SOUND OFF

First of all I HATED this movie!! there was nothing redeeming about it. My reasons, Acting was so wooden and dialog delivered like a high school play that I couldn't figure out if it was on purpose or M.N.S. just is that bad of a director and couldn't get anything out of good actor's. My reasoning for it being on purpose was that maybe he had the actors and everyone in the movie act so distant and disconnected to go along with the theme of the movie but if he did it was a bad idea. I wasn't even into the movie from the start it had a very "off" feeling to it and the only parts worth seeing were already in the Red Band Trailer. I really liked M.N.S. and he must have hit a high with Sixth Sense and I do still argue that Lady in the Water was unfairly picked on, Great fairytale. But I think he just tries to disconnect himself from Hollywood as much as possible and in the long run it has effected his movies too much because of it. I think he should hang up the camera and the pen and call his career good and leave now because I'm afraid of what his next movie will be after this. Here's hoping "it happens" to his career before he tries.

First off, I'm a big MNS fan. I enjoyed all of his previous films and did not understand why people hated Lady in the Water. Unfortunatly this movie is by far his worst effort to date. It's so bad it's funny. Everytime something happened that was supposed to be frightening everybody in the theater laughed. The acting was terrible as well. If I had never seen Marky Mark before I would have thought he was the worst actor in the world. Seriously, he's the funniest part of the movie and I'm pretty sure thats not what he was aiming for. I will say that if creepy old people scare you, then there's about 5 minutes of the movie that are creepy. I hope people will see the bad reviews and stay away. I can't believe I wasted $16.50 tonight. I should have seen the Hulk.

Stop and think what they said about The Rocky Horror Picture Show when it first came out. Now imagine a movie with no music and people saying the same thing. Just got out of the theater and I think this movie could pass as a dark comedy. I was laughing more than I probably should have at the imagery of creative suicide. There were hot dogs, shared bullet launchers and finally an answer to pesky gardeners with leaf blowers. Go see it; it is worth it just to see how bizarrely funny it was.

*I don't say what happens in the movie, but I do talk of the general aspect. So this is a "Spoiler Alert"* Really, this movie was great! A bit of Asian philosophy, Bio-communication, Earthly energy and more. Many people are use to being told what to think these days that they become too lazy to even look for a well displayed message. So many people want to be told at the end of the movie exactly what happened in big bold letters, but life doesn't do that and really what happened to actually thinking and coming to a conclusion? I was so disappointed by some of the comments I heard after the movie ended, I just wanted to stand up and shout out that they didn't pay attention. I wanted to know if any of them have ever really thought outside the teachings of their bias schooling's. For me this was exactly what I thought it would be with even more of a message then I expected. It was funny in parts, gruesome in others and above all it made me think. This world is full of negative energy and egocentricity. Some people are so centered in on the "individual". What happens when people are so individual based (as much of the Western culture is)? They do for the "me" and not what is best for the "all", the planet which is the house for all is suffering. When people are so focused on themselves they do things without thinking about how in the "big picture" they are hurting others. Not caring for the planet is one of the outcomes of egocentric people. There is also so much negative energy that it creates more negative energy and it is really affecting people and the planet. I think his choice of the East coast area was a good one, because of the high population. The higher the population the more crime, hate and negative energy develops. This was a smart choice that makes the point easy to find, if the viewer is paying attention to all the details and then thinking about it. We need to think of others, respect other and love others. Realize it is not about ourselves, but about us all. We are all here together and if we were to realize this and work together we would intern take better care of our planet as well. Why? Because it is part of us, we can't live without it and if we truly cared about others we would care about the future of humanity. If we care about the future of humanity then we have no choice but to care for our planet, which is our life source. I love this movie.

M night is brilliant any person should be able to see it, I jsut get the feeling taht his movies are so personal and personnaly insighted that, he expects the audience to be thinking what hes thinking. He puts deep meaning into his movies expecting ppl to catch on and find it as brilliant as he did when yet they have no clue what he is trying to say. I have heard enoguh about this movie to go see hulk instead but I get the idea this movie is very misunderstood.

I thought the movie was alright. I think it was about on par with Signs. Not as strong as Unbreakable or Sixth Sense but it was watchable. I think MNight should really think about doing a straight horror movie. I think he did a really decent job with the more gruesome aspects of the film. If I have a major compaint its Mark Wahlberg. WTF was he doing? I've heard that whiney bitch voice he does and I've always hated it. Hated it in the big hit and now that he's doing the entire movie in that high pitched girly tone I really hate it now. He was unlikeable in this film to the point where his scenes were bothersome. It pains me because I have always enjoyed him as an actor and honestly when I see him attached to a project its a selling point for me. All in all tho I dont think this was a complete abortion.

Yup awful movie - AND I LOVED LADY IN THE WATER by the way!!! So leave off - this is 100 times worse!! P.S. I think M.N.S needs to speak up and comment on this!!

I liked it

I saw it last night and came out saying, "Maybe that is his version of a comedy." Because I really laughed a lot. Some things stratled me but for the most part I laughed more than anything else.

First off: I LOVED LADY ON THE WATER & THE VILLAGE! I get what youre saying about M.Night thinking everybody is thinking the same thing as him but com'mon when you're watching a period movie (the village) & all the sudden a car drives by YOU SHOULD GET IT! I cant tell you how many people i heard in the theater going "what? i dont get it? why's everyone suprised?" Seriously people, quit looking at your cell phones & watch the movie thats why you came, remember? & Lady in the water? AMAZING! The storyline was fun to follow & the message was pretty clear, also there were many parts that made you jump & others that made you think. Okay, I realize this is a forum for The Happening so I will stop defending his earlier movies & will instead rip apart his new one.. oh & ***SPOILER ALERT*** So, I was psyched out for this movie the second I saw the poster. I had a countdown on my Mac for crying out loud. Basically, if anyone wanted this moving to be good, it was me. So I get to theater after finding that there were no midnight showings anywhere (which is another thing I dislike, although besides the point) & am nervous, thats how bad I wanted it to be amaizng. i get in the theater earlier than should be allowed to get premium seats & then the movie finally starts.. & im thinking "yes, okay I get it its not plants, no way theres a twist, its emotion or something, this is good" and the story is building & its okay nothing too scary, though, so im a little disappointed with the scare-factor but Im thinking "Hey just wait for that moment when the twist is revealed" so Im waiting & thinking "Well this movies been going for awhile, why isnt something happening? (get it,haha) So then they get to the part where the two boys get their head blown off & im thinking "okay, somethings going to come of that"..but no. They just were killed so that they could be seen being killed. Nothing happens. They just go somewhere else. Then I get to the part with Mrs.Jones & im thinking "yes, this has every element needed to be scary & the movie is going to get better right now. & there was about five minutes where it did. but then it just went even farther with the whole "I want to die together" schtick & then, again, NOTHING HAPPENED! Then comes the worst part of all..the end. Which really, shouldnt even be called an end. It should be called a stop because thats what it is-the movie just stops. & shes pregnant? WHY?! what does that have to do with anything?! & then the news saying"an act of nature we'll never fully understand" thats it? IT was plants or something? That were never going to understand? WHAT?! I love M.N.S movies because they have clues & if you watch close enough & pay attention you can figure it out, you'll get it. Well, I tried as hard as anyone could & I definitly did not get it. I can kinda see how the twist is theres no twist & the end is theres no end. or something like that, but there comes a time when you need to stop trying to be progressive & new & just stick to making a good movie. Although, I am being hard on this movie because Ive seen what M.N.S can do & I was expecting his best yet. There were many funny parts & maybe this was his attempt at a dark comedy in which case, he sorta succeeded. I will still go to see the next movie he makes the second it is released & I will still be just as psyched out for it. Every director has a few off movies. & maybe when I watch it again (which I will, just to see) I'll finally get it. or maybe not.

I stop seeing this guys movies since Signs.... waste of money and precious time...

Man!!!!!! This movie sucked more ass than House of the dead! This movie will go down in my list of shithole movies. I do not want this guy to make the last airbender now! Fuck him for making this movie. The only one that was pretty good was lady in the water. oh yeah and the sixth sense. Signs sucked and so did this one! What happened to Mark Whalberg? I thought he wanted to be taken serious as a actor. The only thing this movie accomplished was stealing money from my wallet and stealing time from my life. Thanks alot m. night shamafag!

~Sunny~ Hi! I wanted to let you know that I am happy to see that you loved MNS other movies and that you didn't totally dismiss this one just because you didn't "get it". Watch it again and know there is a lot to get. Read my response which is #7 I didn't go into everything, but it is a good start to getting the movie. If you read what I wrote and then think about the two boys being killed and the pregnancy it will make more sense. The man in the house represents the egocentric/individualistic people of today. He is in it for himself and not even a child will get in his way. The key part of him killing children is that is especially symbolizes killing the our future. The pregnancy is a symbolization of hope for the future. Elliot and Alma going out in the field and then the "plants" stop is a pivotal moment in the movie where the people stop being in "it" for themselves and start being in it for others. In order to preserve humanity and the earth humans need to stop focusing only on the me and focus on the we. After Elliot and Alma go in the house they comment that it must have stopped before they went out, but they fail to realize that it was there going out that stopped it. I could go on about so many more things, but I don't want to bore you...I am a stranger after all. (One more thing, I wonder if the last names of Elliot and Alma are meaningful as well..."Moore")

I feel vindicated in my Shyamalan hate.

Amanda A. I enjoyed your explanations so much. I found the movie creepy and beautifully shot. I agree with your view that our society (focused as it is on individual, in it for myself philosophy) that is the real menace to life on this planet. If you remember a pan to a newspaper in the movie referring to Philadelphia as "Kill"adelphia due to the highest homicide rate in the nation. That is a FACT and it's "happening" day in day out and no one seems shocked or overly concerned with changing it! That is true madness! Why IS Philadelphia the homicide capital of the United States? No one know that either! This movie needs to be seen without the western point of view, he may have overestimated the ability of the audience to see the movie from the eastern asian philosophy point of view, thus making it unreachable to the general population. One can enjoy "The Matrix" on a pure entertainment value level and yet if you know Eastern Philosophy it s so much more. His cerebral take may have been too much for what people expect from a fun, summer movie. It was beautifully shot, some of those suicide images are stuck in my mind forever, but it was not easy to categorize as a horror movie, a mystery movie a "dark comedy"....it seemed to be all those with eastern philosophy thrown in. Again, it speaks the the "sickness" of a western mind that watching people kill them selves by lions, knitting needles, leaping off buildings isn't considered HORRIBLE enough for a horrow movie! Love HNS, may he keep on making these movies! I've loved them all. Big Messages carried by the small groups of actors set in M Night's setting.

Spoiler" I agree with Carl. How can the man in the house represent individualism if he's not alone? There were others in the house and the boys were going to break his door down. The idea for the movie is interesting and I understand that some of the things they discuss are true but MNS and the actors whiffed with this one. I'm still a fan but this one is probably the worst movie I've seen all year. That is unless it was meant to be a comedy, in that case it was great.

Amanda.. I can see how much you enjoyed and loved this movie... So did I.. I would like to add my views about this movie with that.... Shyamalan put lots of theories in this film.. which might be little confusing for many people.. As per the movie, Nobody knows what is really happening.. So everybody comes up with their own theories and few comes close to wats really happening… If you think like what ever people saying in this movie is the right theory.. then it will lead you to the confusion state.. Even those attack on large number of people is just an assumption by the people.. It can be right or wrong.. The whole story is from people's perspective.. I can not believe some critics questioning about that.. Only the Trees perspective can tell what has happend and why has happend.. This movie will leave you with lot of questions.. The general perception will be " its the warning from trees for wat we have done to the earth" I guess people will not have any problem in getting that message.. SPOILER ALERT ...... About the Old lady part.. The lady is crazy.. and her part does prove a point that plants are attacking people even when they are alone.. Before that incident Elliot and Alma was hoping Plants will not attack them if they are not in the crowd... So after that lady part they realise its the end... There is no hope at all and its the end of their life.. And when they come out they plants didn't attack them , Bcos they didn't just forgive them.. The attack ended tat time ( thats why Shamalan tells the time 9.58 AM )... There was a guy ( scientist ) who was predicting when the next attack will b.. he predicts that it will b 9 AM in the next morning based on the previous attacks.. About the pragnancy.. Shyamalan tells us.. Elliot and Alma back to their happy life.. Just Like Signs.. he tells about the family problems in the begining and in the end he tells us they are back to the happy life with the pragnancy test.. Its really sad to see these many people complaining about this movie.. I aggree that it could have done bit clearly for the mass... But Its original and brilliant movie... Its just didn;t follow the usual hollywood formulas... I loved it .. I rather watch original films like this than visual effects popcorn movies ( even though I am computer graphics artist)..

Tim C Yeah Its clever idea.. if trees are attacking .. then we should go towards Ocean... Yeah man.. its perfect.. But don;t you realise the whole part was happening between 25 hours ? And they were trapped in all 4 corners by the time Elliot finds out Its the trees that causing the deaths... It only shows you havn't gave much attention to the movie.. You can;t blame Shyamalan for that.. If you say this movie doesn;t interest you .. its fair enough.. But I disagree with you if you think its made stupid or illogical..

I'm not going to see the movie, but WHY do people put spoilers on here, really? I mean, can't you say it was bad, and move on? Why get way into detail about it. You guys are like the people that ruined "The Sixth Sense" for everyone else who hadn't seen it. That is all.

Also, did anyone get the feeling that this movie took 3 hours? I thought I was in the theater forever.

*May contain a Spoiler* Gene~ Thank you for reading my response. To clarify, a person can be "individualistically" driven and be in a crowd of people. It is not about who was in the house but the way the person thinks and acts. This type of individualism is parallel to egocentrism. That is what I meant when I used that word, the way the person thinks and views the world, very centered on the "me". So that house could have had 50 people and all of them could be very egoistically/individually centered on the needs of themselves as an individual rather than the needs of the others. Thanks for pointing out that I may have not been clear on that comment.

Did anyone like the ending to this too? In Paris or whatever...

You know what. It was a good Summer movie. Y'all need to take a pill and stop hating the guy. I didn't see Lady and the Water based on the reviews last year. I am sorry I didn't. It was an entertaining movie. I will agree that it was hampered by MNS's need to appear as a character but overall it was great. I have wasted monay on some awful movies including some First Showing have reviewed. American Dreamz anyone!!! Overall, The Happening is not unlike a good Doctor Who episode, entertaining, scary and corny and the motivational/scientific premise should be ignored. Just go with the ride. If an Incovenient Truth and Farenheit 911 were brought under the same degree of scrutiny as an MNS movie they would be exposed for what they are, a bunch of cheap, shrill lies masquerading as truth. At least with MNS there is no duplicity.

I have been a MNS fan always and was very excited this movie was coming our because I have loved everything else....even The Lady in the Water. But this movie was horrible. You are waiting for the classic MNS twist ending and it never comes. It just ends. If this is a sad attempt at the whole "Global warming lets all hug the earth" thing (which is exactly what I came away with) the movie sucks even worse. Bad, Bad movie....don't waste your money. So sad.....

OK seriously I watched this movie with all hopes that it would prove the reviews on it wrong, But I found myself uninterested with the movie within the first 20 min because of the horrible acting. I still sat through the whole movie waiting for an actor to get in character show something, but no the whole movie it felt like they were reading cue cards. The best acting was by people who had small parts and thats sad because you have a movie with usually great actors. So Go on with your theories about why this movie is great because yes I agree with you the story could have been great, But seriously can you have a great movie with such poor acting??? It felt like this movie was rushed to be made and the only scenes that were important were the death scenes .

I wasn't aware who made this movie, what it was about or anything before I went to see this movie. I had a couple of free tickets and Hulk looked too busy. All I can say is that this movie WAS complete tripe. Dress it up how you like with back stories about the Director and past merits... It still doesn't escape the fact that as a piece of work, it failed. We all make mistakes sure, even if your considered to be one of the best story makers to date (Star Wars) we are still fallible to mistakes (Ja-Ja-Binks anyone?!!) so one must show a little compassion. However, it is difficult to see how this made it off the cutting room floor and it's easy to imagine the editors cringing in their seats and chuckling when the Director isn't looking... It's awful. Don't go and see it. Go see Hulk.

I have to agree with the points made in posts 44,46 and 51. I don't personally think this movie can be defended in any way, I personally felt very let down by what could have been a very interesting story. Like some other people here I went in wanting to enjoy this film and had enjoyed all of MNS's past films (some more than others) but about 20/30 mins in I started wondering what was going on: Why is the dialog so laughably bad? Why did I see the boom mics about 6 times during what were meant to be serious emotional conversations (It was so blatant that I actually started thinking this was intentional and would be explained later on in the film! I find it strange that there have been no other comments on this!) Why did the shocking moments or what where meant to be shocking moments make the whole theatre burst out laughing? Why did the film actually go nowhere with such an interesting premise? Why did MNS think that an old lady repeatedly sticking her head through glass windows in a house would be scary or shocking? It was just so silly I think the majority of people would be hard pressed to at least not smirk a little! It's a shame to see such an original film maker get it so wrong, I hope this doesn't put the final nail in the coffin for someone who just seems to be getting further and further from the mark. Saying that it will probably do alright at the box office as it seems so many people have went to see it thinking that the story had so much potential. To sum up I think it was said better by a fellow movie viewer I heard on his mobile as we walked out of the film who said something along the lines of "you have to go and see it, just to see how bad it was, I honestly couldn't explain it to you, you have to see it! I laughed more than when watching alot of comedy films I've seen. He's a genious" I'm guessing from that last bit he thought that it was completely intentional but as far as I am aware this was meant to be taken as a serious horror film at least that's what I went in expecting. Like somebody else also posted I think MNS needs to come out with a couple of comments and personally for me I think we the movie going public deserve an explanation!! (Please don't attack me for my views the explanation bit was a joke it just bothered me how much I wanted to like this film but couldn't and I know right now it is not because I'm stupid or just don't get it. There are enough people in agreement with me for me to realise that I didn't miss anything and nothing went over my head!)

If I read one more comment praising this movie as an enlightening, subtly cerebral film experience that anyone criticizing it simply didn't understand, I'm going to be violently ill. Yes, we understand; humans are destroying the planet. Bees are disappearing. Humans are killing each other. There are aspects of nature that we cannot understand. Hot dogs are delicious. Mark Wahlberg is capable of speaking in a whiny voice for what seems like an eternity. Mood rings are trippy. Paranoid old ladies that live in the middle of nowhere and eschew society are creepy. Random strangers will decide to impart plot-critical information apropos of absolutely nothing, and then go about their business. Deus ex machina is the favorite tool of lazy writers. Nature is reacting to humans' destructive behavior. Did I miss some deeper subtext because I don't have a masters in philosophy? No, and neither did anyone else. M. Night's idea of subtlety is to make the moral of this movie the only theory that's given any substantial screen time, and then repeat it ad nauseum, in such a ham-fisted, poorly scripted manner that during the movie, people (myself included) laughed out loud at 'serious' moments, and before it was halfway over, handfuls of people had walked out. The acting was atrocious. Just to be clear, I mean it was absolutely horrendous. Every actor on screen walked through the movie like it was a first dress rehearsal. Moments that should have carried some weight or intensity had none due to a combination of the terribly written dialogue, pathetic acting, and film-school-dropout level cinematography. Adding insult to injury was the fact that every, and I do mean every single notable on-screen suicide or suspenseful corpse reveal had already been seen in all the trailers and TV spots. I liked Sixth Sense, Unbreakable was good (but poorly marketed), Signs was passable (genuinely intense in parts, and good character investment, but such blatant use of Deus Ex Machina as to be nearly unforgivable even if it is the point of the movie, and plot holes through which a house could pass), The Village was bland and predictable, and Lady in the Water was just a phenomenal waste of movie-goers' time (although it's Citizen Kane compared to the Happening). I went to see the Happening in the hopes that M. Night had recaptured that brooding intensity and spine-tingling creepiness that embodied Sixth Sense, but just left feeling satisfied that although I'd ruined an evening watching The Happening, it was an experience I'd never have to repeat.

Suresh... Oh my.... are you kidding me .... please keep posting these responses they are epic!! I see where you like this movie...oh sorry I mean that this is your FAVORITE movie(ha ha aha ha ahh ha) That is still killing me. And that your someone that loves nature (ha ha aha ha ha haaa) That is great stuff... I hope you especially liked the boom mic bush that made its appearance in the movie more that once and that added to the deep meaning of this movie that only you understood. Absolutely phenomenal I was waiting for the ' I know you are but what am I' type of rebuttle but I guess the I could find flaws in your fav movie too comment will do. But this one is the topper: "Its like you are paying to get urself hurt and stressed.. If you couldn't find the way to enjoy then its your disability… If you are smart enough then you won't do that… You are the guy stressing yourself and yet you are looking for arguement here to stress urself more ? " (aaaaaaaaaah ha ha ha ha ha) That is some great stuff... The only stress I get is knowing morons like you are actually telling other people this movie is good and they may go waste the time and money. My best recommendation would be to go to the Hulk show(Visitor, Counterfeiters, any other movie in the theatre basically) and go early so you can stick your head in the Happening for a few just to cheer you up and get a few laughs and I promise it will make the movie your are really going in a real treat to see. Suresh..... you go for it I think trees and nature are great too.... but be careful because you tell the wrong person about this movie and try to recommend it to them in person and they saw it.. they may punch you square in the nose and then you will be hurt by this movie too.... Where is Amanda A cant wait for her response I hope its half as entertaining as yours and it will make the price of admission I wasted on the Happening worth it........ So thanks Suresh

Adam~ Thank you for giving me your opinion. I don't believe in personal attacks, if anything I said above seemed to be attacking you or anyone else I apologize. That was not my intent. I think that everyone has the right to be or feel however they want, with out being called names or being told they are right or wrong. I think I might have overstepped my own boundaries so I want to clarify that I don't think any person is lesser of a person or a moron if they did not like the movie. In fact one might think of the word "tolerance", but I would move a step more and use the term "allowance" I not only believe in tolerance, but I believe in taking it a step further and practicing allowing. I don't mean it in the way that one person is superior to another and allowing another to be a certain way, but accepting that we are different and have different views and ways of living. Instead of saying "you are wrong, but I will tolerate you" one would say "I think differently than you and I accept that and I don't judge you for thinking the way you do". If you are looking for me to call you names and argue with you, that is not what you will get from me. I accept your opinion and stand strong in my own. I am open to hearing other opinions, because I feel I can learn from others. I don't believe that argument and trying to push my ways on others is the way for me to live my life. I also know other people feel the need and I will not judge that either. I know who I am and I am happy with that. Thank you for your thoughts and opinions and I appreciate you pointing out the boom mics. I will take note of that when I watch the movie again tomorrow. Have a nice day, I hope your next movie experience is better than this one.

Adam, No wonder why you hated the movie so much... You just don't get others.. do you ?... I have to point it out as you keep getting the wrong idea of wat I have said earlier... I never recomended anyone to watch this movie... I am not here to sell this movie.. It wasn't my intention.. I just wrote my opinion on this movie... I again say it.. I loved it... I will see it again this week.. You may not get this why I am saying as you don't have the ability to respect other's thoughts.. Come on man... I never claimed its great movie.. or good movie.. Calling a movie good or great is general perception which is the odd case here.. I know right from the begining I will be a minority here.. Seriously man... first listen and understand ( which you might have to try harder ) what people are saying before you judging them.. Most people here have bad opinion on this movie... I donno about others.. But I know one thing.. Shyamalan failed to make a movie which can be understood by you.. But I really cann't blame him for that.. You can't even understand the clear statements.. and yeah... you got two tongues it seems... it may be difficult to control them..

Whilst normally I would be in front of M. Night and defending his storytelling genius, i must concur. Twenty dollars...$20.00's my friend and his girlfriend spent on the three of us to see this movie today. Twenty bucks to watch a sub-par, late to the conversation Marky Mark battle wind and trees. Why does it seem like there was more disturbing imagery in the TV Spots than in the movie? WIND AND FUCKING TREES PEOPLE. I live in OREGON..I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY TWENTY BUCKS TO WATCH MARKY FUCKING MARK FROLIC THROUGH THE FIELD TRYING TO OUTRUN THE WIND, WHEN IN REALITY IF YOU WERE TO PUT MARKY MARK IN THE MIDDLE OF FUCKING OREGON AND LET HIM RUN AROUND FOR A LITTLE WHILE, IT WOULD BE AN EXACT FUCKING REPLICA! The story would have been better had the actors performances been good. I think the actor choices were a bad decision on M. Night's part. now before all of you people who loved The Happening start trying to tear me a new one whilst simultaneously putting your feet up my old one, follow me on this. I have loved and enjoyed, nay, admired ALL of M. Night Shyamalan's previous films...ALL of them. I haven't found fault with one, and YES that includes Lady in the Water and The Village (I know..SOOOO taboo!) But this was an utter waste of my friends money, our time and our life. PLEASE, just wait for it to come out on DVD if you wanna see how it is. It is sunday rent worthy.

Out of how many? 10?

Awful acting, awful script, shot like a tv movie, plot goes nowhere, lions taking arms of a guy easier than the black knight in monty python, dialogue that illicits laughs when it isn't meant to, BAD movie. Its bad when John Leguazamo (i know i misspelled that) is the best actor in the movie. Zooey needs to stick to comedies and even wahlberg was bad. How many times do the say "happened" or "happening" in this movie?

AND, did any of you people saying "There was no twist" ever stop and think that maybe having no twist WAS the twist? Everyone going to an MNS movie expects a twist. So maybe he thought "they'll be expecting a twist, so that defeats the purpose of a twist, so if I go no twist, that will not be expected." Hence, A TWIST

Adam, I showed it (#18) to my friend.. You know what... he said.. it can be misread as I am recomending this movie ... Well that was n't my intention.. I just left my opinion as how I enjoyed the movie... I thought I should give more explanation for that.. My friend didn't like this movie. He went to c it with his group of people and he told me he didn't like it. we get the same view on movies in general but not this time.. He told me it didn;t engage them in the whole and it disapointed them.. Thats one of the reason why I put that point.. Well tats apart... Now .. when I read your reply... it really made me laugh... this guy won't get it even if you tell him like you talking to 8 year old kid... Go thru my posts... Have I ever claimed its good or great movie.. ? I said I loved it... FAV and GOOD... two entirely different words... they don;t mean the same... man I feel like a teacher now... ha ha... Yeah I said it has moments and magics if you BELIEVE it... you didn't believe it.. then how can you expect that will happen to you... I clearly said its not the type of movie everyone will like it.. Anyone can hate this movie... It doesn;t matter.. Liking this movie is my personal opinion.. You are expecting me to be not myself and wanting me to say It sucks... ha ha ha... Well .. what can I say.. I think you rate yourself very high and you think in a way whatever you like will be good and rest will be bad.. Dude wake up.. You are not the only person in the world.. May be Zac is right... May be you need medication.. or you need to ground yourself ... you never really answered my questions in the previous posts.. you just tried to bash more and hide with that..

Have you seen my baseball?

Oh my God! Obviously "The Sixth Sense" was a fluke for M. N. S. I wasted my time and money on this and "The Village" and Lady in the Water. I went for scary "sixth sense" kind of movie and got crap in all the movies after the Sense and Unbreakable. I quit! I give up on M. Night....This movie was more than not scary, it was boring and flat and not even a little exciting! BOOOOOOOOO!!!! F- Four thumbs down Never again will i waste my money on an M. Night movie Good Night Mr. Night and farewell

There's been a ton of response to this film, mostly negative but a few positives. I guess I don't have anything to add that hasn't been said already. This film wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible enough to make me gouge my eyes out. Then again, I just saw "Doomsday" for the first time earlier this week, and compared to that film "The Happening" is Citizen Cane. The acting was completly flat throught the film. I don't know why MNS didn't coax more emotion out of his actors. If the world was ending, which it was more or less for the folks in this film, I'd think that there would be a far wider range of emotion displays, from anger to abject cower-in-the-corner fear. Sure there would be some people who keep their head and remain calm as Wahberg did here, but when everyone is acting cool and rational then just boring. And that's what I'd call this film -- not bad, but boring. I also did not care one lick for the "no trick ending" trick ending. What kind of director needs to depend so heavily upon trick endings anyway?? I'd have been more impressed if the plants started uprooting themselves and began attacking people as if Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy was controlling them. Here, essentially the plants were giving off 'bad vibes' and causing people to off themselves. That was not a crowd-pleasing move. At the end of my showing I heard A LOT of groans and hushed mumbling. I think this movie might have done well at some other time of the year, or on DVD, but a summer blockbuster this is not. Duran: The endings to Unbreakable and Signs sure do seem a bit twisty to me...

Are you serious? I don't think I was paying enough attention to notice them. What scenes where they in?

This movie SUCKED! I just saw it on Sunday. I was so excited to see it. Half way through it, I found myself looking at my waatch hoping it would end soon. I mean, come on, plants?!?!?!? This movie had so much potential. I was hoping it wouldnt be another cheesy 24 days later knock off. Got what I asked for, maybe I should keep my mouth shout. (LOL) All well. One word to round it off, GARBAGE.

BoB Ya I think we all get what the movie was TRYING to say and that the IDEA behind the movie could have been good ............ But it was made, acted and expressed absolutely horrible.... basically a bad B movie. MNS has the ideas and does usually a better job of putting them together and expressing them... and filming by the way with the mics coming down... and I'm still waiting for the person that explains that was part of the message too... and it will happen! Someone will say 'the mics were swinging in the picture to show that the trees affected them too and they were sad' .. or some BS like that..... BoB we get the world and the environment and all that crap about we dont take time to care for one another ... You can see that in any after school special or a talk show.... I dont want it at the movie theatre ..unless it is done well............ This wasnt... it sucked.......BAD you think its MNS second best movie..... get a life!

//This is from the imdb forum.. an excelente point of view of the film. [credit: smallmytable @ imdb ] Spoilers included below I have never posted on imdb before, so please take a moment to read the post before beginning a flame war (sorry if it ends up being a long post, but I think it will be worth the time). I have to start by saying that I enjoy M. Night's films greatly, and that initially I was disappointed with the Happening until I had a chance to think about it further. Also, I'm not trying to sound snooty or anything, but I have a graduate degree in playwriting, so I probably spend way too much time analyzing things like character, plot development, symbolism and other imagery, plot contrivances, etc., to the extent that I realize I probably attribute things to an author that even the author may not have intended. That being said, I realized that the brilliance of this film, and why I think M. Night even made it in the first place, is to make a larger statement about human nature and our inability to effectively communicate with each other. In this way, the movie has nothing to do with plants and trees, or any kind of toxins released by nature, or nature fighting back at us for our environmental destruction, etc. Whether or not these plot elements were intended, I believe they are more of a foil to throw the audience off track. The concept of the plants releasing toxins is a plot foil intended to throw us all off: a crazy hot-dog eating guy says, "I think it's the plants, they're releasing toxins." or something to that effect, so the characters (and audience) think for the rest of the movie that it's a movie about nature fighting back. On a side note (not to get too sidetracked) I think that the clouds and wind are really responsible for carrying a toxin of some sort, whether nuclear, bacterial/viral or otherwise, but it is not the plants releasing anything. The only time people get infected is when the wind kicks up in their direction, or there are clouds in the scene, or the sky is overcast (look closely); plus, the movie begins and ends with scenes of clouds rolling, which would otherwise have no significance if the story was simply about plants. But ultimately, this is what I believe M. Night was trying to get across to the audience, boiled down into one over-simplified sentence: POOR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PEOPLE LEADS TO MISUNDERSTANDING, WHICH IN TURN LEADS TO BAD RESULTS. I'll give 15-20 examples of this in the movie, and you can feel free to agree or disagree. This theme seems to be constantly expressed and reinforced throughout the film, with examples as follows: (1) The three stages humans go through when infected by the "toxins" are first, the inability to speak (lack of communication); second, disorientation (not understanding what is happening), and finally suicide (bad results) (2) Cell phones are never effectively used throughout the film (poor communication): Alma tries to ignore calls from Joey, Eliott has poor communication with Alma when he calls her from the school, Julian can't get through to his wife on the train and tells her to text message him, the iPhone is used to watch video of a guy getting his arms ripped off by tigers which only serves to further frighten people, the woman can't understand her daughter in Princeton or convey to her to stay inside, Julian can't get through to his wife, so he makes the terrible decision to leave his daughter to go find his wife, which leads to his death, etc. (3) Everyone has trouble with other forms of communication technology: the television reports keep spreading reports of nuclear fallout, plants releasing toxins, terrorism, etc., without any strong evidence, which leads people to overreact (i.e. all of the people in the diner taking off in every direction in their cars, most presumably to their deaths); the isolated woman does not have a telephone so she does not know what's going on in the rest of the country, and also Eliott and Alma can't make any calls; the radio in the field gets terrible reception, the train conductors lose contact with everyone, so they just stop and let everyone off in the middle of nowhere, etc. (4) Both Alma and Jess stop speaking when they are frightened (poor communication) (5) People constantly talk about how the trees, bushes, grass etc. are able to mobilize so quickly and effectively against humans, because all the forms of plantlife are able to "talk to each other" so well; this is contrasted with the humans' inability to communicate well with each other (6) The closed-in farmers with the shotguns refuse to listen to Eliott, while the kids begin yelling and trying to kick in the doors; Eliott is unable to communicate to the boys to stop acting that way, and the farmer reacts out of fear that the people outside are infected, so the farmers shoot the children (7) The isolated woman slaps Jess on the hand at the dinner table, and Eliott and Alma just give each other strange looks without saying anything (8) Eliott doesn't say a single word to the old isolated woman when they first meet; she does all of the talking; she comes to the irrational conclusion that Eliott is going to kill her in her sleep and screams at him to leave the next morning (9) It's an old saying that when people are having a hard time communicating something to another person, it's as if they are "banging their heads against the wall"; this is literally how the old woman kills herself, by banging her head against the walls (10) Eliott and Alma spend almost the entire film together, but cannot seem to communicate their differences effectively, speaking to each other as children do (this was pointed out in another post), until they are physically separated at the end and only able to communicate through the pipe systems. Even then, they say "it sounds like you're right here" and they are finally able to communicate well (this concludes their character arcs, particularly when they brave the outside to be with each other); they have finally learned how to speak to each other well, and they are rewarded by being able to live (11) Julian judges Alma's love for Eliott almost entirely on the way she looked at Julian (when she was crying) on her wedding day; this was without saying a single word to Julian, even though there could be a million other reasons why a woman would cry on her wedding day (12) The army guy loses contact with his base, putting him in a place of disorientation (i.e the cheese and crackers comment); and eventually he dies from the "toxins" (13) The mood ring is a type of communication tool, telling others how a person is really feeling even if they are saying something different (14) All of the infected people kill themselves by suicide; suicide is often called a "cry for help" or a last ditch effort for someone to try to communicate something to other people before they die. This is particularly true with hanging (i.e. the gardeners hanging themselves with garden hoses in the middle of the street for everyone to see), with wrist-cutting (Julian sits in the middle of the street and cuts his wrists with glass), jumping off of buildings (all of the construction workers at the beginning) and death by handgun (the series of deaths with the cop's gun at the beginning, and the army guy and presumably others with his gun); it's as if people can't speak to each other, so they are confused about what is happening with their lives and act out of fear/irrationality and bad results happen when they take their own lives (15) Alma pleads with Eliott to not let them be the type of people that watch others die without saying anything about it; this is literally a plea for him to communicate with others to stop bad results from happening (16) Jess's character arc is completed when she verbally tells Alma at the end, "I love you" whereas before she was too afraid to speak (17) Eliott is a terrible teacher; I was struck by this during the first classroom scene and attributed it to bad writing and bad acting, but I think it was part of his character arc to be a poor communicator early on; in the classroom scene he tries to get his students to talk but no one wants to say anything, he gets them involved by joking with one student that his looks will fade over time; he poses questions without having the answers, runs and truns out the lights when the principal comes in, etc. (18) When the army guy and others start killing themselves, they all look to Eliott for guidance, and he tells them constantly to shut up and let him think; his inability to communicate with others leads to his own confusion and making bad decisions, including his rationalization that the plants sense groups of humans together, so therefore they should all split up I could go on with more examples, but I think it is safe to say that communication is heavily emphasized throughout the movie, particularly showing what happens when there is a mass breakdown in communication, leading to fear, confusion, and ultimately, making bad decisions. I think there is genius in M. Night's works, particularly this one, that can only be seen in subsequent viewings. For example, in the 6th Sense when you go back and see how no one speaks directly to Bruce Willis's character because he is a ghost, and all of the scenes with red are scenes with ghosts. In Unbreakable it is always raining, or bad things happen when it is raining, and water is the hero's only weakness. In Signs, the underlying theme of the movie is perception, i.e. how people are able to interpret signs they see, and M. Night distorts perception throughout the movie by making the audience and the characters see things indirectly, i.e. reflections in glass, through windows, through hazy recollections of past events, through water, on a reflection in a knife blade, etc. In the Village, you pick up on nuances in their voices/accents which betray what time period they are living in. And in Lady in the Water how Paul Giamatti loses his stutter whenever he is around Story (i.e. when he becomes part of the storytale, rather than outside of it). Obviously from the length of this post you can tell that I am a fan of M. Night's works, and I hope he continues to provide entertaining movies that still have me thinking days later.

Wait... If trees are killing people, then shouldn't we ACCELERATE the killing of our planet, before they retaliate? (Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha just kidding)

// and more.... I believe the acting was appropriate for the characters being portrayed. Walhberg's character has a childlike innocence and idealism in the beginning; he tries to be "one of the kids" with his students to get them interested about science, he can't understand his wife's emotions, relates to kids better than adults, etc. I believe this is well reflected in his acting. Leguizamo's character is unjustifiably opinionated, bases his decisions on percentages, and is confused about his priorities (he leaves his daughter behind based on a 62% chance his wife is still alive); his acting seemed appropriate under the circumstances. Neither a science teacher nor a math teacher would start spouting Shakespeare in such a situation; more likely they would act like they're trying to be strong, when inside they're just as confused and scared as everyone else. The dialogue was intentional. MNS takes great pride in his writing, and I assure you every word was chosen intentionally. If you think the dialogue was stilted, it was probably stilted for a reason, for instance to show the difficulty people were having communicating with each other. For a movie that emphasized society's disconnection from each other, stilted dialogue seems entirely appropriate. I forgot to mention in my first post that most of the characters in the film are completely silent. Even the wind and the trees (yes, I consider these characters) are silent. But most eerie to me are the reactions from the infected characters after they take whatever action to kill themselves. They don't make any noise as they are falling from the buildings, or after they shoot themselves, cut their wrists or get mauled by the lions or a tractor, they are always silent. I don't think anything else in the movie reinforces more M. Night's emphasis on the lack of communication as a theme. As a final note, I saw the movie again this afternoon, and this time I watched specifically for signature M. Night moments/techniques, such as the use of color and character distance. Here are a couple of interesting points: (1) Safety is always marked by something blue. We are told that blue indicates peacefulness (at least in mood rings). The three main characters are almost always wearing blue, either a blue shirt, sweater or jeans, or Eliott's mood ring is showing blue, or there is a close up of Alma's eyes (which are VERY blue). Also, whenever they are inside a building and safe, the door or the door frame, or color of the wall is blue. It's interesting to me that the two boys are also wearing blue, but they are killed only when they start exhibiting violence. Even then, nature does not kill them, it's the farmers. By the way, the two boys are the only deaths in the film not caused by the "toxins". (2) Apparently purple means you're horny (again according to mood rings); Alma is wearing a purple shirt in the last scene when she finds out she is pregnant (3) The whole character arc for Eliott is about growing up. I think that's why Wahlberg's acting was so intentional and "out of character" from his normal tough guy routine. His whole persona throughout the movie is that he is basically an adult child. He interacts better with kids, has a very high voice, plays with mood rings and talks about Alma's horniness in a very sheepish and teenager-like way. Also when he is walking with the two boys, here is the dialogue exchange (paraphrased, but more or less accurate): Boy: "Do you have any kids?" Eliott: "No." Boy: "Why not?" Eliott: "She wanted to wait." Boy: "Wait for what?" Eliott: "For me to grow up." And then Eliott says something to the effect of, "Give me back my mood ring." But by the end, Alma is pregnant and happy about it, because Eliott's finally grown up. - What a (inpired) review....

I wasn't trying to convince anyone, I was putting forth my unhappiness with the film until I read a compelling post from RonNeilman. and how was Titanic and Lord of the rings accepted by all? I hated Titanic and I know plenty of others that do too, and there are plenty of people that hate the film incarnations of LOTR. people have opinions dude. That's why we get on here. So we can speak our mind. There are some that go WELL OUT OF THERE WAY to convince, whether it's positive or negative shouldn't matter. Those who grow and actually learn to like The Happening (as I have and plan on seeing it tonight with new eyes) are the ones that are effected by the powerful insights of others, and I'm quite thankful that I can add another M. Night Shyamalan film to my list of films I like, that's 6/6 now (haven't seen the film he made before Signs) People will always go out of their way to convince people one way or another on a subject. Or sometimes it will seem like their trying to convince someone else of the goods or bads, when all they're really doing is voicing their opinion. However when someone says that people that hated it are morons, that's not necessarily true. I study film and writing in many different forms and found tons of fault with the film, not because I'm an idiot though. I was incredibly disappointed that the shock factor was gone because of all the TV spots, every good kill off was already shown in trailers and TV spots and I got nothing else. No jumps..hell, I even got a jump from that damn costumed retard in The Village (too harsh?). All in all. people have opinions, some of them you aren't going to agree with. So my suggestion to you, Suresh, is to FUCK OFF! SO KIDDING ON THAT, I'VE ENJOYED YOUR POSTS. take it easy.

I am blown away by how any sentient being with half a brain can believe -- let alone admit -- that Lady in the Water (LITW) was a good movie. It's apparent the studios are listening to dolts like you, with all of the EPIC movies and inane sequels excreted on the public in recent years. Just do me a favor LITW lovers. Please, please, please do NOT breed.

(dear Firstshowing.net moderators, thank you for taking away the senseless comments made by Ken, and my retaliation) I'm very much in the same boat as you Rod. It is SO much better now that I've viewed it in this light, thank you so much for finding and posting that..erm..post. It's very helpful.

Garrett , Ha ha ha.. well played... you got me for a moment ... yeah I could aggree with you... There are ppl who don;t like those two movies either... But I stated that as they collected more money than other films worldwide just for example... I wanted to point that to say people have different opinions... Now about the happening... I would say its wrongly marketted... To me Its not tat scary movie... Its kind of paranoia movie... You don't know whats happening.. everyone throws their own theories and ideas and nobody knows whats true... It made from people's perspective ( in this case as its about people vs nature or trees) .. By marketting the film as scary movie leads to disapointment for many I guess .. I would be very much interested to know your second opinion after ur second visit to this movie.. About the acting.. Mark acting was questioned... Just becos trees are poisioning we won;t get scared of tree .. right ? I mean its like you getting afraid of a statue... If you been chased by a giant tsuanami , it will scare you to death... But here in this case... I donno ... I think nobody will be afraid of standing trees... People were just paranoid in this movie.. they are not scared of anything... People just bother.. talk about theories and stuff when they are paranoid... so I thought it was intentional... I enjoyed it as I did n't go there for getting scared with those death scenes.. I always interested to c the human relations Shyamalan deals with in his films.. I really loved this one.. I found this movie very simplistic and original in between all those visual effects films... ( Even though I love watching those films.. as I am a CG Artist ) I would be very much interested to know your second opinion on this movie.. Bcos now you know its not that scary.. So I wonder if its the marketting failure.. or just unpleasent surprise for many..

SURESH, my good man. I just had to pull your leg at the end of my post to ya, haha. I can actually already give you my second opinion on things and give you a third when I get back tonight. I think this may have been one of the incredibly rare occasions, this being like one in a trillion, that I may have actually been sorta dooped by the marketing for the film. I really don't think that's the case though. You see, I have an extreme dislike to Marky Mark, he hasn't impressed me with anything he's ever done and thus since I thought that his acting was what was off I was immediately blaming his performance on why everything else was lacking and was seriously considering the notion as to whether M. Night may have been forced to hire certain actors or was just being lazy. I don't go to movies to get scared, there really isn't anything that can scare me that well in cinemas these days..cuz most all horror is fucking bad. But I do classify M. Night's movies in the Thriller section because I do get creeped out, in a way, and pricklys and thrown back a bit. But that wasn't what he was trying to do with this film. I see that now. For the standard movie goer who isn't used to seeing a bunch of dead bodies hanging from trees and doesn't really get dark humor, this woul probably be something of a shriek fest for them. In my heart that wasn't the reason I went to the film, but my mind couldn't wrap my mind around why something wasn't working. Everything seemed askew and I couldn't, for the life of me, find the undertone that M. Night does with every film. I even went as far as to say to one of my friends who asked me what the twist was. I told them "The twist was that I payed money for it.." but I digress.. my eyes have been opened to this theory and I will be sure to get back to you tonight on the subject. so..Suresh..have you checked my chart yet?..might I have superpowers? god I hope so..

assumed your screenname was based on Heroes character Suresh. No? ...damn. In Heroes Dr. Suresh has a chart of all people who may contain superpowers..meh. I wasn't saying the bodies hanging were funny, I just said people not used to them may find them horrifying. I on the other hand have a really dark sense of humor..(I'm into really..really strange things) I really found the talking to plastic tree and the scene where he's talking to Alma about the cough syrup girl, and those were obviously meant to be funny and I did find them funny even though I though the movie was sucking. And no, I didn't laugh at the people hanging or any of the death scenes..but wasn't shocked either cuz I'd seen it about a thousand times already and thought it was cool and then..there was nothing else. This reminds me of how Unbreakable was marketed, they the powers that be though Unbreakable should be marketed as a spooky story like The Sixth Sense when it REALLY WASN'T anything like the previous film, but they still did that. And the commercials didn't phase me at all..hell..don't even remember them. But I saw the film with a friend on TV about a year after it came out and fell in love with it. If you're not expecting something, movies tend to be better. So I ask again, did you get the online name Suresh from Heroes or did I just somehow make a racist remark?

fair enough What the ...? no complaints from me on this front. I agree that the average movie-goer won't, and hasn't, appreciated the film for all of it's underlying ..erm..things. I think that he may have missed making it better for more audiences. But again..I don't know if that's what he's really trying to do. He's trying to make the movies that he wants to make and will possibly do well. I think he's done a smash up job on The Happening, now that I look back at it. But someone just out for a good Friday night flick is going to be thrown way the fuck off course. Appreciate you admitting to going back and reading some thoughts on it and at least attempting to find something interesting within it. Better than a lot of other idiots on here. by the way..love the screen name.

Oh no... Its my real name ... Yeah I was told by friends , there is a character with my name in HEROIES.. but I hardly seen that series... tats why I didn't get it what you are mentioning... I guess they named that character after me... ha ha ha... Oh yeah.. the same case with me in Unbreakable... I saw it on tv too.. then bought a dvd after that...

Also before I forget, has anybody considered the fact that MNS "MIGHT" just might have been pointing to the fact that nobody can control everything and that in the end only God does because he IS what scientists talk about when they say "An act of nature, and we'll never fully understand it." or better yet "There are forces at work beyond our understanding." Can there be anymore blatant an in-your-face saying that proves scientist's believe in God? Just thought I'd throw that out there for discussion.

Rod Nielman, I enjoyed the observations you made about this film so much I'm going to go see "The Happening" again. I am a teacher and I thought Elliot was a terrible teacher too. You've pointed out many examples in the film of poor communication. Can't wait to go see it again and find them all for myself!

In M. Night Shyamalan's "The Happening" or "The Crappening" as I now like to call it, there's something in the air that causes people to stop whatever they're doing, slide into a trance and commit horrible suicides. I would have liked to breath some of that air too so that I would not have to endure this terrible movie! Perhaps next time, M. Knight, the cinema's P.T. Barnum can provide me with his home address so that I can just mail him the $20 that I inevitably pay each year to see his increasingly worsening pictures. Then I can spend a couple of hours doing something productive instead of staring at a movie screen in utter dismay. It's just that Shyamalan initially grabbed me with the unique story telling of "The Sixth Sense" and because of that, I am always hopeful that he will deliver again. So each year I eagerly watch his next offering with expectancy but in this case…disappointment! M. Night Shyamalan has had a rough streak with his past few movies "The Village" and "Lady in the Water". I suggest M. Night relinquish some of his roles as director, writer, actor and producer and bring in some different perspectives. If you are expecting M. Nights trademark twist, forget it. In fact forget characterization, plot, motivation and resolution. What you do get is flat deadpan acting, unrealistic dialogue, plodding pace and silly but violent on screen deaths. I could stop laughing When Mr Walberg talks to a plastic plant!

WOW!!!! People have nothing better to do than write long ass posts defending this sh@tty movie. Go see a better movie instead of wasting your time here. MOVIE SUCKED! Enough said.

OH, Damn hadn't even read Poptarts post. NICE ONE.

Looked at all the new posts.. 85 sparked a little interest, like the cloud deal more than the plant thing, and I hope that when it comes out on DVD and I rent it that maybe that will work for me .. not too convinced by the color theory as much, there are too many interpretations of colors and mood ring etc. to make that a part of the major plot... if it is that and about marky not growing up and all the color bs ... it doesnt interest me, its weak... my opinion... but especially after the movie has been completely marketed wrong and maybe another way of marketing could have changed the public perspective on the movie which unfortunately is going to go down as MNS's worst so far, people are not interested in reading reviews and posts as much as we are and will be looking for the big 'gore,boom, scream feature............ But still think the movie itself could have been done better .. acting ... filming .... my problem was more with zooey than marky mark... kind of understood his character was supposed to be kind of a puss and thought he portrayed what was written for him......... anyway I hope the movie turns out better for the few that will give the posts a chance .. I like MNS and look forward to his next movie because the general public will never get this movie and say that it sucked bad, I have not run into one person yet that saw it and liked it (in person)......and I also dont know anyone that gets into movies as much as I do either......... but bad reviews will lower standards so a shift is inevitable..... And hopefully he will get even better for all of us in his next one....

Its great to hear that you liked the movie in you second visit.. Garrett... Well I saw the movie again today... I agree with RodNeilman about the Mark character growing up.... Its very true... He does act like a kid in the begining of the movie... Especially when he ask Jullian for his train ticket hes very kiddish in tat place... and I agree the mark character is made that way and palyed intentionaly.. His body language is like a grown up man in the last scene... And the conversation with the kids does make a huge point about his character.. Moodrings theory was interesting.. but I saw few people wearing blue got killed too... I am glad I found few more things that engaged me in the second visit for this movie ..

ha ha ha... no way Garrett.... nah I meant... I thought I got it all in the first visit itself.. But there were somthing more left for my second visit..

I'm sorry, folks ... I'll give you all the benefit of the doubt regarding The Happening, but I stick by my earlier opinion concerning Lady in the Water. There was no excuse for that. It was embarrasingly bad. Again, sorry. I'm an M. Night fan. Really.

I know I have no place here, commenting on a movie I haven't seen. But I am more interested in making a brief mention on the majority of the comments on this page. There are a few of you who are not guilty of it, but most of you, for the love of sweet God: LEARN ENGLISH. It doesn't surprise me that the multitudes of people who actually enjoyed this critically (and financially) panned film are also those guilty of using constant run-ons, lack of capitalization, etc. I know this isn't an English class, but half of your comments make no sense. You just look hapless and mentally-challenged.

As a real fan of M. Night I throughly enjoyed this film. I felt he delivered another solid movie. I have a couple theories on the actual movie, but first I'd like to address the masses. Masses- It is imprudent to continuously compare all of M. Night's films to one and other (comparison is the thief of joy). They are completely different creations. I attribute this need for continuity to the rising trend in sequels. And I can understand the frustration and disappointment of viewers who enter into a movie expecting to have the same experience as before. People tend to draw on previous experiences in attempts to create expectations for a new experience. Mr. Night brings a freshness to films. So my challenge is this...if there is a particular M. Night movie you absolutely hate, watch it again, it might surprise you. The Happening- Good work to whoever first discovered the communication theory. A few things I found interesting: A- I thought the phrase "It's an act of nature we will never fully understand" is what the whole movie hinged upon. In a world where information and knowledge is so easily accessible, thank you new I-Phone, I thought this was a huge statement. It's huge (that's what she said) because we're never content with not knowing. The truth is there are things we aren't suppose to know and things we will never know. Accepting that, and I mean really accepting that, is unnerving. We're told to be in charge and be in control, when really we're all as fragile as the rest of this world. 2- I thought the process of how people died was interesting. First, repetitive speech. Then confused speech. Then walking/retracing steps. And lastly, ending life. I have some thoughts, but would love to hear if anyone else has any insight or thoughts about this process????? D- I thought the acting was right on for the movie. Elliot's character isn't the typical hero. By showing more vulnerability, which in my opinion works great, we're allowed to see a more imperfect and genuine character. In other words it's more likely that somewhere there exists a real life Elliot (E.T. pointing with a shiny index finger). I won't go into detail, but likewise I thought Alma was believable and I can imagine that somewhere there actually exists a real life Alma. I'll stop there for now. Would love to hear some thoughts.... p.s. I'll give a cookie to whoever knows what movie I'm hinting at with my paragraph labeling.

The Funky Bunch controlled the trees

Rod, If thats wat Shymalan mentioning... then he did wonderfull job... Like I mentioned in the earlier post ( # 97) .. It doesn't look like scary movie... Its well made paranoia type movie... He made it simplistic to get the classy look.. I have seen birds.. but not body snatchers... Birds I liked it.. Birds deals with characters more.. It talks more about the main characters in the first half.. It doesn;t reveal any reason why birds are attacking the people.. Just the theme may be similar but I don't think its much to do with this movie..

Amanda A, I totally agree with you. I love the film for its message. Too bad most people miss the point.

jus saw it today! at first i thought the critics were a little harsh, but when i saw it i found out they werent it was the acting. it was so unbelievably bad, and john leguizame wasnt even in half the film!!! it was so bad it was seriously laughable, and the ending was so stupid. it makes you wonder what the movie was for the only really scary part for me (besides the acting) was when mrs. jones came into the bedroom and scared eliot. the noise startled me, but that was it i will say that the movie was not as bad as lady in the water, bcuz as bad as this was, it kept me awake with all of the suicides, but it actually made the village look watchable

I didn't think this movie was half bad........... I mean it was no Sixth Sense but it was decent............... it was entertaining.................... It was not even that scary for an R movie...... It was suspensful and it kept my attention............. Now if you are bored on a rainy day this is a great movie for that............ The only scary part was when Elliot was in the room looking @ the doll and the old lady came in and yelled @ him...............or............... when then old lady banged her head aganst the window

This was the worst movie I have ever seen, and I've seen some bad ones.(x-men 3) Where can I get in touch with M.N.S. and get my money back? If you have seen the previews, then you have seen the so called best parts of the movie. The plot was so bad. I mean come on does everyone in hollywood have to be a tree hugger. The only thing this movie is good for is a good fire starter. I love all of his movies, but after this one, he has lost a fan. I want my money back. rent Dare Devil it was more interesting

I liked all of his other movies and was so anxious to see this. It SUCKED! The dialogue, the acting, the whole freaking sotryline. STUPID> waste of time and money!

A bit behind the curve of movie watching coupled with reading what the 'wanna be movie critics wrote'. I would like to share my opinion. First, it was not what I expected but happily entertained. Night's movie bare a cinematic theme which americans either don't understand or forgot; the narrative. We have lost the art to tell a good story by our felt need to be entertained by men flying around with rockets attached. Which is entertaining, but not a good story! Night's stories are always introduced by simplicity if life [ie. wind, purple...in the movie unbreakable, or death as in the sixth sense.] Second, I'll agree with most people that it's not his best work, but deserves it credit for what it is. A story about phenomenal aspects in life that can't be explained by rational, which furthers the point of being a GOOD STORY. All good stories are unbelievable in the sense of premises. We know all too well that no tornado can take you to the land of OZ but in believing in something so simple as weather [tornado] allows us with childlike faith to be swept away in wonder and awe. I like Night. I like his courage to step out and be someone who is true to himself and not cave into the Hollywood expectations of a good movie. Well done.

Great movie... Not the basic "bucket of popcorn" movie experience most of the masses go to the theaters for(a la The Hulk)...and most likely won't win any awards, but a great movie nonetheless. Personally i dig these types of movies, ones that tend to make people think, more than entertain(Revolver was a recent movie in the same fashion, which i loved)...my wife is just the opposite, ironic considering she's a psychology professor. It just goes to show how the movie experience vastly differs from person to person. I like to discuss, rationalize, and get into the theories and ideas of the movie, while i'm watching...i tend to pause the movie, and want to discuss the scene with my wife...who in turn just looks at me like i'm completely insane for stopping the movie to discuss the philosophical aspects of the current scene...and then pointedly tells me so...:) and if you go back over the thread here, you can see the 2 distinct groups engaging in "justifying" why their opinion and view matters more... basic human nature...

Have you naive insects heard of the word 'Satire'?

haven't seen it yet, and now i'm not too sure i will. though for those who attack the director and smash the actors, remember how big a hit The Fast and the Furious was? after seeing that i thought rob cohen was done but sure enough he came back. so i take that back, i just might go see the Happening.

I hate to say this b/c I Love M. but this movie was terrible. I really really wanted to love it but I didn't. I don't need to get into why I think the 100 other people on this blog have. I just really hated it and I don't ever hate movies.

This movie was freaking horrible and in response to the first comment about it blowing harder than a russian whore lmfao... that pretty much summed it up heheeh. I paid 9 bucks to seet his movie and it was at otal waste of money!!!! Everyone that was walking out behind me were pretty pissed off... There was this stupid st ory line of how trees were killing people omg thats like the stupidest thing I have ever heard of give me a freaking break... after that it just lost my attention. The acting was ridiculous have enver seen such worst acting and directing.

Did anyone else think it was absolutely absurd to have characters outrun the wind? Or think they can escape the poison in the air by simply closing doors and windows? This would have made a decent little Twight Zone episode, but not a whole movie. And yes, lose the boom mics. That is just sloppy editing.

plz read my post at 85.

Rodneilman and peter peter peter beater....your nuts and probably still play with star wars toys

Well.. Chad, yeah I spelled Nitrogen wrong... so yeah my english sux if thats wat you are trying to say here... You can say that if English is my first language.. for the record I speak better English than G.W. Bush.. But I don;t doubt my chemistry knowledge.. try google it if you donno what will cause Nitrogen in the liquid form or dense form.. By the way , wat the heck to do with periodic table and Nitrogen ? You mean to say .. you know that word ? or you mean to say earth was fully covered with Nitrogen in the past amd no life harmed ?

I think the real reason Shyamalan made a bad movie is because the little rich, snot-nosed brat from the suburbs has finally run out of ideas . . .

I loved this movie. I guess so many people were critical of it I went in with that attitide,that I wasn't going to be impressed and I really got freaked out and enjoyed it. My neice and I talked all night about it. Really makes a person think abut the what ifs in life. There were a few moments when actors seemed a bit off..maybe there was some timing issues..or script problems, but I thought every actor was outstanding in his/her role. Go with an open mind, think about the afterlife and are you ready for it or the end of this Earth as we know it.

Chad, I am glad to know you played with liquid Nitrogen before.. so yeah.. the boiling point and melting point for Nitrogen is very low.. around -160 C or somthing... I am just curious to know that wat happens when the environment temperature is much much higher than the boiling point of an object ? lets say the what happens when u keep an object which has boiling point of around - 100 C in a room temperature of 20 C ? I am just curious to know the result as you have played with it... I mean anyone can get a general idea from it... right ? it gets burn easily... you don;t even have to heat it up... its like you end up overheating the object.. tats why I said its dangerous and can cause you burns easily.. I googled to find out what Nitrogen can cause in the liquid form for you... here it is.. "Liquid nitrogen can cause severe burns – call for help - warm area slowly with tepid water and beware of severe pain and shock as wound thaws. Except in the case of very minor burns, call 2222 and transfer subject to hospital. " source link : "http://www.vet.ed.ac.uk/pvs/COPLiqNitVBS.htm " So now the very basic question from me... "Who is trying to appear smart ass ? you or me ? " I can clearly see you want to become a smart ass with this post.. well I don't mind you doing that.. show what you got and become a smart ass instead of making someone else look stupid.. Its cheap shot... Now about the post # 34... I was defending Night shyamalans story.. I wasn;t trying to project myself as smartass there... I was defending him, He said why would alien land on a planet which covered by more than 70 % water.. we did land on moon knowing that there is no oxygen.. Its like an expedition... It can be as simple as that... I brought that topic just to make a point for his post.. So yeah, you said... "YOU were attempting to "appear" smart by bashing someone else, and you ended up making a fool of yourself" You should have thought about it before even you writing that post.. Bcos I see "Chad" instead of "YOU" in that sentense... Look man I am not here to show off.. That was a simple science example for that topic.. I am a movie fan and I am here just to discuss about movies not to show off.. So my friend I give you one advise.. think about yourself before you accusing someone.. you should have figured it out before itself.. bcos you are smartest one right ?..

Kurt... I have a clear understanding on "Science" (as you put it) but I am not amazed by this film whatsoever. The plot is basic enough for anyone to grasp and its really unfortunate that people who like this movie have to dig so deep to find the good in it. I'm sure if I wanted to I could brainwash myself into believing MNS had a deeper meaning/purpose to this movie but even he himself stated that it was a really good "B-movie". I think he came up with this excuse just to try and save his ass when the film started recieving its horrible reviews. There is no getting around it; when you sum it up the Happening is just a Bad movie. Sad to say I've given up all hope in MNS after seeing this film.

Suresh... Are you like nine years old? like honestly... Every attack you have had on me I have already defended in a previous post. This is the stupidest thing. I'm so tired of you trying to defend yourself being a dumbshit. I already admitted my intentions in every post I have made. I admitted the fact that I'm bashing you on a fucking retarded subject, but only because you needed it to happen. And BFD if you googled to find the effects of liquid nitrogen... What exactly are you trying to prove? That I'm a liar? I obviously know my shit... And I'm not lying. I've experimented with Liquid Nitrogen. A few years ago in high school we made ice cream with the shit on a regular basis in an Organic and Biological Chemistry class. Also, who is in a room that's fucking 20*C? And, Yes, Thank you, I am the smartest one. Chad

Well that's true... I WAS in highschool. I'm not anymore... Didn't you see what I said? A FEW YEARS AGO. I'm actually studying medicine currently you dumb sack of tits. And now you're talking shit about taking me seriously based on something I did in highschool. Hmmm... I don't know you, you don't know me; but if I were to read one of your posts then compare it to mine, I would say, "This guy Suresh is a dumb fuck". Would you like to know why? These are the reasons: -My grammar makes sense -I actually spell out the word "because" -I don't misspell things when I attempt to point out the idiocy in other people's posts, ironically enough (If you didn't catch what I'm referring to, here's an example: it's NITROGEN not NITRAGIN) -You're a bitch So yes, "kid", there is a possibility that it might not have been legitimate Liquid Nitrogen... But I wasn't dunking my face in it and showering it on my classmates, we just played with it. It wasn't in a lab either, we went to go get it. I was fucking there. How much have you been around? Now which one of us would know more? And yes it was cold... like I mentioned before. It didn't feel good against my skin, but I didn't need my fingers amputated from your little "cold burns". You just need to limit your interactions. Also, I don't "google" things when I need information. If I'm going to discuss or argue about something with someone, I don't do it unless I already know what I'm talking about, like I do with liquid "nitragin". So good fucking job having the ability to type words into a search bar and taking everything you read seriously, because we all know what happens to people who play with fireworks, they blow their fingers off because that's what it says on the label. One more comment. Do you expect people to take YOU seriously? When was the last time a major figure or really anyone with any hair on their balls typed like this: "lol lik omg u r dum bcos lik cold burns lik u could lik die from dat" You post similar to someone who isn't even IN highschool yet. So there you go, Genius. Chad

one amendment to my post. i take back saying that the whole of what's "happening" is a joke. there is a strong, clear message behind it.

Ok thank you for that last stretch, Mr Fantastic. I was speaking of COMPOSURE. You do not present yourself in a manner that is to be taken seriously, you cunt. And no, you're not funny, and I would appreciate it if you did not attack a leader of our country. Whether or not you like or support him, he still represents America, you fucking twat, and he's a human being. And on the "Hey.. I am right… so this guy must be wrong… hes stupid.. bcos I am smart.. "- That is pretty much how I feel. I AM right, you ARE stupid, and I AM smart. The only correction is the fact that I KNOW you are wrong. I don't need deductive reasoning to prove that, bitch. I also still find it humorous you calling me "kid"... You're the one with the intellect of an infant. So go ahead, once again insult me with a misspelled title. MORON you fucking pussy... not MORAN. And once again, that last comment was quite the stretch.... YOU are the only person who I am claiming is stupid right now. And you're a fucking "moran".

ha ha.. composure.. yeah you were right about that.. the only reason why I took you seriously is you accused me of stating wrong information.. Apart from that ur content is like an immature person.. I could only laugh on those.. I used GWB.. bcos hes famous and everybody knows his name... If I say I speak better english than John or Sam , you think anyone will understand my point ? ha ha.. lol... you need someone to explain each and everything to you... oh yeah.. you really smart man... ha ha ha.. I guess you are the most self obsessed person I ever seen.. I am glad I got one important msg even from a "moron" .. from now on I have to watch out for my spelling... COMPOSURE... ha ha ha.. tats good joke.. you better watch out ur studies Mr. smart .. there is a chance you might not pass ur degree if you don't use ur brain and think like you know everything... good luck kid..

you are most welcome dude..

I couldn't wait to see this one. I've always enjoyed MNS. I thought Signs was an outstanding take on religion. However, this movie stunk. One, the plot was pointless. The characters did NOTHING to effect the outcome of the story-well except for staying in small groups ? Please. Although the plot DID mirror the character development which was minimal. The film didn't even "end", we are lead to believe at the very ending of the movie that the whole story was again taking place in Europe...Thank goodness I didn't have to sit through it again !!! And one other BASIC annoyance, WHAT WAS UP WITH THE BOOM MIC ???? Something so simple can really destroy a movie. After the 7th apparence, the whole audience was looking for it and laughing at every apparence.... I look forward to MNS's next attempt, but this one STUNK

this is definitely one of the most disappointing films i have ever seen in my entire life....i think Barney and Friends has more substance. the movie did not distinguish a plot, a specific, or a fucking conclusion. i mean, all they did was walk around, avoid grass, and argue. why the hell would you tell your husband you ate dessert with another man when random people are committing suicide in the streets???? and what was up with the old mean beezy??? she was tripping. overall, i was pissed when i left the theater and i wanted my money back...so i watched Kung Fu Panda after....and guess what? it taught me a lesson, dont make fun of fat pandas...because their ass will squish you. seriously, i think Mr. M. Night has lost his touch.....al looooonnnngggg time ago. How do you go from The Sixth Sense and Signs to The Happening?? or even Lady In The Water.....terrible. this goes to show that just because you are rich doesnt meant that you have the talent to make a decent film....sure the cinematography will be beautiful, the make up MAC, and clothes Christian Dior, and actors Mark Walhberg....fans (including myself) will still be disappointed in you. so yes, i think a stimulus check for all those who saw the film should be put in the mail, so that i can get therapy and healing from this terrible ordeal.

My honest opinion, I liked it.