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Posted By: MrHorrorfest at 3:24pm, October 5, 2008
It's worth watching.
Posted By: Protecious at 10:37am, September 30, 2008
does anybody notice that the audio microphones could be seen in the film itself? am i the only one that noticed that? that completely destroys a film's experience seeing such a lack of quality and effort being put into this, you get the feeling this was shot in a matter of a week and later re shoots to fill in some of the more "eerie" stuff like the hanging bodies in the trees and etc.
this is the most disapointing m. night film ive ever seen thus far, the ideas werent exactly terrible, but if you want to see a better film about possible global warming related material, i would suggest "the last winter"
The only reason this movie is called The Happening is because during the movie all you will ask yourself is: "what the hell is happening?" don't waste your money.
very creepy, suspensful, overall quite disturbing film with a lot of excellent death scenes. Also makes dead bodies with no death scene quite creepy (in the road, mass haning)
The worst 2008 movie just behind Prom Night this was hilarious the dialogue was stupid, the actors were stupid, this is M Nights Shyamalan worst movie just below lady in the water and the funny thing is that he believes this movie will shock people, scared people and make them cry oh please this movie maked me cry just because it was really funny and its his first R rated film so what? that doesnt means its going to be good so Night pal please stay with your crappy PG13 films and dont go to the next nevel cause youll end up whit the slow burn that will never never will catch fire(like mtr disgusting said)
Writer/Director M. Night Shyamalan creates a suspense, and sometimes awkward atmosphere with his latest film The Happening. A natural phenomenon suddenly occurs on the upper east coast of the U.S, making people kill themselves by any means necessary. I have to give credit to Shymalan here because I thought the premise for this film was terrific, though not fully utilized to its maximum potential.
Mark Wahlberg plays a down to earth high school science teacher, which is a step in a new direction for him. I thought he did a good job with what was given to him, he's a normal guy trying to solve what's happening. Zooey Deschannel once again takes the role of an eccentric character. She plays them well but I'd like to see more range from her. John Leguizamo was also solid with the screen time that he had. Now to the famous twist.
The twist that's given away towards the middle of the film might piss a lot of people off. I don't think it deserves the hatred its gotten from critics, but it's also not as a good as the twist in The Sixth Sense or even Unbreakable. However, I think it suited the film fine, and showed extreme originality. If birds are accepted as killers why can't this work?
Furthermore, the dialogue in this film isn't very good. It's pretty atrocious actually. M. Night should see this as a sign and start letting professional screenwriters handle his ideas. He's great behind the camera, just don't touch a pen. The score and cinematography, however, is top notch, which is always the case with him
Ultimately, The Happening isn't as a bad as everyone says it is. The dialouge might be terrible, the love arc between Wahlberg and Deschannel might be underdeveloped and forced,, and the twist might be underwhelming, but I'll recommend this creepy and sometimes goofy/awkward sci-fi thriller from M. Night Shymalan because it works, and it reminded me of one of my personal favorites from Alfred Hitchcock, The Birds.
Ohhhh M. Night how youve disappointed me! I should have stuck to just watching the trailer because all the decent parts were in them. I almost walked out on it! I never walk out on movies! It was beyond bad, beyond boring, beyond pointless. It just kept going nowhere... its like he had an idea but didnt have the rest of the story. M. Nights going to have to really turn it up for his next movie because this one really... sucked!
All around bad movie. This was a pg story with just enough violence to be a rated r movie. Effects were awful, especially the scene in the zoo. Corny corny corny!
I'm baffled. This movie is fucked. The acting isn't so much bad as just strange. One review claimed that the director should not write his own movies because he doesn't understand how humans actually interact. That's the best way I could describe it. The diologue doesn't feel lazy or stale, but alien. Like he learned english by watching corny disaster movies from the 70's and he thinks humans really speak that way.
Regardless, this movie is very interesting, if completely confusing in it's intentions, and worth at least one viewing. The death scenes are also quite brutal. You might be shocked by a few of the more memorable deaths.
I thought it was a pretty good flick. The death scenes were sweet but the overall movie was pretty weird. The acting and music reminded of an old black and white horror movie back in the day.
Terrible movie. M Night needed this to be a hit too. So sad it flopped, I really like him as a director and writer. He always comes up with interesting concepts. But unfortunately, his stories are not resonating with mainstream audiences.
Signs, Sixth Sense and Unbreakable were great. The Village was ok, but Lady in the Water and this are just bad, bad movies.
The Happening. It wasn't Happening...at all. The film sucks on all levels. I have no idea why this movie was marketed as a big summer event and that bold "R" rating (ooh scary M's R. So WHAT!, Just because you have a "R" rating doesn't mean a movie will be better). The music irks me and as tearsdon'tfall7113 quotes, "Does not fit the movie at all." That person is right. The movie WAS good from like... the first 5 minutes but fell into awfulness. This is a very low rental. You have been warned!
joins The Grudge 2, and Prom Night (2008) in my list of the worst horror/thriller movies ever made. Absolutely HORRENDOUS 'acting'. I really also hated the score. It did not fit the movie at all whatsoever. Terrible, terrible movie.
The premise is great but the delivery lacks punch on all fronts. The casting is terrible (the little comatose, mute girl and most of the unknowns with the wooden line readings are clearly M. Night's friends & family). The opening 20 minutes are strong and foreboding, but then the pace turns to a crawl and then ultimately stops moving altogether, which creates ZERO suspense. The ending with the wind and the "unseen" force is a good idea but even Final Destination makes better use of an unseen killer. Here we literally get shot after shot of wind swept trees and fields. Not thrilling... to anyone. Then to make matter worse, the movie "just ends". I love to deeply reflect the endings of movies that "just end" but this one had nothing to reflect upon. Al Gore made a better movie about the same thing (minus all those "special" wind effects). I never thought I'd say this, but Lady in the Water is a better film (though both should be buried with the director and never seen again).
OK, I've read all these reviews and I can say I agree with all of them. If you have watched the trailer you have seen the best part but until you see the movie you do not get the full impact. The construction scene with the workers falling out of the sky is very disturbing as well as sitting in a park with your best friend and suddenly having her stab herself with a crochette needle, these scenes have impact and are very strong. As emotional as the first few minutes are I felt the middle of the film lacked any real emotion at all (now that I think back on the film maybe bad acting did play a factor). During the endless scenes of wind blowing through vegitation I actually felt nervous and for M. Night to do that to me is why my rating is as high as it is.
okay, it started out good and i was way into my popcorn and drink. When people flew off the roof in the construction site scene, I was like....Whaaat?
M. Night is far smarter..he coulda done more, pushed the envelope, broken out of the mold.
I am truly disppointed.
Sadie
M. Night is one of my favorite directors for a number of reasons. I really enjoyed The Happening in spite of the critical reviews that have floated around the net. I love his use of color (yellow again), camera work, and the B movie feel that permeates the movie. This was a huge nod to Rod Serling rather than his usual Hitchcockian nod. This could have been an extended Twilight Zone episode easily. The acting in the movie was purposefully stilted and I found the artistic moves in the film great.
I like movies with a "creepy" premise, you don't need monsters from outer space or demonic possession for it to be scary. I've enjoyed M. Night's films in the past, and for what it's worth The Happening was good, it definitely had it it's moments good and bad.
Going into the theater i wasn't sure i would like the movie casue i am not a big fan of M. Night, but i enjoyed the movie. certianly not he best movie evermade but breaks the mold of most apocalyptic movies. i find it funny how ppl are mad because there was no twist ending, but with twist ending after twist ending, the only way to have a true twist ending is not to have one.
This movie was a decent movie in whole. I will have to say I was let down during certain parts when I realized that this is what the plot is and how it will continue. There where some parts that were seriously edge of your seat scares and it is hard to scare me, but I wanted more of that. About 75% of the movies was not scary. I would have to say over all the movie was good but not great.
I have been an M.Night fan since Sixth Sense, I have enjoyed all this films up until Lady in the Water which just didn't hit the same high as the others by the end. After reading the reviews and checking out other's opinions I went in with a hope for a good film but a small part of me lingered on the film that came before. Now that I've seen the Happening, I can't help but want to see it again.
First off let's start with everyone's hate for the acting. So the acting was strange? yes it was, coming from 2 of my favourite actors and a handful of others that I know and respect from other films. The acting was indeed odd. But I must disagree with a passion that it was BAD acting.
Mark Wahlberg plays a teacher, he spends the majority of his time speaking to teenage students about science. For me the way he acted was just fine. The whole movie lacked the public fury that other disaster-esque movies seem to value. Mark's acting was only strange because for a main character faced with the pressure that he does not have an answer in a situation that he has no control over... He lacks the emotion. My say? It goes with the mood of the rest of the film.
Before I start a rant about it, I'll just cut off by saying that I do not believe that it was a case of bad acting but a part of M.Night's concept. I'd imagine that the actors were told to act that way so they did. Let's face it, the movie wouldn't have been better if they acted like typical hollywood characters.
Anyway. The film centers around Elliot Moore(Wahlberg), his wife (Deschanel), and their friends' child. All running from whatever it is that's plaguing the coast. However you interpret the "happening", it isn't what you'd expect in any other movie. As I read on another review it is a more moral story than a political one and if you go in expecting something other than that, you will be disappointed.
If you didn't like the Village so much because it contained no real monsters, then I would not recommend the Happening to you.
As I say about signs and the village, I see not the problem with The Happening. I guess most people will hate it just because of the strange acting and the not so menacing conflict, but if you take it on board as a moral story and view it for what it is rather than what it's not, then you should have no reason to dislike this film. M. Night has done it again. =D
well i wasnt too disappointed with this movie I thought it was different and strange but seriously mark wahlberg is the worst actor of all time..he was in no way believable!
I decently liked M. Night in the past, but I’m far from a fanboy, so no matter what he did I can’t be too disappointed with it because of hype or respect I have for the man himself. The reason so many reviews are so bad is because the viewer either hates or loves M. Night and they’re opinions of him take or add to their opinion of the movie.
For what it was, I disagree with people who say that it needed a killer or suspense or whatever. The story itself held up just fine, and only bordered on silly slightly (though I could see how some would think it’s ludicrous). Also, all the fanboys who claim the movie was “original” and “deep” are insane. The basic idea—mass suicide with unknown cause—has been done in countless Stephen King novels: The Stand and Cell are the two on the top of my head. *Spoilers* The idea of trees causing this has been done in countless old sci-fi movies like The Forbidden Planet and such. Even the maniac old in the end reminded me of a dumbed-down version of Hoit (sp?) in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. *End spoilers* I can’t name an original idea in the entire plot. As for people who defend Night by saying: “People hate this movie because it is too deep, and they want more popcorn-flick thrillers!” are, once again, very wrong. The Happening takes on the same old global warming banter you’ve heard for years. Deep? Hardly. Even the whole “faith vs. fear” meaning Night implies in his interviews has been done so many times it’s almost a cliché—not that the movie showed that meaning very strongly in the first place, if at all.
It is also falsely advertised as being a violent/gory film. The headshot suicides are cut-off scenes, and any more unpractical suicide scenes are not shown. The most graphic scene shows a severed arm, but it is only on screen for a second. How it earned an R-rating I’ll never understand, especially when Cloverfield showed just about as much blood and got a PG-13 rating. Also, any hope of being disturbed by the images, even though they’re relatively goreless, is minimal. There was a ditzy 12-year-old girl sitting next to me and she was laughing as some of the “disturbing” scenes took place. And M. Night compared his newest movie to a slightly lesser Hostel? What . . .?
I’m not sure if the acting was terrible as much as the characters just looked and acted stupid. You can defend that by saying it was how they were meant to be, but it simply was not pleasant to watch people being so silly in a movie that isn’t meant to be black comedy.
But in the end I think that’s how it’s taken. Black comedy. The opening 20 minutes had me and the younger (and more desensitized) audience unintentionally laughing at the cut-off scenes and the cheesy reactions to deaths. The end is very well done . . . until the last five minutes when it uses an unrealistic TV broadcast to give us the information that should have been shown.
Now my biased opinion:
I’m glad this movie didn’t stoop to the wholehearted clichés that critically acclaimed movies like The Decent, The Orphanage, and The Mist did. But the lack of advertised gore and the poor storytelling just ruined it for me. Worth my $5? I think I got more satisfaction for my money’s worth writing this review than I got out of the movie.
It won’t rock your world, but it’s better than wallowing in boredom. Take it or leave it.
M. Night Syalaman should get a grip and know that the whole "apocalyptic horror" is overdone (War of the Worlds, 28 Weeks/Days Later, Cloverfield, SIGNS). I was watching the movie and I think the only reason why this was his first "R-rated Film" was because of the death scenes that thankfully happen on-screen this time. I walked out of the theater because I wanted to buy a new MP3 player at the mall and from the start of the "climax" I knew there was no plot twist in this film, and I also got really bored. Really boring movie with Mark Wahlberg talking like he's a puberty-stricken teenager.
I found this movie to be choppy, illogical and relatively forgetable. The characters were one dimensional and the plot was idiotic. It had it's moments but other then that...blech.
Nothing new from M. Night Shyamalan. This movie lost interest for most half way through and after this I have lost intrest in M. Night Shyamalan movies.
this film was such a let down!
there was no gore, or very little. which i was expecting. put it this way there is more gore in shaun of the dead!
yes there was no twists but the storyline was aweful anyways! it is clear that film makers are running out of ideas.
also someone didnt do their research i noticed alot of faults in the film.
my boyfriend wanted his money back at the end of the film.
also they kinda stole the idea from 28 weeks later at the end of the film which i couldnt believe coz that is an amaizing film!
I thought this movie was pretty badass!! it was weird hearing it was R so i had to see it, then i did and wow...it had awesome gore effects, not alot of gore but the stuff it showed was amazing. yeah i do agree that the movie was a let down to an extent. once it ends you truly have to use your imagination for what happened...its true that it has no twist, M. NIGHT actually just tossed everything at you and kept everything else hid. overall awesome movie!!
I was really let down. his first "R" rated movie? I'm surprised it even got R. I mean, he's famous for his twists? No twists here. I'm really let down mainly because I saw everything in the trailers. I mean EVERYTHING. All the deaths, sans the two gun deaths are in the trailer. Nothing was surprising, and the marky mark attempt at humor was embarrassing from Shyamalan who is supposed to be a master. I really enjoy (with the exception of a few minor pionts) all of his other films and I respect this guy alot, but he really dropped the ball on this one. I'm sad I was really excited to begin with in anticipation on this. Two thumbs down, his worst film.
This film was so hilariously bad I thought I was watching a parody. The "villain" of the film is so unbelievably funny, you can't help but snort every time it's shown. Mark Wahlberg gives his worst performance since the Funky Bunch. M. Night remains off the tracks. I'll always love 'Sixth Sense' and 'Unbreakable', but all of his other films are turds. The only good part was I didn't see M. Night in the movie. For that, I commend him.
Somehow, this managed to be worse than I expected. I went in with low expectations after having hated all of M. Night's movies, but this honestly took it to an even worse all-time low, which was previously set by Lady in the Water. This was truly terrible.
OK, Im not happy when I come across people who review films and dont know what they are talking about. Case In Point. THe Happening was a good film yet there are hater's out there. I really dont know why, like one guy said people find strange reasons to hate this film. The movie was everything it was supposed to be. Even Mr. Disgusting didnt like the film. That gave me a bad feeling going in but even he was wrong.(just like when he gave "slither" 5 skulls). Anyways I wanted to write this message so people who dont know better dont miss out on this film. The movie is fantastic. One hell of a thrill ride, you will enjoy it if you arent close minded.
For future reviewers, dont open your mouth about a movie unless you have a valid point. One fool on here posted "The movie looked stupid from day one." Yeah, if I seen you in real life I would gut you like a fish.
Liked it. Didn't LOVE it, but I did enjoy most of it. There are too many cliches running rampant in all movies these days that it's nice to watch something a little different - a little off kilter.
This movie was not all i was hoping for but for what it is it's a pretty decent movie. i wish John Leguizamo was in it alot more but thats just me. and idk if i just wasent paying attention but i didnt see the part from the red-band trailer where the guy lays under the lawn-mower, it was a good story though. coulda been alot bloodier but hey, im fine with the whole "you think somthin is gonna happen" feeling but yeah. decent Film 6 outta 10
So before going to see this I had an inkling from the reviews that this may not be so good. the trailers were great for it though and I don't tend to follow reviews especially when it comes to horror films. But there are certain types of horror films you should follow the reviews for. The ones that aim to be more than just a simplistic excercise in scare tactics. those are just plain dumb fun. M. Night Shylamans' movies aim to be more and almost always fail with the exception of Signs. Which kept an incredible amount of suspense up until it's crappy conclusion. I've never been a fan of M. Night Shylaman and I've never understood peoples fascination with him. Beginning with the extremely over rated Sixth Sense. You may love I called it in the first fifteen minutes and its not like that film hasn't been done before and better. Unbreakabale I just thought was plain awful. The Village I thought was alright but called the film halfway through, it really wasn't that big of a twist and Lady in the Water I'm not even sure about.. It wasn't very good but definatly stands as his most original work to date. The problem with Shylaman is that he tries to pass off things that have been done before in his own way. Sometimes it works most of the times it doesn't. The Happening has a pretty good premise which I won't spoil for you in this review because it's the only good thing in the film. First up the film is directed awful it's all over the place and the pacing is just plain boring for the most part. The acting is shameful. It's atrociously bad and very disapointing coming from a pretty good cast. But in their defense they don't have very much to work with at all and its no secret the director sucks. Well let's hope for their sake the film doesn't take them down with it. The dialogue and scene staging are unintentionally laughable for the most part and not even as shocking as the commercials make them out to be. the red band trailers I posted show every half ass gory part in the film. At 91 mins. the film feels like it runs four hours and still ends with little to no explanation for the events that proceeded. Instead we are subjected to horrible charachter setups for people that don't seem real at all. I guess inhis world this is the way people act and react to things. Anyways look theirs nothing good about the ffilm it's scareless. pretty much goreless and ultimatly pointless. It seems to drag on forever to an ending that is so anticlimactic you'll w ant to stab the person next to you. I've never been a fan of Shylaman but now I hate him. this film will bury him. It's not just one of the worst movies of the year, it's one of the worst film ever made. */5
People have unintelligent reasons to hate this movie: People talk weird, there is no villain, there is no twist. I will say that I had low, low expectations for this movie since reading an interview done by the director on The Happening website, in which he basically gave away what's causing the event, so I knew that walking in.
His execution of the movie was well done. The score was good, the actors weren't terrible, and the deaths were excellent. I counted maybe 20 on screen deaths, plus a barrage of deaths that you could hear and witness after the deed is done.
Was it his best? No. Is it worth killing 90 minutes for? Maybe. It depends on if you're the type of person who needs everything spelled out for you, or if you like to think about movies after the initial viewing.
If you want to see a movie just to see a movie, than go see this. If you're a fan of Shamalamadingdong, I think you'll enjoy this. The guy is a genius when it comes to directing, it's just his writing could use some work. The funny scenes were funny, the creepy scenes were creepy, and the movie was enjoyable on a few levels.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS: (and not like flesheater123, where he says spoilers MAY come while he gives away the whole movie)
The end, for not having a "twist," was great. I walked away very, very pleased. Some scenes, including people running away from the wind, were a little cheesy. The overall message of people killing the planet, the planet not standing for it, and forcing people to kill each other before they rid The Earth entirely, is a good concept.
The opening scenes in The Happening were effective-probably because they too closely mimiced Stephen King's far superior Cell. The rest of this movie was unintentionally hilarious.The scene where Mark Wahlberg talks to a plastic tree will almost certainly pick up a Razzie next year on Oscar night. It's sad that the writer/ director of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable continues his dizzying spiral into hackdom. For me, the worst major studio release since Jaws The Revenge.
Oh c'mon. I thought this movie was great. It was well thought-out and generally creepy, and it seems that people just dont like it because it is really natural. M is just telling his story, not trying to impress everybody by giving them exactly what they want. You may not like it because it isnt what you want, but try to open you mind to it before you make your opinion definite. Think about it, you may actually like it.
Well all i have to say it that the movie did what i wanted it to do for me. It creeps you out, makes you feel like ehhh maybe it could happen, because plant's do give off some chemicals balances. Like Venus Fly traps can use sound to kill it's prey, etc. So that's the postives for me, the gore and death scenes were very well. A tiger part is really F up. And the rest of the scenes were pretty screwed up and disturbing as hell.
Some were funny and weren't meant to be, but hey wasn't you see a movie a thousands time you get use to the killings. It was slightly oringal.
My negatives of the film are as follow. Please M.night plase write like people speak. People do not speak like they spoke in this movie. Holy Cheese Crackers. who in the hell said's that shit. So for the writing part, it fail's completly.
But it did show a sense of panic, which was good. And it did what it did it freak people out.
yes some scenes were funny but they were meant to be funny to smooth down the pace of the creepiness, were they done bad yes. But did they still make people laugh yes. Look for a part with a Mark and a tree.
Now my only concern on why people seem to hate it is THE ENDING. Spoliers may come.....
the ending was very open, and to me it was perfect. he could do the happening part 2 and pick it up in Paris and have the world die.... But hey we all like different movies. Everybody seems to love indy Jones I hated it, it was the most fakest piece of crap ever. but thats here nor there. So i say spend your mone becus this is M. Nights best movie to date and pretty good for this first R flick. And yes I hated all his other movies....
Ok I can finnaly spill the beans. I warn you, spoiler ahead. You want to know the end of the movie? Well I'll tell you in a sec. If you want to see some cool deaths and have nothing to do this weekend, then go. Yea, some cool gore here and there, but the twist is stupid. If you are going to go be disapointed by the Hulk instead, like me, I'll save you the other waste of time by this bit of info....it's the Earth. The Earth treats humans like a virus and creates "The Happening" to kill off everyone. There, aren't you glad you didn't see it. All that time to figure out that there is no real bad guy. This movie is just one giant collection of everyone going through the motions. However...if you hate giant green guys and want to see this. A guy does get his arms ripped of by tigers.
this movie was just plain crap. first of all, everyone in the film was talking some weird way which made every line in the film just sound weird to begin with. then it goes on that everyone just starts popping themselves off one by one, but yet there are those who are in no way infected right away when everyone else is already killing themselves. i was having a real problem with that. the movie was more comical than anything. the "hot dog guy" is probably the best thing in the whole movie! "The Happening" is just one of those movies that fails in every scene and with every line. when the army guy who remminded my of gomer pile starts taking over, the movie completely lost my interest. if people really want to see it because their such huge fans of Night, then wait for it out on dvd, or better yet until its on cable for free. this movie isnt worth any time watching it, and better yet paying for it to see it in theaters. and as for M. Night, well, after a great start with "The Six Sense," and "Unbreakable" i think hes going down the road of Uwe Boll.
