A science teacher, his wife, and a young girl struggle to survive a plague that causes those infected to commit suicide.A science teacher, his wife, and a young girl struggle to survive a plague that causes those infected to commit suicide.A science teacher, his wife, and a young girl struggle to survive a plague that causes those infected to commit suicide.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 10 nominations
M. Night Shyamalan
- Joey
- (voice)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMark Wahlberg admitted that he regrets working on this movie, but said, "You can't blame me for wanting to try to play a science teacher. At least I wasn't playing a cop or a crook."
- Goofs(at around 58 mins) A man refuses to let Elliot and his companions into his house because he does not want to let the "poison gas" inside. However, all the house's windows are open.
- Quotes
Mrs. Jones: Planning on stealing something?
Elliot Moore: No, ma'am, we're not.
Mrs. Jones: Plan on murdering me in my sleep?
Elliot Moore: What? No!
- Crazy creditsMoving clouds form the backdrop for the opening and closing credits. On the end credits, they've become stormclouds with lightning. On the end credits, M. Night Shyamalan's name vanishes.
- Alternate versionsGerman version was edited prior to submission to the FSK by the director himself to secure a "Not under 16" rating. These cuts included:
- a needle piercing a throat during a suicide
- a man's arm being bitten off by lions
- a man dying under a lawnmower This version was released on DVD in the UK. However, for the German home video release the complete version was submitted. Ironically, this version was rated "Not under 16" as well (making the cut version even more redundant as guidelines for home video are stronger than for theatrical releases).
- SoundtracksBlack Water
Written by Patrick Simmons
Featured review
Nature fights back
After the hype created by Bird Box, it is worth revisiting The Happening which was critically mauled upon its release.
The reason might be M Night Shyamalan who wrote, produced and directed this film. His success in movies such as The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable meant that critics were just sharpening their knives and waited for him to fail.
It starts off shockingly as people kill themselves in New York, such as throwing themselves off a building. The mass suicides soon spreads and the authorities initially think it is some kind of a biological terrorist attack.
Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg) is a science teacher at high school in Philadelphia. When the school hears about happening in New York, it causes a mass panic.
Elliot, his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel) fellow teacher Julian (John Leguizamo) and his young daughter Jess try to escape Philadelphia on the train. The train comes to a halt and they are stranded in the countryside.
Julian goes back to look for his wife who could not make it on the train. Elliot tries to figure out what is causing this phenomenon as they witness more disturbing suicides. He thinks there is something in nature, especially the countryside that is causing the happening.
Shyamalan was let down by Mark Wahlberg, the most unconvincing high school science teacher. Zooey Deschanel was not much better. I know she is supposed to have marriage problems but there was no chemistry here between the actors. Leguizamo would had been better as the lead.
The film itself is much better than its reputation deserves. There is an environmental subtext to it. It is eerie, disturbing and mysterious. I can understand what Shyamalan tried to do and he largely succeeded with a psychological apocalyptic horror. It would had been better with stronger actors.
The reason might be M Night Shyamalan who wrote, produced and directed this film. His success in movies such as The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable meant that critics were just sharpening their knives and waited for him to fail.
It starts off shockingly as people kill themselves in New York, such as throwing themselves off a building. The mass suicides soon spreads and the authorities initially think it is some kind of a biological terrorist attack.
Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg) is a science teacher at high school in Philadelphia. When the school hears about happening in New York, it causes a mass panic.
Elliot, his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel) fellow teacher Julian (John Leguizamo) and his young daughter Jess try to escape Philadelphia on the train. The train comes to a halt and they are stranded in the countryside.
Julian goes back to look for his wife who could not make it on the train. Elliot tries to figure out what is causing this phenomenon as they witness more disturbing suicides. He thinks there is something in nature, especially the countryside that is causing the happening.
Shyamalan was let down by Mark Wahlberg, the most unconvincing high school science teacher. Zooey Deschanel was not much better. I know she is supposed to have marriage problems but there was no chemistry here between the actors. Leguizamo would had been better as the lead.
The film itself is much better than its reputation deserves. There is an environmental subtext to it. It is eerie, disturbing and mysterious. I can understand what Shyamalan tried to do and he largely succeeded with a psychological apocalyptic horror. It would had been better with stronger actors.
Helpful•6521
- Prismark10
- Jan 6, 2019
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Green Planet
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $48,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $64,506,874
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $30,517,109
- Jun 15, 2008
- Gross worldwide
- $163,404,284
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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