Quite possibly the worst movie I have ever seen.

Rating: 1/10 (15 June 2008)

First and foremost: This is the first movie I actually walked out of in a long time. After seeing the kids scream profanities at a few hicks in a shack in Pennsylvania and then getting their brains blown out in the most artificial, robotic way possible I instinctually left the theatre. The rest of the day I suffered the indignity of having the sequence of a slow-motion Whalberg running and yelling "Noooooo" burnt into my psyche. One of the worst moments in cinematic history.
The overall message of the movie was actually quite agreeable. Despite the horrific acting and shock effect like death scenes which the movie seemed to be using as a crutch, I ended up rooting for the trees not only because of the mindset of humanity inside and out of the realm of "The Happening" but also because of the lackluster effort that spawned this movie in the first place. Aside from the disastrous acting and dialogue, the directing seemed to be the worst aspect of this film with the emotional scenes coming at the audience like shrapnel, a completely awkward subplot consisting of some sort of dysfunctional relationship between the protagonists, and John Leguizamo fumbling with math riddles as the death potion is coming through a slit in the ceiling of his party's jeep to name a few. Where as Indiana Jones was targeting ten year olds, The Happening seemed to be targeting idiots in general with its asinine like presentation of what was a potentially promising plot. If you want to retain your appetite, I suggest staying as far away from this smelly turn as possible.