The Happening (2008)


The Happening (2008)

The Happening (2008)

The Happening (2008)

The Happening (2008)

The Happening (2008)

The Happening (2008)

The Happening (2008)

The Happening (2008)


The Happening (2008)


Director: M. Night Shyamalan


Cast: Mark Wahlberg as Elliot Moore, Zooey Deschanel as Alma Moore, John Leguizamo as Julian, Ashlyn Sanchez as Jess, Betty Buckley as Mrs. Jones, Spencer Breslin as Josh, Robert Bailey Jr. as Jared, Frank Collison as Nursery Owner, Jeremy Strong as Pvt. Auster - MP, Alan Ruck as Principal, Victoria Clark as Nursery Owner's Wife, M. Night Shyamalan as Joey (voice), Alison Folland as Claire - Woman Reading on Bench with Hair Pin, Kristen Connolly as Woman Reading on Bench, Cornell Womack as Construction Foreman



Let me preface these comments by saying that I am a major Night fan. I
look forward to news of his next project and love the stories of his
supposed total control over his movies and carte blanche from the
studios. If those stories are true, I have a feeling that era will be
ending for Night with the release of The Happening. I ignored all the
pre-release press I could before going to see this movie. I read none
of the reviews, but one word I did catch was "uninspired."
Unfortunately, that one word describes this movie perfectly. In the
first ten minutes of the movie, I thought it was due to the acting and
that maybe Mark Wahlberg was miscast. However, after another ten
minutes I realized it wasn't the actors; it was the extremely lame
script. Without giving away any details, this is a disaster film where
the disaster "happening" starts with the first scene of the movie.
Unfortunately, no suspense builds and there is absolutely no sense of
dread or panic on screen and so none translates to the audience.
Surprising, since the 21st century has provided us with too many
occasions to study how we react in times of disaster, whether by nature
or terrorism. It's as if Night ignored all this when writing the story.
The characters sleepwalk through the scenes (and, no, it's not a
symptom of "the happening") with no believable sense of the horrible
events taking place. Granted, we don't need to see people running
around in circles screaming and crying, but people do not stand in
small groups after a disaster calmly taking turns talking one at a
time. Without sharing in any of the horror that the characters are
suppose to be experiencing, the film is a total bore for the audience
and the source of "the happening" is laughable when revealed. I found
myself repeatedly checking my watch, saying, "I can't believe how bad
this is" – not something I'd expect to do in a Night movie. Looking
around the theater, I could tell others were sharing the same feelings.
Most were scrolling through emails or texting on their phones.

During the movie, since I wasn't paying much attention to the screen, I
started thinking that there might be a good reason why most filmmakers
do not have total control over their films. When they do, they can
reach a point that it seems Night may have reached, where they say,
"I'm going to make people scared when the wind blows" and actually
believe themselves. Maybe other producers or execs can step in at that
point and bring the filmmaker back to reality. I'm not giving up on
Night, but I'll feel better if his next film is not "Written, Produced
and Directed by M. Night Shyamalan."

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