subsequent projects had come before 'The Sixth Sense' they probably would have been hailed as truly outstanding. Both 'Unbreakable' and 'Signs' are excellent movies but lacked the mystery and surprise of his first outing. He'd become the victim of his own success — people expected, almost demanded, a remarkable plot twist, so there was no real element of shock when it inevitably came.

And if he tried something else — like the lacklustre fairytale 'Lady In The Water' — they felt betrayed.

So Shyamalan, once billed the new Spielberg, finds himself on the back foot with 'The Happening'. It opens in Central Park early one morning. In a matter of minutes there are episodes of strange, chilling deaths that defy reason and are shocking in their destructiveness. What is causing this sudden total breakdown of human behaviour? Is it some form of terrorist attack? An experiment gone wrong? A diabolical toxic weapon or an out-of-control airborne virus?

Mark Wahlberg is Elliot Moore, a high-school science teacher, who heads out of Philadelphia in a desperate quest to escape this terrifying phenomenon — his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel), best friend Julian (John Leguizamo) and his young daughter, Jess, in tow.

Admittedly, the suspense and intrigue in the first quarter is rather eerie but once the reality is revealed there's that familiar sense of being let down yet again.

Wahlberg tries his very best against a weak script that never really goes anywhere and doesn't develop any of the characters. You know how bad it is when he gets to say lines like "If we're going to die, I want to be with you!" Delivered without any passion, the corny dialogue only contributes to the film's lack of menace, mystery and mood. And c'mon! Really? The quirky Zooey Deschanel in a thriller? All she's has to offer here is the "deer-in-the-headlights" look.

So there's not much happening in 'The Happening'. If you want suspense and intrigue, watch the trailer (it's great) and skip the movie altogether. Or watch 'The Sixth Sense' again. At least you won't be disappointed.