The Happening (2008)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

M. Night Shyamalan

Writer (WGA):

M. Night Shyamalan (written by)

Release Date:

13 June 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

We've Sensed It. We've Seen The Signs. Now... It's Happening.

Plot:

A strange, horrible and unprecedented crisis begins in Central Park. A high school science teacher, his wife and a young girl do what they can to survive it.

Plot Keywords:

Park | Central Park | Teacher | Crisis | Bees

Awards:

4 nominations

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
Victoria Clark	...	Nursery Owner's Wife
M. Night Shyamalan	...	Joey (voice)
Alison Folland	...	Claire - Woman Reading on Bench with Hair Pin
Kristen Connolly	...	Woman Reading on Bench
Cornell Womack	...	Construction Foreman

Also Known As:

Green Planet (USA) (working title)
The Green Effect (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violent and disturbing images.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA | India

Language:

English | French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Finland:K-15 | Ireland:15A | Norway:15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:PG | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R13 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Brazil:16 | Italy:VM14 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Argentina:13 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #44343) | Taiwan:R-12 | Japan:PG-12 | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Germany:16 (cut) (theatrical version) | Sweden:15 | Austria:14 | Denmark:15 | South Africa:16LV | Canada:14A | India:A (cinema release) | New Zealand:R16 (DVD re-rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Spain:15 (DVD rating) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

100 W 18th St, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Blinding Edge Pictures

Trivia:

The movie was shot completely in sequence.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Westover Military Base is near Chicopee, MA, over 500 miles from Filbert, PA.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Woman Reading on Bench with Hair Pin: I forgot where I am.
Woman Reading on Bench: You're at the place where the killers meet to decide what to do with the crippled girl.

Movie Connections:

References Ghostbusters II (1989)

Soundtrack:

Black Water

The one-hit wonder thuds out another one.

The Sixth Sense was a fine movie, a truly great addition to the horror/supernatural genre that has so few really good movies (at least in proportion to the garbage). This movie is a waste of very expensive celluloid and I was amazed that Ebert cut it so much slack.

1. The underlying message is a simple minded, heavy handed green preachment. I am a person who regards humanity as the metastasized cancer of the biosphere so I am not reacting to that message as some sort of knee-jerk dominionist corporate booster. If only the environment could defend itself so purposefully. In any case it is not a good enough pay-off to justify sitting through 80 minutes or so of contrived "suspense", mediocre, at best, writing, and all the over-acting.

2. The so-called suspense strikes me as so much padding to a thin short story that might merit an appearance in a magazine or anthology. In essence it is a greened-up knock off of du Maurier's "The Birds" with plants instead of birds, padded out with horror sequences reminiscent of one of the bad Stephen King movies (e.g. Maximum Overdrive).

3. I felt sorry for the actors straining to emote out the frail gossamer of this story line. All criticism of the performances should be laid at the door of the director. If any of these actors are favorites of yours, I recommend self-induced amnesia.

4. It is a wonder that anyone interested in either art or commerce still funds this director's so-called projects after Lady in the Water, and more so after this turkey.

5. I am grateful that the offense was not compounded by a heavy dose of quirky "artistic" camera work as well. It is a perfectly good looking movie, what a decent budget and hiring the right people will get you nearly every time.

M. Night Shyamalan remains, in my opinion, a confirmed one-hit wonder. If audiences and his backers are fortunate, he might someday become a two-hit wonder. Time is running out for him to move up to legend from mere cult in danger of becoming camp.