New Movie Preview: THE HAPPENING
M. Night Shyamalan is screwed. He gave the movie world one of its best twists with The Sixth Sense… and they’ve never forgotten it. Every movie he’s made since has been expected to top that surprise ending. And none has. But, he tries again with his latest, The Happening. And those trademark twists are so expected that as soon as The Happening began shooting in Philadelphia, the spoilers were spread and the ending was up for grabs all over the Internet.
THE PLOT: Mark Wahlberg stars as a science teacher running from some type of “natural disaster” that’s wiping out human existence. He does his running alongside Zooey Deschanel and John Leguizamo, which adds up to quite the cast. What they’re running from and how to survive it, is unknown. By them and by us. That will be the twist, for better or for worse.
I like to believe (or pretend, you may say) the twist is not that important to Shyamalan, but is just a gimmick he can’t seem to give up. When you watch his movies without high expectations for the big twist, what you find is some fantastic storytelling. Which is why The Village is actually my favorite Shyamalan movie — not The Sixth Sense, which falls lower on my list. So my recommendation for The Happening? Don’t sweat the surprise ending, and just go for the storytelling.
WRITER AND DIRECTOR: Shyamalan, with his first R-rated movie. The buzz that he actually met studio demands halfway this time, along with said R-rated material, should make for an interesting medley of what Shyamalan has to offer. For his other twists, see Unbreakable, Signs, and Lady in the Water.
RELEASE DATE: Friday the 13th(!) of June 2008
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Other Posts of Interest
- The Happening: New Shyamalan Movie Begins Shooting Monday
- Review Roundup: INCREDIBLE HULK, THE HAPPENING
- What Happened to THE HAPPENING?
- Spoiler For M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Happening”? Do You Care?
- THE HAPPENING Early Review… Not So Good
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[…] (3.13.08) Check out our preview for The Happening, including the full […]
It’s funny you mention the twist in Unbreakable because I think it was a useless component of an otherwise excellent movie. In that one, Shyamalan created such a well-structured three-act story, with that silly finale awkwardly wedged in there. There had to be a better way to reveal that twist, if he insisted it stay in the movie.
One thing I loved about the style of Unbreakable: the second act is told with wall-to-wall dialogue, and the third act has almost none, even in quiet indoor scenes with people communicating. Check it out again.
-Norm (Meet In the Lobby)
That’s a magnificent frown on Mark Whalberg! Does he maintain it throughout the movie just like he does in the trailer?
[…] the response isn’t horrible and the rest of the images you see in The Happening trailer are just awesome, so we still have hope. We really really want this to be good. We want, need, […]
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