The Happening review

The Happening

Rated R

1/2 out of 5

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan.
Starring Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel.

The Happening, M. Night Shyamalan's latest offering, is an apocalyptic film that follows the trend set by the more recent work of the iconic horror director. In other words, It wasn't very good at all. The plot, to say the least, is ridiculous. People in New York City's Central Park start committing suicide for an unknown reason. Minutes later, people outside the park start jumping from tall buildings, shooting themselves, and partaking in various other acts of self-destruction.
The film's main character, Elliot (Wahlberg), a Philadelphia teacher, hears about this mass-suicide, and hops on a train to western PA with his wife Alma (Deschanel), his friend Julian (John Leguizamo), and his daughter. What happens after that pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the movie. The plot gets more and more ridiculous with every minute, the dialogue seems unnatural and forced for the entire film. If I could say one thing to Wahlberg after seeing this, I would say something like, "Please Marky Mark, is this the best you can do?"
On one good note however, this movie contained what is perhaps the funniest scene in the history of film. Our protagonists run like the wind from...well...the wind! My God, that scene was wicked funny. I laughed through most of the gorier parts too, because hey, I'm a guy!
Overall, I'd have to say that this is one of the worst movies that I have ever seen, ever. Please, for the love of God and all that is holy, do not waste ten of your hard earned dollars buying a ticket to see this disappointing movie.