  
The Happening a.k.a. “Phénomènes,” “Zdarzenie,” “O Acontecimento,” “E venne il giorno,” “Fim dos Dias,” “El Fin de los tiempos,” “Green Planet,” “The Green Effect”MPAA Rating:
 for violent and disturbing images.Reviewed by: Sheri McMurray Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience:
Adults
Genre:
Thriller, Suspense, Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure, Drama, Politics
Length:
1 hr. 31 min.
Year of Release:
2008
USA Release:
June 13, 2008
 
Relevant Issues
“We’ve sensed it. We’ve seen the signs. Now… It’s happening.” When Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg), a young science teacher in New York, starts explaining to his high school class about the strange disappearance of the bees, it had me intrigued, because I had been taken in by that very real report myself when it came out in the news just last year. Oddly, the news has neglected this phenomenon ever since, and I had always wondered why. Then, when I saw the Einstein quote sprawled across the blackboard in his classroom, “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.” …my interest level went up a notch as well. What I had read about the bee population and how it can suffer serious effects and possibly vanish from a variety of natural-occurring chemicals in plants, such as ethanol resulting from the fermentation of organic material, stood out in my mind. The movie suggested that exposure to ethanol from fermented nectar or ripe fruits and natural chemicals in our environment, could cause a chain reaction resulting in life threatening consequences; it sounded fascinating. I sat, eagerly waiting for the ball to get rolling. M. Knight Shyamalan hit upon a somber note for our survival here on planet Earth, that, by taking away our bee population, could in fact have a resounding domino effect on life as we know it, as well as wreck disastrous consequences on all human survival. Not long after Elliot Moore begins the scientific discussion of the bees, there is news of strange occurrences—of people being suddenly confused, followed by loss of speech and within minutes later, death, spread throughout New York and it’s outlying cities. All inhabitants were being encouraged to evacuate. The high school students and teachers are dismissed, and we are swept along with the characters’ confusion and numbing this-can’t-be-happening realization that terrorists have somehow found a way to spread an airborne toxin throughout the US environment, with fatal accuracy. While taking a train out of the city with his friend and colleague, Julian (John Leguizamo) and his 8 year old daughter, Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez) as well as his new wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel), Elliot learns the event has swiftly spread to every part of the eastern seaboard of the United States. People are dropping dead all around them, there is no apparent escape from the unseen menace, which somehow blocks human neurotransmitters making people kill themselves. Moving in small packs, survivors try, without much success, to run from their invisible attacker. While they are searching for a safe haven, the back story running through the plot is centered around Elliot and his sweet wife, Alama and their being unable to express the love they truly have for one another. This sub-drama helps to bring what we are truly here on earth for into strong focus. It, in many ways, proves to be a more solid story than the main focus Shyamalan was going for, and that is we might be unwittingly forcing nature to defend itself against our rampant pollution of (and killing off of) planet Earth. As riveting and mysterious this all sounds as a storyline, it just doesn’t pick up enough momentum throughout the film to make an impact as it should. I enjoyed “The Happening,” and the performances were handled in a convincing, realistic way, right down to the news reports and people’s reactions to the surreal events happening around them. I believe that a lot of pressure has been placed on an M. Knight Shyamalan script to have the ultimate ‘ah-ha’ factor at the end, because of his success with “Sixth Sense,” “Signs,” and “The Village.” We want to be fooled by his movies, and I for one, always look forward to seeing him in some sort of a cameo appearance (ala Alfred Hitchcock), which I didn’t see in “The Happening.” Although I enjoyed this film, I was disappointed with the flat feeling I had at it’s conclusion, and felt even a bit cheated because I could almost tell how it was going to end. I wanted to be surprised and wasn’t. I also was disappointed to find that the Einstein quote was not really Einstein’s, but ‘attributed to’ his thoughts on the subject. I felt like I was being subliminally preached at (yet again) about going green and the environment. The message of “The Happening” is—no one's killing us but ourselves. The “R” rating is very appropriate. Although there was no foul language, nudity or sex, there was lots of death in all kinds of creative forms (and blood). A character stabs herself in the neck with a long hair pin, people fall from buildings and are shown lying in bloody tangled heaps on the cement, men and women are shown shooting themselves in the head, blood spurting onto the ground, a man’s arms are shown being ripped off by lions, a car is shown slamming into a tree and bodies go flying out through the windshield, and on and on. There is an instance where people are shooting themselves in front of the 8 year old character, and another scene where two teenaged boys are shot by a man with a rifle—more blood, and very disturbing, even to me as an adult viewer. This is not a movie for anyone under 16! “The Happening” does portray with chilling realism what people might resort to if they feel scared and threatened. What desperate people may do to survive, and that, in itself, is a heartbreaker to contemplate. There is a bit of humor spattered throughout to break the tension. Although some characters used God’s name as an explicative (“God in Heaven”), God was not mentioned as our comfort and our help in times of despair and peril. God was not held high as the one to mend a marriage or the One to turn to when there seems to be no human answer. I couldn’t help but hang my head and lament, a world without God as it’s comforter and deliverer, is world truly without hope. If you are an M. Knight Shyamalan, Wahlberg, or Zooey Deschanel fan, you will probably like this movie, but it definitely is not in the same caliber as Shyamalan’s earlier works. On a Christian level, I would use caution when viewing it, because of the very graphic scenes of death, as mentioned above. Christian families should note very young children including ‘tweens’ should not be exposed to the horrific emotional impact it’s story and images portray. In conclusion, my thoughts are these: When we are with God, we are not alone in life. He shares life with us. He rejoices in our good times. He shares the burden of sorrow and hardship.
Violence: Extreme / Profanity: None / Sex/Nudity: None See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.  Comments below:
Positive
Positive - Many worthwhile themes emerged while viewing this disturbing and graphic film. People were making difficult choices regarding their families(Julian went back to find his wife and left his daughter Jess in the care of Elliot and Alma) Hard choice—loved both his daughter and wife! Also Elliot and Alma chose at the end to die together rather than be separated physically—took courage. When the group from the train was stranded at the diner many people just drove off and wouldn't give others a ride. A big point was made as we watch cars speeding off as Elliot pleads,' we're without transportation! We have a young child with us!' No mercy was to be found, we think, then an older couple(nursery owners) take the 3 in their jeep. Positive - A terrorist attack unleashes on New York City, with the epicenter of the epidemic outbreak in Central Park. At first, people are paralyzed. But not all. Apparently animals like dogs and lions are unaffected as well as select few humans. However, paralysis quickly turns into self-destruction. Literally. A person's survival instincts are completely bypassed, resulting in throngs of people plummeting to their death, pointing loaded gats to their heads and pulling the triggers, or doing any number of other suicidal acts. Negative
Negative - This movie is very disturbing. If you like M. Knight Shyamalan for his plot twists and surprise endings don't waste your time. The surprise is… there is no surprise. This director obviously wants to be the next Hitchcock, only he leaves very little to the imagination when it comes to gory violence. The main characters seem to have neutral moral character. The wife feels very guilty over flirting with a co-worker. And the main character only uses profanity when pushed to the limit. The whole movie is completely devoid of any spiritual references except for the Lord's prayer being uttered by someone who is about to kill themselves. And that brings us to the dangerous part of this film. When people are exposed to the neurotoxins, or whatever it is, they first become disoriented and then kill themselves. Negative - I always say anticipation is half the fun of anything, and that's about all I got to enjoy from this film. The Happening movie trailer thoroughly captured our families attention, and we had it on the calendar for the last 2 months as a family date night with our 19 year old daughter and 18 and 16 year old sons. I even pre-purchased the tickets. Just this morning, my husband heard some alarming things about the films gratuitous gore, so I went at noon to preview the movie. Needless to say, I don't recommend The Happening to anyone. We have loved M. Night's other films, but we were wrong to assume that “The Happening” would be along the lines of “The Village” or “Signs,” etc. Be warned, plot and spoilers coming. Negative - I am a huge fan of Mark Wahlberg, in this film he did great, I just think as a Christian I believe at the end times that we will have a point to decide on which way to go when that time comes. But, too, I think the writer is to gruesome like Stephen King is. Negative - This is the type of movie where you find out that you essentially saw it all in the previews. The scenes you see for the trailer/commercial/stills are the absolute high points of the film. See the trailer and you have seen the movie. There is only tedium between remaining. When the credits started to roll at the end, I wanted to scream “I Want My Money Back!!!… Is that it??!!!” Save Your Money! Negative - I am so glad that I had free movie tickets to use for this movie! This movie was not scary or suspenseful, just dumb. I was very disappointed because I liked the director's other movies. In my opinion this movie is just a showcase for different ways for people to die and some of the images are quite graphic and stick with you. People were actually laughing in the theater when people died because it was so ridiculous. I would not suggest spending money to see this movie in the theater… either rent it or take my advice that it was a bad movie! Negative - Although I am in total agreement with my fellow Christian's revulsion to the offensive material (violence, language, and using God's name as a curse word) depicted in “The Happening,” there is something much more frightening and threatening contained in it's overall message. This movie is preaching the very powerful and very real New Age message of Gaia (spirit of the earth) and the well documented New Age “Plan” to cleanse the earth of mankind, who is not considered to be part of nature but more of a virus, which needs to be eradicated for the benefit of nature. This point is well illustrated in the closing moments of “The Happening” when during a TV interview, a scientist is theorizing that the explanation that the “attacks” were localized because the deadly events were merely a warning to mankind. He said that the localized attacks were liken to a rash on the hand. This strongly implies, if not blatantly stating, that man is equal to some kind of organism causing disease and needs to be “cured.” The warning from Mother Earth (Gaia), the death of many thousands of humans, is that humankind must become one with nature, stop polluting the planet, or perish. Another major feature in this movie which gives away it's New Age agenda is the presence of the wind. Negative - Oh how disappointing! I just watched “Signs” for about the fourth time on DVD and CRIED again because it was such an AWESOME movie!! It reminded me of everything I did not like about “The Happening.” “The Happening” lacked all the major things that I love about movies like “Signs,” “The Village,” “Unbreakable,” “The Sixth Sense.” It's the fact that M. Night always has a redeeming message to the films. There is that subtle, sweet humor to his stories. You get drawn in and love the characters. You get very caught up in the scary parts of the movie, but it's always worth it in the end. This movie just lacked all of the things that make me go to an M. Knight movie just because he made it. Oh, I hope he hasn't lost his touch. Oh well, I guess nobody is perfect, except our Lord. Better luck next time M. Night! Negative - MAY CONTAIN SLIGHT SPOILERS! This film does not contain offensive swear words or nudity like most rated R films; however, it is extremely violent and very disturbing. The reason behind the violence is never clearly explained so it leaves you with images that will stay with you for a long time. There is no resolution that helps alleviate the shock that the film delivers. It is definitely not family friendly. Negative - This is an extremely disgusting, disappointing, and disturbing movie on so many levels. In this film, humans are attacked by plants and then try to kill themselves as a result (but first they walk backwards for a while?!?!). The same ridiculous scene is shot over and over and over again …people are flailing off buildings, shoot themselves in the head, stab themselves in the neck with hair sticks, willingly have their limbs torn off by lions, throw themselves under riding lawn mowers, and bang their heads against brick walls and into glass windows. Do not waste your money on this ridiculous movie. It will have a hard sell in the rental market too, no doubt. Several people walked out of the theatre murmuring the words “stupid,” “dumb,” and “that was soooooo bad”! Negative - The thing I was most disturbed about with M. Night Shyamalan's latest offering was not the premise(very promising),or the underlying moral of the story, but the extremely weak execution of that premise. Is this meant to be a believable lesson of what would happen if we destroyed this earth-would we destroy ourselves?, or a laughable parody of 70's B sci-fi flicks-some of the acting is so bad here it must be. The music and the acting or so over the top in tandem at several moments, and the dialogue so bad-that I thought 'This has got to be a joke'-or is it just fantasy like “Lady in the water” or a morality play disguised as a sci-fi flick like “Signs” At least with most of M. Night's films-which I love all of them, even “The Village” and “Lady in the Water”-you pretty much know what you have gotten by the end of the flick-as far as the director's intentions. Negative - I went to see this film after reading the review above. I thought that this was M. Night's worst movie yet. The acting was dull and there were scenes that could have been left out as they did not help the script at all. Profanity: There were five curse words in the film including one which graphically takes God's name in vain, as well as the vulgar term for a woman's anatomy was used. Overall, it was a disappointment. Negative - As a fan of M Night Shyamalan's movies—I was curious but cautious in seeing his latest movie “The Happening.” I was cautious because, “Lady in the Water,” his previous movie, didn't quite provide the “suspense” or feel for reality like like his previous (“Unbreakable,” “Sixth Sense,” “Signs,” “The Village”). So I went with my 15 year old son, hopeful that the Alfred Hitchcock-like magic that we've seen in his first four hits would be on display again. Sadly, it was not. Negative - Since M. Night Shyamalan's first film, I eagerly anticipated his next. Always expecting a brilliance of storytelling and unique style and perspective, but never predicting his way of unfolding it. It is what I personally enjoy the most… the lead up to the unfolding, the build, the sometimes dark and subtle way of telling a tale, only to release you in the light… well, for most of his movies. Negative - I am so glad that I had free movie tickets to use for this movie! This movie was not scary or suspenseful, just dumb. I was very disappointed because I liked the director's other movies. In my opinion this movie is just a showcase for different ways for people to die and some of the images are quite graphic and stick with you. People were actually laughing in the theater when people died because it was so ridiculous. I would not suggest spending money to see this movie in the theater …either rent it or take my advice that it was a bad movie! Negative - This movie was a complete waste of time. …Romans 1:23 says, “(they) exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” In this movie, the plants act as god, meting out “justice” to humanity for contaminating the earth. The movie exalts creation to the place of a god. Please do not waste your time or give place to the world's perspective about this planet. Comments from young people
Neutral - I honestly don't know what I think about this movie. On one hand it has some of the more unnerving and effective scenes I've seen in a horror movie as of late (excluding films I've re-watched) but it also has something that, by definition, good horror/thriller movies don't have, camp, and the acting in THE HAPPENING is ALL camp! The screenplay also leaves some to be desired, with the events not being the problem as much as the dialog. Could it have been a really good movie? Without the over-the-top campy acting and better dialog I think so, but that really brought it down for me in most places of the film. As for content, the language is mostly on the down low, no f-words or even s-words but a few others. Sex and nudity is non-existent; but the violence. The violence is a 9/10 on the scale, the scenes that contain violence are pretty unsettling. All of the violent scenes are suicides, and it is very in your face and deserves the film it's R-rating. Is it worth seeing the film in theaters, I don't think so. Is it worth grabbing the film on DVD, I'd say yes, what you think then is totally up to you. Positive - This was an extremely suspenseful film, I must say. Unlike “Signs” or “Unbreakable,” both by the same director, the shock is somewhat earlier in the film, and it ends on a somewhat darker note, although it does leave you sharing some happiness with the main characters. Positive - This is my fave movie! The first time I saw it I was freaking out, but I love it!! hehe. There was absolutely nothing inappropriate in it. I was very pleased. Negative - Alright. So I went into this movie thinking it was going to be great. Well, I was horribly wrong. All the movie was basically was people killing themselves. It was just stupid. The acting was terrible, and the death scenes were disturbing. And then to top it all off, in the end we learn that the earth is trying to kill us off! It’s totally against any religious beliefs. I think it had to be one of the worst movies I ever saw. I actually found myself laughing at some parts because they were so stupid. Positive - Well, I saw this movie with my grandpa, and, to be honest, I was not offended by it. Although it was very violent, there was a bit of swearing, but there was not the f-word or anything, but it would be disturbing to a kid under 13. It was not scary; it was just weird if ill put it that way, but me as a Christian did not offend me, although I believe it did say GD once, but other than that I liked it. |
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