A tantalising, sometimes frustrating parable about the menaces that human beings might face from unexpected quarters.
Comment
06/13/08
The Happening (2008)
18
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:169
Fresh:31
Rotten:138
Average Rating:4.1/10
Consensus: The Happening begins with promise, but unfortunately descends into an incoherent and unconvincing trifle.
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
US Box Office: $64,384,941
Synopsis: M. Night Shyamalan directs this thriller about a science teacher (Mark Wahlberg) who tries to escape with his wife and friend's daughter after an apocalyptic event. THE HAPPENING costars Zooey... [More]
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Betty Buckley
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Reviews for The Happening
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; Australian critics are listed first)
Top CriticAnother disappointment from M, despite some disturbing violence and chilly moments.
06/13/08
Top CriticWhile hardly his worst work, this film is so far off his high water mark that it begs the question of whether M. Night Shyamalan will ever truly return.
06/13/08
Top CriticThere are some creepy moments but overall The Happening is a bit of a non-event.
06/20/08
Top CriticExcluding moments of chilling effectiveness, this could fairly be called his worst film. Even his saving grace of keen directorial acumen visibly loses cohesion on screen.
06/12/08
Top CriticThe movie is a bummer, from beginning to end.
06/13/08
Top CriticMaybe Shyamalan has been plugged into those other worlds for too long. Judging from what is on offer here, he needs to become more acquainted with the emotional language of this one.
06/13/08
Top CriticSadly for Mr. Shyamalan, the ideas that have been coming to him since his brilliant first hit The Sixth Sense are progressively worthy of less merit and more deserving of ridicule.
06/10/08
Top CriticTrying to understand the thought process of writer and director M. Night Shyamalan is akin to analyzing Jell-O. What keeps it wiggling and what binds it together? This particular circumstance also had an Alfred Hitchcock vibe.
06/13/08
'The Happening' may not be M. Night Shyamalan's best movie, but it's his most provocative one.
06/14/08
Shyamalan movies demand that you surrender to his way of telling stories. If you're up for that, you should go.
06/13/08
An atmospheric tale that rewards with genuine shocks instead of big bang explosions and a hamburger tie in.
06/22/08
Not a complete return to form (by far), but also not a failure. Let's be fair--this is the best film Shyamalan has put out in years.
06/13/08
Undoubtedly M. Night Shyamalan's weakest thriller to date...
11/06/08
Works as an effective and brutally horrifying antithesis to the usual explosive summer fare...
06/15/08
I'm always amused by the sort of backlashes that Shyamalan is in right now. Well, M. Night Shyamalan makes vague, subtle fantasy thrillers. If you've outgrown it, don't blame him.
06/13/08
An impressive thriller which acknowledges the mystery that lies behind the marvels and the terrors of the natural world.
06/13/08
It's creepy, silly fun. And if it came from anyone else, it would be recognized as such. One thing is certain: The man hasn't lost his ability to entertain.
06/13/08
Shhht. Don't say it out loud, but we actually kinda liked M. Night Shyamalan's latest movie . . .
06/11/08
Shyamalan crafts a somewhat chilling cautionary tale; it just might have been more chilling if he had been a little less cautious.
06/13/08
Latest News for The Happening
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June 19, 2008:
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Two big star-driven studio comedies invade North American multiplexes on Friday giving audiences even more choices during what has been a scorching hot June box office. Steve... More...
June 16, 2008:
WNYC RADIO: A numbing polemical morality tale in dreary doomsday thriller clothing, this dull downer for all its mass panic attack high alert mode, may be more effective in unintentionally boring people to death. 
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