WastedSavior
A day without sunshine is like, well, night.
- Reaction score
- 217
The Happening
We've Sensed It. We've Seen The Signs. Now... It's Happening.
We've Sensed It. We've Seen The Signs. Now... It's Happening.
Plot for imdb.com - Read at your own risk, this reveals the entire story.
The film opens in New York. People start to get confused in Central Park, repeating their words, standing still and sometimes walking backwards. We hear a few screams. A cop on the road shoots himself in the head. A driver gets out of his car, takes the gun, and also shoots himself in the head. We see a pair of high heels walk over and a hand starts to pick up the gun.
Meanwhile on a building site, workers start to walk calmly off the top of the building, crunching down to earth.
A science teacher named Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg) is called out of class to a staff meeting warning about this "terrorist attack" in New York, and advising that school is canceled. Elliot and his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel) flee Philadelphia on a train, with a friend and his daughter Jess. On the train people start to get reports by cellphone that the attacks are in lots of places.
The train ends up leaving them in a small rural town, as the conductors have lost radio contact with everyone else. At a diner they see a newscast that suggests the suicides are not caused by a terrorist attack, but by a natural phenomena. The friend leaves Jess with Elliot and Alma to go and look for his wife in Princeton (when he gets there it is infected, and, after the driver of the car he is in crashes deliberately into a tree the friend slashes his wrists with glass and dies).
Elliot and Alma decide, along with everybody else, to flee for the state line, as the attacks seem only to be affecting the northeast of the US. A nice couple who run a plant nursery offer to take them in their car. The man suggests to Elliot and Alma that the toxin is produced by plants. He explains the way plants can communicate with other plants, and the way they can release chemicals to get rid of specific pests.
While trying to reach the state line they see bodies ahead in the road. Turning back they meet many other cars, all converging on a country road junction; all report bodies back the way they have each come. They abandon the cars and strike out on foot, heading for a small remote housing development one man knows about. It's new and not on any maps, so they hope it will be safe from the terrorists.
While walking across the fields they form into two groups. The smaller group (10-12 people), with Elliot, Alma and Jess is in front . The larger(20-25 people), including a soldier, is behind them by 3 or 4 minutes. This larger group gets affected, and Elliot's group hears the gunshots as one by one they use the soldier's gun to kill themselves. Elliot starts to believe that it is indeed the plants, and that the toxin is triggered by large groups of people. He yells at everyone to split up.
Elliot, Alma, Jess and two teenagers find a showhome for a new development. As they leave they look back, and see two small groups of people arrive at the showhome, forming one larger group (12-15 people approx). That many people trigger the toxin, who stand around confusedly, except for one man who lies down in front of a large commercial lawnmower (we assumed the camera would cut away, but it doesn't!).
Our five people all end up on the front porch of a boarded-up house, asking for food. The inhabitants of the house refuse and shoot the two teenagers dead.
Elliot, Alma and Jess move on till they find an old house with no power which they think is abandoned. A spooky old lady lives there, who chooses to remain out of contact with the whole world. She doesn't want to know about the event in the outside world, however she gives them supper and a bed for the night. In the morning she tells Elliot they have to go (she seems completely bonkers). She then goes outside and is affected by the toxin. Elliot runs through the house trying to find Alma and Jess. They are outside in a spring house; he is stuck in the main house; however he can talk to them through a speaking tube. He explains that the toxin now seems to be set off by even one person alone.
Elliot decides that if he is going to die he doesn't want to die alone. They all leave their safe hiding places and walk into the middle of the garden and hold hands. The wind blows. Nothing happens.
Three months later and they are all living back in Philly. Jess is off to school by bus. Alma is doing a pregnancy test; it's positive. On the TV is a scientist warning that the event was like a red tide; the first sign that the planet is rejecting humans as pests. The host says that if that were true it would be happening in other places.
Cut to a park in Paris. Two guys are walking discussing plans for after work that evening. Cue distant scream; one guy starts to repeat his words, everyone stands still; other guy says (in French) "Oh my God".
End credits.
Meanwhile on a building site, workers start to walk calmly off the top of the building, crunching down to earth.
A science teacher named Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg) is called out of class to a staff meeting warning about this "terrorist attack" in New York, and advising that school is canceled. Elliot and his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel) flee Philadelphia on a train, with a friend and his daughter Jess. On the train people start to get reports by cellphone that the attacks are in lots of places.
The train ends up leaving them in a small rural town, as the conductors have lost radio contact with everyone else. At a diner they see a newscast that suggests the suicides are not caused by a terrorist attack, but by a natural phenomena. The friend leaves Jess with Elliot and Alma to go and look for his wife in Princeton (when he gets there it is infected, and, after the driver of the car he is in crashes deliberately into a tree the friend slashes his wrists with glass and dies).
Elliot and Alma decide, along with everybody else, to flee for the state line, as the attacks seem only to be affecting the northeast of the US. A nice couple who run a plant nursery offer to take them in their car. The man suggests to Elliot and Alma that the toxin is produced by plants. He explains the way plants can communicate with other plants, and the way they can release chemicals to get rid of specific pests.
While trying to reach the state line they see bodies ahead in the road. Turning back they meet many other cars, all converging on a country road junction; all report bodies back the way they have each come. They abandon the cars and strike out on foot, heading for a small remote housing development one man knows about. It's new and not on any maps, so they hope it will be safe from the terrorists.
While walking across the fields they form into two groups. The smaller group (10-12 people), with Elliot, Alma and Jess is in front . The larger(20-25 people), including a soldier, is behind them by 3 or 4 minutes. This larger group gets affected, and Elliot's group hears the gunshots as one by one they use the soldier's gun to kill themselves. Elliot starts to believe that it is indeed the plants, and that the toxin is triggered by large groups of people. He yells at everyone to split up.
Elliot, Alma, Jess and two teenagers find a showhome for a new development. As they leave they look back, and see two small groups of people arrive at the showhome, forming one larger group (12-15 people approx). That many people trigger the toxin, who stand around confusedly, except for one man who lies down in front of a large commercial lawnmower (we assumed the camera would cut away, but it doesn't!).
Our five people all end up on the front porch of a boarded-up house, asking for food. The inhabitants of the house refuse and shoot the two teenagers dead.
Elliot, Alma and Jess move on till they find an old house with no power which they think is abandoned. A spooky old lady lives there, who chooses to remain out of contact with the whole world. She doesn't want to know about the event in the outside world, however she gives them supper and a bed for the night. In the morning she tells Elliot they have to go (she seems completely bonkers). She then goes outside and is affected by the toxin. Elliot runs through the house trying to find Alma and Jess. They are outside in a spring house; he is stuck in the main house; however he can talk to them through a speaking tube. He explains that the toxin now seems to be set off by even one person alone.
Elliot decides that if he is going to die he doesn't want to die alone. They all leave their safe hiding places and walk into the middle of the garden and hold hands. The wind blows. Nothing happens.
Three months later and they are all living back in Philly. Jess is off to school by bus. Alma is doing a pregnancy test; it's positive. On the TV is a scientist warning that the event was like a red tide; the first sign that the planet is rejecting humans as pests. The host says that if that were true it would be happening in other places.
Cut to a park in Paris. Two guys are walking discussing plans for after work that evening. Cue distant scream; one guy starts to repeat his words, everyone stands still; other guy says (in French) "Oh my God".
End credits.
My Review:May contain Spoilers
M. Night Shyamalan has done it again, or perhaps better worded "Has not done it again". Since the success of his movie "The Sixth Sense", M. Night Shyamalan has produced exponentially more terrible movies, from signs, to the village, and now The Happening. Perhaps the best part of this movie was the trailer, it highlighted the only worthwhile scenes in the entire movie. The hype behind this movie was that it was M. Night Shyamalan first R rated movie. Clearly a desperate attempt to gain some fame. It is true, there was quite a few graphic scenes. (Which all of which have been used in the making of the trailer). But coupled with some of the worst acting i've ever seen, and a plot that involves killer grass and mark wahlberg having an intimate chat with a plastic tree.. Well lets just say this writer is praying M. Night Shyamalan will retire.
My Rating:
If i had a third thumb, it would almost certainly be down.
[YOUTUBE]5MenktF4Now[/YOUTUBE]
