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The Happening

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The Happening

R

Released Jun 13, 2008

1h 31m

Sci-Fi

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

17%

Tomatometer

185 Reviews

24%

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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.

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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

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

Sean Price

The Spool

But suppose you squint your eyes and pretend it’s a satirical comedy. In that case, it turns from an all-time debacle to one of the most unintentionally funny (and prescient) horror comedies of the 21st century.

Feb 24, 2023

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Mark W

Zoe Deschanel would eventually go on to become a great actress. Wahlberg and Shyamalan never got any better, unfortunately.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

05/20/25

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Peter

I love love love the happening. I love night"s humor and the acting. but most of all, it's really really entertaining. there's a reason why it's being played a lot on TV, cuz people gravitate towards it and are interested. if you don't like m night Shyamalan , that's your business, but I'm a fan

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/20/25

Full Review

Tyler G

It is bad, but at least it is entertaining at points. One of the worst acted movies ever. Wahlberg and Deschanel are both atrocious.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

05/18/25

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Emma F

The Happening starts off intriguing but quickly loses its way and becomes a bit of a head-scratcher.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/11/25

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Cynthia W

THE worst movie I’ve ever seen. I’m still trying to figure out if it was supposed to be satirical like the Scary Movie movies. I mean, they couldn’t have been serious about this as horror, right?

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/04/25

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie makes me laugh like a comedy. It’s so funny because it’s terribly cheesy. Not its intention but…it tries hard to be very serious but has terrible music, and awkward conversations and deaths.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/23/25

Full Review

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M. Night Shyamalan

Director

Mark Wahlberg

Elliot Moore

Zooey Deschanel

Alma Moore

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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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