The Happening
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When a deadly airborne virus threatens to wipe out the northeastern United States, teacher Elliot Moore and his wife Alma flee from contaminated cities into the countryside in a fight to discover the truth. Is it terrorism, the accidental release of some toxic military bio weapon -- or something even more sinister?
What critics thought
One of the most divisive studio films of its era, with the overwhelming majority of critics finding it incoherent, poorly acted, and dramatically inert — yet a vocal minority saw something genuinely worthwhile in its willingness to be strange. The central split is between those who read Shyamalan's deadpan absurdism as incompetence and those who embraced it as a pulpy B-movie sensibility; even sympathetic reviews tend to call it goofy rather than good.
“woeful clunker of a paranoid thriller”
Joe Morgenstern·The Wall Street Journal
“covers territory already over-tilled by countless disaster epics and zombie movies, offering little in the way of suspense, visceral kicks or narrative vitality to warrant the retread”
Justin Chang·Variety
“instead of letting his idea breathe and develop and see where it might go, he jumps all over it and prematurely shapes it into a story”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
“It is no doubt too thoughtful for the summer action season, but I appreciate the quietly realistic way Shyamalan finds to tell a story about the possible death of man”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Tamping down the self-seriousness in favor of some horrific silliness, M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening plays as a genuinely enjoyable B-movie for anyone inclined (or able) to see it that way”
Orange County Register
Parents guide
- Violence
- severe
- Sex
- none
- Profanity
- mild
- Substances
- none
- Intensity
- moderate
Genres
Thriller, Science Fiction
Cast & Crew
M. Night ShyamalanDirector
Mark WahlbergElliot Moore
Zooey DeschanelAlma Moore
John LeguizamoJulian
Ashlyn SanchezJess
Betty BuckleyMrs. Jones
Spencer BreslinJosh
Robert Bailey Jr.Jared
Frank CollisonNursery Owner
Jeremy StrongPrivate Auster
Alan RuckPrincipal
Victoria ClarkNursery Owner's WifeM. Night ShyamalanJoey (voice)
James Newton HowardComposer
Tak FujimotoCinematographyThe Happening
When a deadly airborne virus threatens to wipe out the northeastern United States, teacher Elliot Moore and his wife Alma flee from contaminated cities into the countryside in a fight to discover the truth. Is it terrorism, the accidental release of some toxic military bio weapon -- or something even more sinister?
What critics thought
One of the most divisive studio films of its era, with the overwhelming majority of critics finding it incoherent, poorly acted, and dramatically inert — yet a vocal minority saw something genuinely worthwhile in its willingness to be strange. The central split is between those who read Shyamalan's deadpan absurdism as incompetence and those who embraced it as a pulpy B-movie sensibility; even sympathetic reviews tend to call it goofy rather than good.
“woeful clunker of a paranoid thriller”
Joe Morgenstern·The Wall Street Journal
“covers territory already over-tilled by countless disaster epics and zombie movies, offering little in the way of suspense, visceral kicks or narrative vitality to warrant the retread”
Justin Chang·Variety
“instead of letting his idea breathe and develop and see where it might go, he jumps all over it and prematurely shapes it into a story”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
“It is no doubt too thoughtful for the summer action season, but I appreciate the quietly realistic way Shyamalan finds to tell a story about the possible death of man”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Tamping down the self-seriousness in favor of some horrific silliness, M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening plays as a genuinely enjoyable B-movie for anyone inclined (or able) to see it that way”
Orange County Register
Parents guide
- Violence
- severe
- Sex
- none
- Profanity
- mild
- Substances
- none
- Intensity
- moderate
Genres
Thriller, Science Fiction
Cast & Crew
M. Night ShyamalanDirectorMark WahlbergElliot MooreZooey DeschanelAlma MooreJohn LeguizamoJulianAshlyn SanchezJessBetty BuckleyMrs. JonesSpencer BreslinJoshRobert Bailey Jr.JaredFrank CollisonNursery OwnerJeremy StrongPrivate AusterAlan RuckPrincipalVictoria ClarkNursery Owner's WifeM. Night ShyamalanJoey (voice)James Newton HowardComposerTak FujimotoCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy