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Amazon.co.uk Review
You'd expect the end of the world to be no day in the park, but in M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening, a day in the park is where the end begins. One otherwise peaceful summer morning, New Yorkers strolling in Central Park come to a halt in unison, then begin killing themselves by any means at hand. At a high-rise construction site a few blocks over, it's raining bodies as workers step off girders into space. And all the while, the city is so quiet you can hear the gentle breeze in the trees. That breeze carries a neurotoxin, and what or who put it there (terrorists?) is a question raised periodically as the film unfolds. But the question that really matters is how and whether anybody in the Middle Atlantic states is going to stay alive. The Happening is Shyamalan's best film since The Sixth Sense, partly because he avoids the kind of egregious misjudgment that derailed The Village and Lady in the Water, but mostly because the whole thing has been structured and imagined to keep faith with the point of view of regular, unheroic folks confronted with a mammoth crisis. Focal characters are a Philadelphia high-school science teacher (Mark Wahlberg, excellent), his wife (Zooey Deschanel) and math-teacher colleague (John Leguizamo), and the latter’s little girl (Ashlyn Sanchez). Instinct says get out of the cities and move west; most of the film takes place in the delicately picturesque Pennsylvania countryside, with menace hovering somewhere in the haze. There are no special effects (apart from a wind machine and some breakaway glass), but the movie manages to be deeply unsettling in the matter-of-factness of its storytelling. Especially effective is its feel for what we might call the surrealism of banality. One warning sign that someone has been infected by the neurotoxin is irrational or erratic speech and behavior, yet Shyamalan has a genius for dialogue that sounds normal and everyday as it's spoken, yet flies apart grenade-like a second later as its logic (or illogic) sinks in. Then there's Deschanel's eye-rolling dodginess about the messages some guy has been leaving on her cellphone. Or the fellow (Frank Collis) who addresses his greenhouse plants as though they were his children--has a stray toxic zephyr wafted his way, or is this just his idea of normal? --Richard T. Jameson, Amazon.com
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I liked the synopsis for this movie and I'm a big M Night fan so I bought it only to find it's not up to the standard of the writer/director's previous work. The film's cast are reasonable enough with Marc Wahlberg being well....... Marc Wahlberg, a reasonable and amiable leading man.
The plot is simple; people all over the city are falling down dead due to some mysterious killer that no one can fathom. Paranoia grips everyone, and the focus is on Wahlberg, his wife, a colleague and his child attempting to escape to the countryside where things seem safer. Throw in a sub plot where Walbherg and his wife are experiencing relationship problems, while she is receiving text messages from another guy, and it seems you have all the ingredients for an intriguing M Night film. The first hour of the movie had me enjoying it thoroughly and at this point I had hopes that it would be up to the standards of earlier films, however the remainder of the movie goes downhill fast leaving me feeling rather disappointed. The end feels a bit tacked on as if Night was required to finish the project rather quickly.
"The Happening" is not a terrible film, its just not a great film compared to M Nights others. It will give you reasonable entertainment if there is nothing else to watch.
Overall I give it 3 stars.
The plot is simple; people all over the city are falling down dead due to some mysterious killer that no one can fathom. Paranoia grips everyone, and the focus is on Wahlberg, his wife, a colleague and his child attempting to escape to the countryside where things seem safer. Throw in a sub plot where Walbherg and his wife are experiencing relationship problems, while she is receiving text messages from another guy, and it seems you have all the ingredients for an intriguing M Night film. The first hour of the movie had me enjoying it thoroughly and at this point I had hopes that it would be up to the standards of earlier films, however the remainder of the movie goes downhill fast leaving me feeling rather disappointed. The end feels a bit tacked on as if Night was required to finish the project rather quickly.
"The Happening" is not a terrible film, its just not a great film compared to M Nights others. It will give you reasonable entertainment if there is nothing else to watch.
Overall I give it 3 stars.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
THE HAPPENING (2008) is one of those movies where you want to reach into the screen and slap sense into the characters but still keeps you glued to the story. It's a SciFi thriller and I found it quite hilarious at times although I am not sure I was supposed to laugh seeing as how people were committing suicide all over the place. Amazing how inventive people can be when compelled to shuffle off this 'awful' coil!
Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg) is a science teacher and he is discussing the disappearance of bees when he is pulled out of a lesson and instructed to go to a meeting. Seems people in the vicinity of the local park are topping themselves left, right and centre and it is decided that the children must go home. But the situation escalates. No longer is The Happening happening around the park, it is spreading. Elliot, his drippy wife (Zooey Deschanel), his lovely friend (John Leguizamo), and his friend's daughter get on a train out of town but the train cannot reach its destination because there The Happening is happening too. What is causing it and what to do? It could be the trees. It could be the plants. I know, let's run amok in the countryside.
There appear to be quite a few crackpot characters in this movie but don't worry, it has nothing to do with the 'Happening', it's just normal.
Written and directed by the born in India M. Night Syamalan, who also directed The Sixth Sense with Bruce Willis. The Sixth Sense was better. Way better. Never thought you could commit suicide with a ride-on lawnmower. Adults, please don't try this at home.
Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg) is a science teacher and he is discussing the disappearance of bees when he is pulled out of a lesson and instructed to go to a meeting. Seems people in the vicinity of the local park are topping themselves left, right and centre and it is decided that the children must go home. But the situation escalates. No longer is The Happening happening around the park, it is spreading. Elliot, his drippy wife (Zooey Deschanel), his lovely friend (John Leguizamo), and his friend's daughter get on a train out of town but the train cannot reach its destination because there The Happening is happening too. What is causing it and what to do? It could be the trees. It could be the plants. I know, let's run amok in the countryside.
There appear to be quite a few crackpot characters in this movie but don't worry, it has nothing to do with the 'Happening', it's just normal.
Written and directed by the born in India M. Night Syamalan, who also directed The Sixth Sense with Bruce Willis. The Sixth Sense was better. Way better. Never thought you could commit suicide with a ride-on lawnmower. Adults, please don't try this at home.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I think I should have given the money to some drug addicts and let them get some enjoyment from it. This movie was nothing but a waste. sad that money was spent making it and sad that I purchased it. I am usually pretty open minded but this one has me totaly stumped. I think it deserves 30 seconds in the microwave oven and then hang it up outside from a tree as a garden ornament.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
"..A GOOD THRILLER.."
Im not a fan of m. Night shyamalan really, unbreakable was the best movie he ever made, but the happening is really good too, its very very good at building up the tension all the... Read more
Published 29 days ago by S. Drury
Hated it untill the third time i saw it.
dont ask why is saw it 3 times, i did. and now i enjoy this film and will watch it a few more time. only bad part is Zooey Deschanel. Read more
Published 1 month ago by j
Challenging and different
*spoilers*
What a clever film. I have watched this twice now and was impressed both times. People are randomly killing themselves. Read more
What a clever film. I have watched this twice now and was impressed both times. People are randomly killing themselves. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jackiesmackie
Not THAT bad, but scares people into disliking it
I was intrigued by how negative many reviews of this film were, yet some people gave it four and even five stars. Read more
Published 2 months ago by F. L. P. Souza
How does he do it???
Beyond poor! How does Mr. M Night Shyamalan keep finding funding for his awful movies? 'Sixth Sense' and 'Unbreakable' being his ONLY two decent ones, his attempts have been on a... Read more
Published 3 months ago by A. Kerswell
So bad, one star is too much.
I like quirky films. I like SF and fantasy films. Generally "I like films" and often the films others do not like. This is not one of the films I like. Read more
Published 4 months ago by pauland
More Creepy than Scary
I saw this film on tv about a year ago, and I loved it. I missed part of the ending, but I know it was a happy one, if anybody was wondering. Read more
Published 4 months ago by I <3 Scary Movies
DVD Purchase
So impressed with customer service from this company. Wouold definately use them again and would recommend them to anybody. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Tracy Fulford
A significant film.
This is a very simple film, and that's how it succeeds. It is science fiction without spaceships. Science fiction and horror fiction, like some folk tales of old, are genres which... Read more
Published 8 months ago by G. Connolly
I'm trying to be objective here...
+ The premise that the Earth could turn on the human race is interesting and topical.
+ Watching what happens to people when it does is unpleasant and unsettling. Read more
+ Watching what happens to people when it does is unpleasant and unsettling. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mr. W. Egarr
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