The Happening (2008)

Director:

M. Night Shyamalan

Writer (WGA):

M. Night Shyamalan (written by)

Release Date:

13 June 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

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

Plot:

A paranoid thriller about a family on the run from a natural crisis that presents a large-scale threat to humanity. |

Plot Keywords:

Loss Of Friend | Mauling | Gore | Estranged Couple | Gash In The Face

US Showtimes:

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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	...	Private Auster
Alan Ruck	...	Principal
Victoria Clark	...	Nursery Owner's Wife
M. Night Shyamalan	...	Joey
Alison Folland	...	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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Italy:VM14 | Finland:K-15 | Brazil:16 | Germany:16 | New Zealand:R13 | Australia:MA | Argentina:13 | Taiwan:R-12 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Hong Kong:IIB | South Korea:18 | Norway:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Spain:13 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | USA:R (certificate #44343) | Ireland:15A | Japan:PG-12

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Barry Mendel Productions

Trivia:

Pyrethrins are a neurotoxin derived from the Chrysanthemum plants, specifically those native to Australia. This toxin is commonly found in common organic insecticides to eradicate pests. At one point Elliot talks about primordial bacteria in Australia killing off fishermen. Pyrethrins are highly toxic to bees.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The characters board a train for Harrisburg, which is in the south central part of the state. The train takes them only to Filbert and stops. However, Filbert is much further west than Harrisburg (south of Pittsburgh).

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 Psycho (1960)

Not brilliant but it is worth a look

When I first saw the trailer for 'The Happening', I was quite excited at the prospect of another film by M. Night Shyamalan. After all, I enjoyed all his previous films, save 'Lady in the Lake', and was sure he would deliver another breath-taking blockbuster. Sadly, I was wrong and while the film was not a turkey, it was not of the excellence I had expected.

The film sees some sort of mysterious ecological event leading to people committing mass suicide, the phenomenon spreading first from large cities then to smaller towns until it is clear a huge chunk of the East Coast is affected. At first, it is assumed to be a terrorist attack but, as more and more people are spontaneously kill themselves, it is clear the cause may be something else entirely...

One of the problems with the film was the quality of the acting and the characters themselves. Mark Wahlberg stars as Elliot, the science teacher who is our main protagonist, and he does flounder in many scenes as if he forgets he's playing an intelligent but ordinary everyday guy, not a gung-ho military hero who is cool in all situations. He could have injected more emotion into his performance. Zooey Deschanel plays Elliot's girlfriend Alma and she too fails to make the audience care for her with the way she depicts the character to be some sort of an escapee from a teeny-booper romance flick. To be fair, it is not entirely Deschanel's fault as Alma is a weak, self-centred character with the emotional capacity of a young adolescent (for example, she puts Elliot and a child at risk a couple of times with her stupid decisions and, at the start, when it's clear people are dying, she is in a huff because Elliot and his friend 'hurt' her feelings).

When it comes to the actual storyline, the plot does start off intriguingly and there are many chilling moments when we see people are coolly committing suicide like mindless zombies. However, the finale doesn't deliver what the build-up promised. There are no real explanations or solid end result. In many ways, this film is similar to Shyamalan's previous project 'Signs' both in terms of a mass disaster and no real end resolution to the events but 'Signs' worked better because the characters were more effectively portrayed and their personal storyline was enough of a finale to compensate. This is not the case in 'The Happening' where the storyline fizzles out.

Overall, this is by no means a terrible film. It is enjoyable and fits nicely into the apocalyptic genre but 'Signs' has done this sort of idea before and did it better. That said, there was not only moments that had me on the edge of my seat but also lines which were quite humorous. And certainly, it does make one think about the state of the planet in regards to whether humanity does have it coming to them and how we would cope in such an event. It is worth a look, especially in a week when the other premiere is 'The Hulk, a film aimed at keeping twelve-year-olds' entertained.