Interesting ideas, but falls deep into a sea of ridicule.

Rating: 4/10 (26 December 2018)

The Happening is a more intelligent movie than it seems. The internet has made this movie into a collective punchline since its premiere in 2008, and deservedly. The tone is incoherent, the acting is numb, the dialog is a complete joke, etc. But, perhaps there is something more about this movie?.
(Spoilers)
The main theme in this movie is "the unknowable", and the hubris of thinking you know, when you really don't. The "plant toxin" idea is initially pitched by a weird random guy, but it's the only explanation Elliot has, so he keeps acting on it, just because he wants to know what is really happening, so he can save himself and his group. In the end, he fails miserably, almost all the people with him ends up dead, and he makes a fool of himself by talking to a plastic plant. The guy is a science teacher, and in the beginning of the movie, he says:
"Science will come up with some reason to put in the books, but in the end it'll be just a theory. I mean, we will fail to acknowledge that there are forces at work beyond our understanding. To be a scientist, you must have a respectful awe for the laws of nature."
This is the theme of the movie, and it's a fair point. Some things just can't be explained, M. Night thinks, and, if he wants to make a movie about that, good. In that way, it is a companion piece to "Signs". However, this concept is awfully executed. I think the main flaw is that it tried to be at the same time satire and horror, and that put the tone of the movie all over the place, becoming a ridiculous mess, which invites laughter at the movie, rather than reflection on the nature of the unknownable.
This movie is kind of a modern Zardoz: a satire lost in ridicule. Although this movie is far less enjoyable because, at least, Zardoz went all the way in its satire and is much bolder in its performance. The Happening is just fun for the memes and the ridicule associated with it, but aside from that it's just a tedious mess.
4/10