Returning to the collaboration that spawned his acclaimed scores for such films as The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Village (Academy Awardr nominee) and Lady In The Water, composer James Newton Howard reaches another career milestone with this major new opus. From director M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs) comes a lightning paced, heart-pounding paranoid thriller about a family on the run from an inexplicable and unstoppable event that threatens not only humankind, but the most basic human instinct of them all: survival. It begins with no clear warning. It seems to come out of nowhere. In a matter of minutes, episodes of strange, chilling deaths that defy reason and boggle the mind in their shocking destructiveness, erupt in major American cities.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Dependable:
James Newton Howard is the perfect composer for M. Night Shyamalan's films, even when he doesn't do anything completely original. His scores for these films are always effective, but sometimes a little harder to sit through when you're listening to the CD. All in all, it's good stuff for the committed fan.
Average score:
Howard's score for The Happening is similar to his other works, especially those where he teamed up with M. Night Shyamalan. He composed music for The Village, Signs, and The Lady in the Water. Most of the album is quiet and hard to hear without the experience of the film to back it up. When listening to it, it's hard to know when one track ends and another begins. Most of the album seems to be one long track of quiet music. "Mrs. Jones" and the "End Title Suite" are the highlights of the album, but overall... more info
Alright, but repeditive:
This soundtrack, while the theme was great, didn't really stand out for me. I found all the tracks to be very similar. Dramatic but quiet. As with the movie I guess.
Another Collaborative Success!:
As always, James Newton Howard is back scoring Shyamalan's latest flick, and once again, he's hit the nail right on the head. Not only is the music enjoyable to listen to, but as it walks side-by-side with the film, it adds an entirely different dimension to Shyamalan's visuals. Howard establishes a sort of main theme in the opening track, which is then repeated beautifully throughout the rest of the score in a variety of different styles, moods and sounds. As the soundtrack closes, it strengthens,... more info
