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Reviews Counted:169
Fresh:31
Rotten:138
Average Rating:4.1/10
Consensus: The Happening begins with promise, but unfortunately descends into an incoherent and unconvincing trifle.
Theatrical Release:13-06-2008
Synopsis: M. Night Shyamalan directs this thriller about a science teacher (Mark Wahlberg) who tries to escape with his wife and friend's daughter after an apocalyptic event. THE HAPPENING costars Zooey... [More]
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Betty Buckley
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Somewhere in The Happening there's a great movie struggling to break free. The concept is fantastic... but poor dialogue combined with even worse performances make for a disappointing and frustrating 90 minutes of film.
Shyamalan creates another urban myth with this slow burning thriller. But it never quite comes to life, due to stiff directing and acting
Trying to understand the thought process of writer and director M. Night Shyamalan is akin to analyzing Jell-O. What keeps it wiggling and what binds it together? This particular circumstance also had an Alfred Hitchcock vibe.
'The Happening' may not be M. Night Shyamalan's best movie, but it's his most provocative one.
Shyamalan movies demand that you surrender to his way of telling stories. If you're up for that, you should go.
An atmospheric tale that rewards with genuine shocks instead of big bang explosions and a hamburger tie in.
Not a complete return to form (by far), but also not a failure. Let's be fair--this is the best film Shyamalan has put out in years.
Undoubtedly M. Night Shyamalan's weakest thriller to date...
Works as an effective and brutally horrifying antithesis to the usual explosive summer fare...
I'm always amused by the sort of backlashes that Shyamalan is in right now. Well, M. Night Shyamalan makes vague, subtle fantasy thrillers. If you've outgrown it, don't blame him.
An impressive thriller which acknowledges the mystery that lies behind the marvels and the terrors of the natural world.
It's creepy, silly fun. And if it came from anyone else, it would be recognized as such. One thing is certain: The man hasn't lost his ability to entertain.
Shhht. Don't say it out loud, but we actually kinda liked M. Night Shyamalan's latest movie . . .
Shyamalan crafts a somewhat chilling cautionary tale; it just might have been more chilling if he had been a little less cautious.
Mark Wahlberg's sturdy performance saves The Happening from becoming a protracted Saturday Night Live spoof of M. Night Shyamalan movies.
just damned creepy
Minor Shyamalan, but still well worth seeing.
The suicides are mostly very originally staged and creepy as hell...Mark Wahlberg is OK, but a scene where he 'forgives' his wife's indiscretion is just plain weird, as is Zooey Deschanel throughout.
I did find myself caught up in Shyamalan's apocalyptic world for a time -- before some really bad dialogue or acting would shake me out of it.
Shyamalan's direction always seems so serious that it's easy to imagine he may be screwing up when he draws laughs, but I'd lay down money that many of these were deliberate.
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July 06, 2008:
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June 19, 2008:
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June 16, 2008:
WNYC RADIO: A numbing polemical morality tale in dreary doomsday thriller clothing, this dull downer for all its mass panic attack high alert mode, may be more effective in unintentionally boring people to death. 
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