Elliot Moore is a high school science teacher who quizzes his class one day about an article in the New York Times. It's about the sudden, mysterious disappearance of bees. Yet again Nature is doing something inexplicable, and whatever science has to say about it will be, in the end, only a theory. Scientists will bring out more theories, but no explanations, when a more urgent dilemma hits the planet. It begins in Central Park. Suddenly and inexplicably, the behavior of everyone in the park changes in a most bizarre and horrible way. Soon, the strange behavior spreads throughout the city and beyond. Elliot, his wife, Alma, and Jess, the young daughter of a friend, will only have theories to guide them where to run and where to hide. But theories may not be enough.
Genre(s): Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Runtime: 91 minutes
Rating: 5.2/10 (62,059 votes)
Release Date: 11 June 2008
Country: USA, India
Languages: English, French
Company: Blinding Edge Pictures
Sound: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS
MPAA: Rated R for violent and disturbing images.
Director(s): M. Night Shyamalan
Producer(s):
John Bernard – line producer: Paris
Barry Mendel – producer
Sam Mercer – producer
Jose L. Rodriguez – co-producer
John Rusk – associate producer
M. Night Shyamalan – producer
Writer(s):
M. Night Shyamalan – (written by)
Cast:
Mark Wahlberg – Elliot Moore
Zooey Deschanel – Alma Moore
John Leguizamo – Julian
Ashlyn Sanchez – Jess
Betty Buckley – Mrs. Jones
Spencer Breslin – Josh
Robert Bailey Jr. – Jared
Frank Collison – Nursery Owner
Jeremy Strong – Pvt. Auster – MP
Alan Ruck – Principal
Music: James Newton Howard
Tagline: We've Sensed It. We've Seen The Signs. Now… It's Happening.
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Night is a fabulous, almost genius film maker. Signs, sixth Sense, etc.The only problem with Signs was the lack of Winchester Pump 12 gaugeshot guns. Signs was filmed in rural farmland PA and EVERY FARMER hasat least one shotgun. Those green guys would have been stacked likelogs for the winter.
The Happening was simply not believable. Mark Wahlberg and JohnLeguizamo are solid actors if not super stars. They always deliversolid performances (even in Collateral Damage with Arnold he did greatwork). Their acting in Happening was a bit better than a high schoolplay; however, Night gave them very little substantive material to workwith.
The premise of the film, that humans are considered by Nature to be avirus on the planet is just more Lefty lunacy (Yes the Left actuallysubscribes to the foolishness – solution: all the Left cut themselvesshaving and go swimming at Stinson Beach, North Ca). Somehow the plantsare mad at us and accelerate their evolutionary processes (normallytaking thousands of generations) and decide to release some "compound"(what an ominous word) into the air causing Humans to leap to theirdeaths, hang themselves, and pickup guns and shoot themselves, yeah,right! Maybe you but not me!
The Happening becomes one of those B films that you turn to at 2 AM andjust HAVE TO SEE THE END desperately hoping that there will be oneredeeming quality of the film (skin?).
Night better get his act together for his next project or he will dropfrom the "A List" to the "F List" (Forgotten). Most of his films,especially with Bruce, have been great.
The movie is simply not worth your time, watching C-Span at 2 AM isbetter time spent.
Yours truly, Thomas Capital Management, http://www.thomascapitalmgt.com
I stayed on watching the extra's being played over the end creditsafter catching this flick on a cable movie channel. They were thestandard rote of actors saying how great the other actors were, how thecrew was like a family and how the director was the greatest they'dever worked with (in Wahlbergs case, the greatest director he wouldever work with. Period. So he didn't like working with Peter Jackson onThe Lovely Bones even before he got on the plane to New Zealand?!?).All tedious eye- rolling stuff. However one piece stayed in my mind andit was Shyamalan commenting about how he'd got this flash of brilliancethat became the genesis of this movie whilst driving home one afternoonthrough the countryside past wide open fields & greenery.
Two things should be learned from this incident. One, don't quicklydevise a story like this based on an extremely dodgy premise thenimmediately rush it into production. Give it a few years to develop.That should give you enough time to reach the conclusion that it's alousy idea and it should be killed before any further money is wastedon it. Two, all you studio heads, stop green-lighting any moreShyamalan treatments. The guy had one reasonably good idea with TheSixth Sense (I mean seriously, I'm still bemused as to how 'most'people were shocked by the 'twist'?!?), followed that up with thesomewhat overrated Unbreakable (which still had some interestingmoments) but has steadily continued to adhere to the law of diminishingreturns (and diminishing ideas) with each subsequent film. I suggestwith this one he's not only hit rock bottom, he's actually managed todrill through the bedrock of self-respect.
The first 20 minutes of this picture captures your interest. Thesuicides, the panic & confusion, the isolation, all enough to get youhooked in, to keep you watching. That is until you reach the scene inthe field where one group (containing our main characters) are walkingahead of another group (out of sight) which is where this film well &truly JUMPS THE SHARK. This where our group of friends tries to outrunthe wind because the conclusion is reached that that is how the'madness' (for wont of a better term) is being spread. I'll repeatthat, the enemy here is seemingly the breeze (oh yes, plant-life hassomething to do with it but it seems the wind is in serious cahootswith the trees in assisting enactment of their malevolent purpose). Ifyou can keep a straight face when the line "Let's just stay ahead ofthe wind!" is spoke then you must lack a funny bone. It's almost likethe screenwriter handed the rest of the script to the nearest 12 yearold to complete as part of a school project. Look, there's nothingwrong with levity in a (supposedly) serious film. It's almost integral,after all no one can take 2 hours or so of relentless doom. Heck, even'The Road' has moments of humor in it but they don't detract from thefact that at it's heart it is literally a horror story. I read a forumcomment by a person who seemed to be one of the few who enjoyed thisfilm defending it by saying that the director never meant for it to betaken as a horror film. Yet in the extra's Shyamalan states that it wasabsolutely his intention to instill an atmosphere of fear & paranoia inthe viewer for the entire duration. I believe he name-checkedHitchcocks 'The Birds' to support his statement. One can only surmise,looking at the end result that he has indeed failed miserably becausewhat's on screen more closely resembles a classic Uwe Boll film thananything Uwe Boll himself has made lately.
The performances by the leads are awful. Wahlberg seems to think wide-eyed & high-pitched is the way to play up the fear & apprehension.Zooey Deschanel, one of the most beautiful & talented actresses onscreen (criminally underrated most of the time if you ask me. Tho notthis particular time) is just missing the entire time. Sure, her bodyis there and she's reciting the banal lines she's been given, but hermind is someplace else. Probably hundreds of miles away, strangling heragent. Someone. Please. Tell me what this is about?
Elliot: If we're going to die, I want you to know something. I was inthe pharmacy a while ago. There was a really good-looking pharmacistbehind the counter. Really good-looking. I went up and asked her wherethe cough syrup was. I didn't even have a cough, and I almost boughtit. I'm talking about a completely superfluous bottle of cough syrup,which costs like six bucks.
Alma: Are you joking?
(Elliot nods his head)
Alma: Thank you.
Or this?
Mrs. Jones: (to Elliot and Alma) So what's with you two? Who's chasingwho? Alma Moore: I'm sorry? Mrs. Jones: Ain't no time two peoplestaring at each other, or standing still, loving both with their eyesare equal. Truth is, someone is chasing someone. That's the way we'sbuilt. So, who's chasing? (Elliot raises his hand)
I'm sorry. The script is full of nonsense like this, these are but twoexamples. They are far sillier when placed in the context of the actualscenes they are from. Without a doubt the worst movie I have seen in avery very long time made by a man who has been given the benefit ofdoubt for far too long.
As soon as i saw a woman stab her self with ninja looking dagger thatshe pulled out of her wig and stabbed herself in the neck, i knew hellsfootball team was about to tackle me.I do not know which is worse:Someone stomping on my balls with high heels or watching this failedattempt. okay first the plot: it doesn't make any sense at all: peoplethat start walking backwards like crabs and they randomly killthemselves because of evil plants? I noticed they tried to make it likean action movie but if i was the main character i would have WISHEDthat this virus actually existed and that i would get it so i canrandomly kill myself.
Good Parts: it is unbelievably funny: my favorite part was the grandmascenes: working herself with windows. ans slapping the girls handbecause she wanted a cookie.
My eyes feel like they been raped from the visual torture.
Overall, don't watch it, unless you want to feel like committingsuicide.
I have just lost all respect for M. Night Shyamalan. For him to set outand make "the greatest b movie ever" is just insulting. So you'retelling me that a rich, successful writer/director/producer used their$50 million production budget to create a movie that in the 50s was aresult of young, struggling, inexperienced filmmakers who were stuckwith low budgets, mediocre actors, and second rate equipment? ANYONEcan do that with $50 million. So rather than take in a cheap actor, youpay people big bucks to suck? A studio payed this douche millions ofdollars to make a movie that is as "good" as something that was madefor as little as a few hundred dollars? Really, what a load of crap.This isn't a b movie, this is a cop out from a downhill filmmaker. Andfor all of you who are going to point out movies like Grindhouse, thatwas NOT a b-movie either. It was made in homage to be movies, but isn'ta b movie itself. It was a spoof. However, 'The Happening' pays nohomage to b movies. It is disrespecting filmmakers everywhere. Thismovie is not a b movie, it is a result of an established filmmakergetting lazy and running out of good ideas.
Mark Whalberg had two films in 2008. They both sucked. I mean, theyboth blew. One caused Max. Pain and the other one was happening. Butnot much is happening in The Happening. The Happening is a film thatstarts off good but quickly falls apart. In every M. Night Shamylanfilm there is a twist in the end of the film. There is no twist inthis. The whole film is just a bunch of people running from wind.Anyways, to the plot.
The film starts off in Central Park. Out of nowhere, a woman stabsherself and it doesn't even hurt her. After that, everyone starts tokill themselves. Supposedly, the wind is causing these people to commitsuicide. Mark Whalberg and Zooey Deschanel star as The Moores, anestranged couple who are having problems. Eventually, they are alsorunning for the wind.
Let me point some good things out about this disaster. I love ZooeyDeschanel and I like Mark Whalberg and I feel sorry for them. I feelsorry for them because they're in this film. After not so great filmslike Lady in the Water and The Village, M. Night Shamylan brings us hisworst film yet. I really wanted to see this film and all I got was anincredibly disappointing mess. The Happening isn't the worst, but it'sone of them.
There is nothing to this film at all. I was excited for this filmbecause it's a shamylan film. But The Happening really did suck. Pleasedon't rent it. Don't pick it up at a rental store. It would be a wasteof your four bucks. This wasn't the worst film of 2008, but it trulywas one of them.
These comments may contain spoilers- if that's possible(?)
I wanted to like this movie more than I did. I dig M.'s movies. I likethe actors. I loved that Brian 'I'm not even supposed to be here today'O'Halloran had a bit part- look quick and you might catch him drivingthe jeep. Poor Dante, that guy just cannot catch a break.
I saw the Happening in the theaters mostly because of the creepiness ofthe commercials and found myself rolling my eyes through a lot of it. Ijust caught the last 3/4's of it on cable tonight and found myselflaughing a lot, which I'm pretty sure they were not shooting for. Surethere were some scenes that were pretty gruesome like what happens withthe two boys that they are traveling with, others were MontyPythonesque, like the lion scene at the zoo. That one had me institches.
Not any of the actors best work, nor was it M.Night Shyamalan's best,but it does have about a 5 or 6 on the re-watchable scale if only tomake sarcastic quips if you are watching it with friends. Or if you areplaying a drinking game and have to drink whenever a character says aform of the word happening (like 'what's happening here?' or 'what justhappened?') You'd be surprised at how frequently this will happen.There, it just happened there. And again!
Just kidding about the 'Crappening' thing, it wasn't as terrible assome of the other ratings on here suggest.