The Happening

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The Happening

R

Released Jun 13, 2008

1h 31m

Sci-Fi

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

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

Full Review

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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Edward T

The worst acting and dialog in Cinema.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/23/25

Full Review

Mark M

The movie intrigues you with its quite promising beginning but as it progresses you begin to question what you're actually watching and what could be the resolution to such a unintentionally convoluted film

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/04/25

Full Review

Jeremy H

I've always thought it was a pretty good movie, never understood the bad reviews.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/26/24

Full Review

Carlos T

Filme: Fim dos Tempos Elenco: @markwahlberg @zooeyschanel @johnleguizamo @ashlynsanchez @ohnospenny Modelo: #suspense #epidemia Duração: 1h 31m Ano: 2008 Minha opinião: Filmes semelhantes Um Lugar Silencioso, The Silence, Bird Box, Lugar Silencioso, Rua Cloverfeild, Próxima Parada Apocalipse,... É um daqueles filmes meio sem pé e sem cabeça, que aparece uma praga ou alien ou um vírus, do nada aparece e do nada desaparece. Onde todos devem evitar de fazer barulho ou qualquer tipo de som e respirar o vento que transmite tipo um neuro toxina que faz pessoas afetadas se suicidam. Fazendo uma grande parte a população morresse. A interpretação é boa dos atores e até de como desenrola o filme. Mas você fica na incógnita do que é o causador de tudo. Você começa com uma ? e termina da mesma maneira ? Temos cenas de tensão que nos segura. Mas ao final tudo desaparece e eles vivem felizes para sempre. Roteiro e enredo sem pe e nem cabeça, mas que no roteiro do filme foram boas. Vale apena assistir? Sim se você gosta este estilo de filmes. Nota: 5

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/10/24

Full Review

Jason W

The plot and casting had major potential, but something just fell really short of the mark. Some of the death scenes were cool. The dialogue and delivery for majority of the horribly written script was something of a wonder. I couldn't tell if it was on purpose or everyone just phoned it in. I felt the soundtrack ruined a lot as well.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

11/24/24

Full Review

Jah F

An underrated film that hits home in exploring the power of perception and spontaneous panic, as well as the power of groupthink. It's a bit of a low key film, in many ways, but that actually plays to it's favor, as the events, as significant and startling as they are, play against a back drop that truly feels like life as it's actually lived. It stands as a strong juxtaposition to the over-the-top crisis thrillers that often fail to address the human condition.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/26/24

Full Review

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M. Night Shyamalan

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Mark Wahlberg

Elliot Moore

Zooey Deschanel

Alma Moore

John Leguizamo

Julian

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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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