The Happening (2008)

The Happening rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb5/10· 226K votes

Rotten Tomatoes17%

Metacritic34%

TMDb5.402/10· 4K votes

With 17% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 5/10 on IMDb and 34/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been modest.

About The Happening

When a deadly airborne virus threatens to wipe out the northeastern United States, teacher Elliot Moore and his wife Alma flee from contaminated cities into the countryside in a fight to discover the truth. Is it terrorism, the accidental release of some toxic military bio weapon -- or something even more sinister?

Cast of The Happening

• 

  Mark Wahlberg

  as Elliot Moore

• 

  Zooey Deschanel

  as Alma Moore

• 

  John Leguizamo

  as Julian

• 

  Ashlyn Sanchez

  as Jess

• 

  Betty Buckley

  as Mrs. Jones

• 

  Spencer Breslin

  as Josh

• 

  Robert Bailey Jr.

  as Jared

• 

  Frank Collison

  as Nursery Owner

• 

  Jeremy Strong

  as Private Auster

• 

  Alan Ruck

  as Principal

• 

  Victoria Clark

  as Nursery Owner's Wife

• 

  M. Night Shyamalan

  as Joey (voice)

The Happening facts

Budget

$60M

Box office

$163.4M

Our take on The Happening

M. Night Shyamalan's 2008 science-fiction thriller imagines a deadly airborne threat sweeping the northeastern United States, driving science teacher Elliot Moore and his wife Alma out of contaminated cities and into the countryside as they try to understand what's happening. Is it terrorism, an accidental release of some toxic military bio-weapon, or something stranger still? Shyamalan trades big set pieces for creeping paranoia and eerie, near-silent dread as the characters flee an enemy they can't see or fully explain. It's a divisive, slow-burning mood piece best suited to viewers who prize atmosphere and unease over conventional scares or tidy answers. If you like ambiguous, unsettling premises, this one rewards patience.