The Happening

New review from Nick at Nite

The Happening

Went to the dollar movie last night. Went without knowing I would get the Tuesday night special where they reduce the price of the movie to fifty cents. Given that it only cost me fifty cents, I’d say I got my money’s worth. This is easily my least favorite of M. Night’s films. The writing is hokey. The acting is less than good. And the climax – the twist – comes too soon. The Happening, which is M. Night’s first rated “R” film, follows a small group of people as they try to escape an unknown menace that is causing people to lose their minds and kill themselves. Marky Mark – without the funky bunch – plays a school science teacher that is trying to figure out what is going on using the scientific method. Zooey – the cute girl from ELF – plays Marky Mark’s wife. A few other characters matter, but not enough to get mentioned. This is not a bad movie. It would be better as a short. There is just not much to the story. I will give M. Night a pass on this one because I like his other stuff so much. I expect more from him. I give this movie a “C.”