Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: The Happening (2008) - Shyamalan's out-there, unsettling, undervalued sci-fi horror

12/30/2021

The Happening (2008) - Shyamalan's out-there, unsettling, undervalued sci-fi horror

♥♥♥♥

+ Best Mystery of the Year + Best Sci-fi Horror of the Year

Something is clearly completely off in the world on this blue-tinted poster for M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening

Out of the blue, trees begin to send out a poison that makes people commit suicide, and that is leading people out into grotesque and frightening situations all around the world.

The Happening is written and directed by Indian-born American master filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan (Praying with Anger (1992)), whose 8th feature it is.

Widely ridiculed and unappreciated, this film is mainly a problem for audiences who lack imagination. It is a kind of modern version of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963) and similarly unsettling, - if one has the capacity to be taken up by it. James Newton Howard's (Detroit (2017)) excellent score only adds to this dimension of pleasant genre recall. Shymalan mixes horrific images of events not related to the core story; a couple with a girl, who also fight with the logic of making sense of the strange phenomenon.

Mark Wahlberg (The Italian Job (2003)) has one of his better, charming roles as a physics teacher. Also good are Zooey Deschanel (Yes Man (2008)), John Leguizamo (Sisters (2015)) and Betty Buckley (Oz (2001-03)) as the old, crazy lady. The Happening at times is a bit out there and wacky, to be sure, but it remains a scary dose of existentialism, and to me it is (strangely) very anxiety-provoking.

M. Night Shyamalan: Glass (2019) - Shyamalan buries past effort in ominous superhero nonsense

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

The Visit (2015) - Shyamalan's creepy mini-comeback

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Reportedly 60 mil. $

Box office: 163.4 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 2.72 times its cost)

[The Happening premiered 10 June (New York) and runs 90 minutes. Shooting took place from August - November 2007 in Paris, France, New York and Pennsylvania, including in Philadelphia. The film opened #3, behind fellow new release The Incredible Hulk and holdover hit Kung Fu Panda, to a 30.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#5) and grossed 64.5 mil. $ (39.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 12.1 mil. $ (7.4 %) and Japan with 11.3 mil. $ (6.9 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. In 2010 Wahlberg said in a press conference for The Fighter (2010) that The Happening was a "really bad movie." The film accrued more than 22.3 mil. $ on video sales in North America. Shyamalan returned with The Last Airbender (2010). Wahlberg returned in May Payne (2008). The Happening is rotten at 18 % with a 4.00/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Happening?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (6-24)

12/30/2021

The Happening (2008) - Shyamalan's out-there, unsettling, undervalued sci-fi horror

Related posts:

M. Night Shyamalan: Glass (2019) - Shyamalan buries past effort in ominous superhero nonsense

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

The Visit (2015) - Shyamalan's creepy mini-comeback

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

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