The Happening

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The Happening

R

2008

1h 31m

Sci-Fi

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

17%

Tomatometer

185 Reviews

24%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

An apocalyptic threat to humanity arrives out of the clear blue sky with a series of violent, inexplicable deaths spreading across the country. The cause of the terrifying phenomenon remains unknown, prompting science teacher Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg), his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel) and his colleague Julian (John Leguizamo) to try to elude the invisible killer in Pennsylvania's farmland. Soon it becomes clear that no one is safe.

Critics Consensus

The Happening begins with promise, but unfortunately descends into an incoherent and unconvincing trifle.

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

For reasons still unknown, Shyamalan wrote the dialogue this stiffly, and instructed his performers to act like they'd never said words or interacted with each other before.

Jan 30, 2017

Full Review

Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

The Happening is his first hilariously awful film.

Rated: C

Apr 17, 2015

Full Review

Nigel Floyd

Time Out

At first, a great deal happens, then nothing much happens for quite some time, then something so underwhelming happens that one is left wondering, 'Did that really just happen?'

Rated: 2/5

Nov 16, 2011

Full Review

Bryce Hanson

Horror Movie Talk

In this film however, it just makes you wonder how someone that is capable of writing convincing human moments would decide to write the rest of the movie like everyone has a head injury.

Rated: 3/10

Sep 23, 2025

Full Review

Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

The handful of visually unsettling sequences fail to make up for the complete absurdity of the premise and performances.

Rated: 1/5

Sep 20, 2023

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The result is a promising idea realized with a laughable amount of hokum.

Rated: 1.5/4

Sep 6, 2023

Full Review

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Sergio V

Depois de um começo de filme electrizante. O filme descamba em momentos clichê e conversas ambientais, cenas completamente absurdas como conversas com plantas entre outras.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/06/25

Full Review

Andy F

This is - objectively - one of the worst movies I've ever seen. The first weirdness hooked me. Those construction workers? Terrifying. But that was a trap. I thought the rest of the movie would be like that. Instead, it became progressively not like that. Dialog? Terrible. M. Night learned about expository dialog in a film class and thought "Yes! I need lots of that!" M. Night has a habit of putting characters into his movies that have to explain everything. The plant guy in this film does that. The guy being interviewed at the end does that. It's maddening. Let us figure it out for ourselves, M. Or let us just be mystified. Acting? I sincerely believe that every shot was filmed in a single take. No redos. M. was never not satisfied with the performances. The plot? Backwards. Any other movie like this would begin small and get bigger as it went on. But not this movie. This movie is a flood that becomes a trickle, where the water isn't believable as a fluid.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/05/25

Full Review

M M

Hilariously bad, but if you make it to the penultimate scene - no reason for anyone to go outside while it's windy. Especially the kid. Has a real "how do we end this?" vibe.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

08/24/25

Full Review

Siren C

For context .. I am writing this review whilst watching the film. I had never heard of this film and I understood why after the first 20minutes. Good cast however the acting itself is terrible. Plot makes no sense and there are multiple sub storyline’s for no real reason. I am now an hour and 19 minutes in and I still don’t really know what the point of this film is. If you’re a fan of Mark Wahlberg, save yourself an hour and 30minutes by not watching this film.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

08/16/25

Full Review

Tim A.

Literal worst movie of all time.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

08/15/25

Full Review

Jessica L

I don’t understand the dislike, I thought it was a good watch. It’s a steady movie, it makes you think. It picks up every now and again but I was pretty glued to the screen the whole movie. However, there were those moments that made me cringe but not bad enough to make me turn off the movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/14/25

Full Review

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M. Night Shyamalan

Director

Mark Wahlberg

Elliot Moore

Zooey Deschanel

Alma Moore

John Leguizamo

Julian

Betty Buckley

Mrs. Jones

Ashlyn Sanchez

Jess

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Synopsis

An apocalyptic threat to humanity arrives out of the clear blue sky with a series of violent, inexplicable deaths spreading across the country. The cause of the terrifying phenomenon remains unknown, prompting science teacher Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg), his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel) and his colleague Julian (John Leguizamo) to try to elude the invisible killer in Pennsylvania's farmland. Soon it becomes clear that no one is safe.

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Producer: M. Night Shyamalan, Sam Mercer, Barry Mendel
Screenwriter: M. Night Shyamalan
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Blinding Edge Pictures
Rating: R (Violent and Disturbing Images)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 13, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $64.5M
Runtime: 1h 31m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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