The Happening

Rating: 2/10 (21 March 2011)

From Razzie nominated director M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs), after making The Village and Lady in the Water, and before winning Worst Director for The Last Airbender, there came this disaster movie. Basically high school science teacher Elliot Moore (Razzie nominated Mark Wahlberg) is giving a class talking about the unexplained disappearance of bees, and then all of the sudden a bigger unexplained phenomenon is occurring worldwide. Beginning in Central Park and then spreading, people suddenly freeze in the middle of wherever they are, momentarily confused, and then they have the sudden urge to commit suicide in the most brutal way they can think of. Knowing that this mysterious event is popping up in places nearby, Elliot gets his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel), and takes Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez), daughter of his friend Julian (John Leguizamo), to whatever safety they can find. One amateur theorist says that it is flowers and plant life grouping together to create some kind of climate contagion that turns people this way, but what is definite is that people in bigger groups are what cause it. In the end Elliot, Alma and Jess do survive the devastation and two months or so pass with the deadly phenomenon seemingly gone, but of course it happens again somewhere in the world, so it could start again. Also starring Betty Buckley as Mrs. Jones, Spencer Breslin as Josh, Robert Bailey Jr. as Jared,Alan Ruck as Principal and Shyamalan as Joey. I will admit I was surprised by one or two of the bizarre suicide scenes, and I did giggle at how they occur, but this is unfortunately also one of the big reasons the film is so ridiculous, it isn't scary, thrilling or engaging, the acting is terrible, the script is stupid, it is all just a silly and not worth the effort science fiction thriller. It was nominated the Razzies for Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay. Pretty poor!