What Do The Critics Say?

"It almost dares you to roll your eyes or laugh at certain scenes that are supposed to be deadly serious. But, you know what, I appreciated this creatively offbeat, daring sci-fi mind-trip." Richard Roeper EBERT & ROEPER "The slight premise, coupled with some very bad performances by the cast as well as a screenplay filled with ham-fisted dialogue makes for a film that's not scary and borders on being ridiculous at times. At least the film is short." Sean McBride SEAN THE MOVIE GUY "The Happening works in early spurts, but apparently Shyamalan ran out of ideas once he came up with his uniquely insidious killer." Dan Lybarger EFILMCRITIC "Another case of elegant filmmaking kneecapped by a thunderingly stupid concept." Rob Vaux FLIPSIDE MOVIE EMPORIUM "What you end up with is a cross between Roland Emmerich's The Day After Tomorrow and Shyamalan's Signs." Ken Hanke MOUNTAIN XPRESS "Shyamalan's direction always seems so serious that it's easy to imagine he may be screwing up when he draws laughs, but I'd lay down money that many of these were deliberate." Luke tHOMAS LTRULES

"When filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan is at the top of his game, his movies not only scare the socks off me, they also give me something to think about. The Happening succeeds on both counts, proving he’s back in the Zone after a serious lapse with Lady in the Water. This time, there’s more than fear itself to be afraid of.The Happening may not be M. Night Shyamalan's best movie, but it's his most provocative one." Betty Jo Tucker REELTALK MOVIE REVIEWS "I'm always amused by the sort of backlashes that Shyamalan is in right now. Well, M. Night Shyamalan makes vague, subtle fantasy thrillers. If you've outgrown it, don't blame him." Fred Topel CAN MAGAZINE "Shyamalan movies demand that you surrender to his way of telling stories." Chris Hewitt ST PAUL PIONEER EXPRESS "The film is loaded with Shyamalan’s style. There are long, static shots, some even plucked from his other films (like the dolly through the parked cars shot in The Sixth Sense). There’s a lot of staring. There’s intense music with people in the middle of the Pennsylvanian countryside. At its heart, The Happening is a suspense film, and Shyamalan is a master of suspense. I know that sounds cheesy to say, but I stand behind it. I’m not saying he’s the new Hitchcock or anything, but the man knows how to make a creepy scene." Kevin Carr FILM SCHOOL REJECTS

The Inside Story The idea for "The Happening" came to M Night Shyamalan as he drove across the New Jersey countryside, watching a lush, green world whirr by through the windshield. "I was on my way to New York," he recalls, "it was a beautiful day and the trees were hanging over the highway, and I suddenly thought to myself, 'What if nature one day turned on us?' In that moment, the entire structure of the story for "The Happening" popped into my head instantly and the characters suddenly became perfectly clear. It was a great feeling because movies are always so much more accessible when the predominating thing is the structure." Even from those earliest moments of inspiration, before a single word was on the page, Shyamalan also knew that he wanted a very specific style for this film. "I knew that I wanted to make a movie that would be electric, clean and dynamic," he says. The initial draft of Shyamalan’s screenplay was already quite intense, but when Twentieth Century Fox came on board, the studio suggested that Shyamalan might push the story even further, that he could approach it as an R-rated movie and take it to extremes of tension and terror where he’d not yet ventured. Shyamalan was surprised, but excited by the freedom this suggestion brought to let his imagination run even wilder. "When I thought about it, I thought this is really the way to make this story, because it is already a story all about taboos." "The big idea of the film was always to push the Night genre and Fox just said to us, there are no boundaries, take the gloves off, go for it, and we did," says producer Barry Mendel ("The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou", "The Royal Tenenbaums" & "Rushmore"). Producer Sam Mercer ("Jarhead", "Van Helsing" & "Congo") notes the film " takes many of the supernatural and emotional elements traditional to Night’s movies to a new level. And this story begs a compelling bigger question: have we gone too far as humans?" With "The Happening" Shyamalan went a step further to contemplate the most unthinkable kind of demise for humankind. "I think what’s really scary in "The Happening" is that people start acting in the opposite way of how they are supposed to act. Unexplainable behavior is always very disturbing and there’s a lot of taboo behavior in this story," he said. "After all, what is the one thing that keeps a species going: it’s the instinct to stay away from harmful things, to protect ourselves and each other. But if you take away that instinct what happens? Things will turn upside down very, very quickly." Shyamalan enjoyed the liberating effect of breaking away from something for which he has become renowned: the tricky, twist ending. "The end of the world genre was a nice feeling for me because if I write anything that feels like a chess match going on with the audience, the audience will expect that, even if I’m not playing the chess match. My goal was always to make a fast-paced movie where you come out paranoid about things happening in the world you never really considered before." At the heart of his tale is a couple, science teacher Elliot and therapist Alma. Even as their world self-destructs, they struggle with themes of protecting and caring for one another in their domestic life. "There is a lot in Elliot and Alma’s relationship about the way that love works, about who we really are in relationships," Shymalan notes. M Night Shyamalan admits he had always envisioned Mark Wahlberg ("The Departed" & "Shooter") in the role of Elliot. Yet Elliot was unlike any character Wahlberg, who hails from a rough background, had played before: a quiet, sensitive teacher pushed to the edge by inexplicable events in just a few short hours. Still, Shyamalan was convinced the role was right for Wahlberg. "I know Mark and I’ve always seen him as this sort of guy," says the writer/director. "I don’t know the tough guy from Boston who gets in scrap fights, I know a different guy. And when I’ve seen glimpses of Mark playing this sort of person, for example in Three Kings in the scene when he’s calling his wife from Iraq, I just love him, and I’ve always wanted to do a whole movie with him like that." It turns out that Wahlberg had been waiting for a chance to work with Shyamalan. "He had worked with my brother and with Joaquin Phoenix and I was always jealous of them both because of that," the 2006 National Board of Review Award winner ("The Departed") confessed. "So when he said he had thought of me specifically for this role, I was thrilled." Producer Sam Mercer believes Wahlberg made for a perfect match with Shyamalan’s style of storytelling. "There’s always an Everyman quality to Night’s movies and Mark has such a relatable personality," Mercer says. "I think the audience will really identify with him and with what’s happening in his life at the moment the disaster hits." 2003 Mar del Plata Film Festival Best Actress Award winner Zooey Deschanel, who played Noel in "All the Real Girls", was cast in the role of Alma. Shyamalan had been drawn to Deschanel’s vibrant, endearing personality, which has been showcased in films ranging from "Almost Famous" to "Elf" and "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy". "Zooey’s character is somewhat troubled in the movie, but I didn’t want to have a brooding actress in there," Shyamalan says. "I wanted someone the audience would instantly like, and also someone whom you like Mark even more for marrying. Zooey and Mark are both so vulnerable and charming together on screen that you really root for them to survive this." Walhberg revealed he immediately hit it off with Deschanel. "I just feel this very strong emotional connection to her," he said. "It always felt like we were right in the moment and we are able to say a lot without words. The relationship between Elliot and Alma really had to work, because for me, that’s what makes the movie stand apart from other disaster or horror movies. And Zooey’s so likable, that made everything easier. With Zooey, no matter what, the chemistry was always there." "Mark made it so easy for me as he is so generous as a person and as a actor," Deschanel says. "I think we were able to show that Alma and Elliot are like so many other couples out there: in that they love each other but they just need to gain some perspective in order to remember why they’re connected to each other. It’s also really fascinating how their relationship relates to this bigger imminent disaster that’s about people forgetting their connection to the planet." Working with Shyamalan helped keep Deschanel inspired to bring more colors to Alma. Elliot’s exuberant best friend and fellow teacher Julian, is played by three time ALMA Award winner, John Leguizamo. Shyamalan explained: "For Julian, I wanted a heroic, poignant performance tinged with some comedic moments that would fit alongside Mark, and that’s why I cast John Leguizamo." Leguizamo (who voiced Sid in "Ice Age I & II"), is as known for his comic one-man stage shows as he is for his many memorable film performances, wanted the role since he first read the screenplay. "I guess I really related to that sort of parental fear in apocalyptic times, especially because I was in New York on September 11," he says. "I think we all live with the fear that something terrible could happen at any moment, so I think a film like this helps us to sort of exorcize that fear. I just love the way Night creates these fanciful nightmares that help you release all that." To prepare for the role, Leguizamo brushed up on his math skills and read some teacher blogs to get into the school spirit. But most of all, he spent time with Mark Wahlberg, building up a very real feeling of close friendship that came naturally to the duo. "For me, having a guy like John, who is so funny and so smart, in the role really elevated the material. The chemistry was there between us and the friendship always felt true and organic," Wahlberg recalls. Like the rest of the cast, none of whom had worked with Shyamalan before, Leguizamo was inspired by the atmosphere the director nurtured on the set. "He’s pretty much the kindest, gentlest director I’ve ever encountered," says Leguizamo. "He’s such a rare director because he has a picture of the entire film in his head before you even start. He has such a strong vision, but he’s also a really sensitive person who is willing to explore every line in the movie," Deschanel notes. "It was a treat to work with him as an actor because he’s always joking around and it’s a fun experience, but at the same time, it was a very intellectually stimulating experience." With Leguizamo bringing humor and grit to the role of Julian, Shyamalan knew he needed a young actress who could stand up to that with her own riveting child-like innocence as Julian’s daughter, Jess. "I’m not necessarily looking for a three foot tall Daniel Day Lewis because I really don’t want them to go too far away from themselves but, rather, to allow that natural childlike quality within them to be exposed," Shyamalan states. After scouring the country, the filmmakers ultimately found their Jess close to home, in young Los Angeles native Ashlyn Sanchez, who made her feature film debut as Michael Pena’s daughter in the Oscar-winning "Crash". "She had something indescribable, there was just magic happening behind her eyes, and we felt very lucky to find her," co-producer Jose Rodriguez ("The Village") remembers. "Otherwise we might still be searching!" Shyamalan adds: "I needed an almost angelic force who would be able to kind of keep Elliot and Alma sane in trying to protect her, and that was Ashlyn." Tony Award ® winning actress Betty Buckley was cast as Mrs Jones, an eccentric and suspicious old farm woman who provides an eerie refuge for Elliot, Alma and Jess just when all hopes seems lost. "I like that his films always have an intelligent social commentary to make. And I just love any good thriller; I guess I’m an adrenaline rush kind of person," Buckley said. Synopsis

It begins with no clear warning. It seems to come out of nowhere. In a matter of minutes, episodes of strange, chilling deaths that defy reason and boggle the mind in their shocking destructiveness, erupt in major American cities. What is causing this sudden, total breakdown of human behavior? Is it some kind of new terrorist attack, an experiment gone wrong, a diabolical toxic weapon, an out-of-control virus? Is it being transmitted by air or water? For Philadelphia high school science teacher Elliot Moore what matters most is finding a way to escape the mysterious and deadly phenomenon. Though he and his wife Alma are in the midst of a marital crisis, they hit the road, first by train, then by car, with Elliot’s math teacher friend Julian and his eight year old daughter Jess, heading for the Pennsylvania farmlands where they hope they’ll be out of reach of the grisly, ever-growing attacks. It soon becomes clear that no one and nowhere, is safe. It is only when Elliot begins to discover the true nature of what is lurking out there, and just what has unleashed this force that threatens the future of humanity, that he uncovers a sliver of hope for his family.

The Verdict "It's hard to tell whether Shyamalan deliberately set out to make "The Happening" a comedy/drama or a drama patched with humour. Which ever way you look at it, it's either one hell of a joke played on an unsuspecting audience or, one heck of a stuff-up. Writer, producer and director Shyamalan, reaped massive audience respect with "The Sixth Sense", "Unbreakable", "Signs" and "The Village" before suddenly careering off the rails with "The Lady In The Water". "The Happening" is another train wreck. It certainly deserves its MA15+ rating. It's a film punctuated with violent, bloodied deaths and suicides. "The Happening" also lacks a lot in the 'acting' department. One for the fans or if you've seen everything else that's screening at your local multiplex. 2 STARS." Crew Bytes "THE HAPPENING" was .......
directed by M Night Shyamalan ["Praying with Anger", "Wide Awake" and "Unbreakable"]; screenplay by M Night Shyamalan ["Praying with Anger", "Wide Awake" and "Stuart Little"]; set decoration by Jay Hart ["L.A. Confidential", "Fight Club", "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" and "Spider-Man 2"]; costume design by Betsy Heimann ["Jerry Maguire", "Almost Famous", "Be Cool" and "Rush Hour 3"]; production design by Jeannine Claudia Oppewall ["The Bridges of Madison County", "Waking Up In Reno", "Catch Me If You Can" and "Seabiscuit"]; edited by Conrad Buff IV ["Terminator 2: Judgment Day", "Training Day", "Tears of the Sun" and "Shooter"]; director of photography Tak Fujimoto ["Philadelphia", "Devil In A Blue Dress", "The Truth About Charlie" and "The Manchurian Candidate"]; original music by THIRTEEN time ASCAP Award winner James Newton Howard ["Signs", "Collateral", "King Kong" and "Batman Begins"]. Who's Who?

Mark Wahlberg Zooey Deschanel John Leguizamo Ashlyn Sanchez Betty Buckley Spencer Breslin Robert Bailey Jr Frank Collison Jeremy Strong Alan Ruck Victoria Clark M Night Shyamalan Alison Folland Kristen Connolly Cornell Womack Curtis McLarin Robert Lenzi Derege Harding Kerry O'Malley Shayna Levine Stéphane Debac Cyrille Thouvenin Babita Hariani Alicia Taylor Edward James Hyland Armand Schultz

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Elliot Moore Alma Moore Julian Jess Mrs Jones Josh Jared Nursery Owner Private Auster Principal Nursery Owner's Wife Joey Woman Reading on Bench with Hair Pin Woman Reading on Bench Construction Foreman Construction Crew Member Jake Train Conductor Woman on Cell Phone Teenage Girl in Jeep French Bicyclist French Bicyclist's Friend Medical Correspondent U.S. Reporter Professor Kendall Wallace Talk Show Host

Run Time 90 minutes Rated MA15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2008 - 20th Century Fox - All Rights Reserved ©2008 All Rights Reserved The Movie Pages - Protected by Australian, International, Copyright & Trademark Laws.