The Happening

By Mal -

1 out of 10

Well, it was rubbish. Utter rubbish. Weak story, terrible dialogue and some of the most stilted, wooden performances I've ever seen. Which is a shame, because Mark Wahlberg is capable of so much more. If this were intended to be a parody of lame thrillers, I could praise it to the heavens for its gut-wrenching cringeworthiness. Sadly, it wasn't a parody. It didn't even qualify as a B-movie. It was just gut-wrenchingly cringeworthy.

I can only lay the blame at the door of the director. And writer. And producer. Conveniently, they're all the same person: M. Night Shyamalan. It takes a certain level of hubris to write, produce, direct and even act (he has one line) in a film. Well, they say the more incompetent someone is, the less they are able to perceive it. M. Night is a case in point. I have no idea what he thought he was trying to achieve with this turkey. I can't see myself ever watching one of his films again.

Update: Hmmm... turns out he made Unbreakable too. Instant reprieve, methinks. But The Happening was still rubbish.

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