Movies That Stayed With Me: The Happening

Some bad movies fade from memory, but The Happening refuses to let me go.

Despite being one of the worst films I’ve ever seen, it has somehow lingered in my mind more than movies I actually liked. Maybe it’s the hilariously bad acting, the bizarre dialogue, or the sheer absurdity of the premise—but for all the wrong reasons, this film made an impression.

I’ve always enjoyed M. Night Shyamalan’s work. At the time, I would have called him one of my favorite directors—someone who could do no wrong.

I remember being excited to see this in theaters. It had a solid cast, and while Lady in the Water wasn’t my favorite, this looked like a return to form.

I don’t think Mark Wahlberg will ever win an Oscar, but he’s a good enough actor that his performance here stood out for being horrendously horrible. My friend and I laughed out loud in the theater several times—not because the scenes were funny, but because the delivery of the lines was so comically bad.

Listing the quotes here won’t do them justice. The line delivery was so jarring it felt like a table read, as if the actors were still getting familiar with the script.

Every scene that sticks with me involves someone either trying too hard or not trying hard enough. I really can’t figure it out.

The film tries to blend science and fantasy, but the leap in logic is so massive it becomes impossible to take seriously.

You get conversations like this,

Nursery Owner: We're packing hot dogs for the road. You know hot dogs get a bad rap? They got a cool shape, they got protein. You like hot dogs right? By the way, I think I know what's causing this.

Elliot Moore: You do?

Nursery Owner: It's the plants. They can release chemicals.

[to his plants] Nursery Owner: OK babies, we are going to be going, but we will be back soon, OK?

[to Elliot] Nursery Owner: Oh, plants react to human stimulus, they've proved it in tests.

[to his wife] Nursery Owner: You get the mustard?

And this,

Nursery Owner: You know plants have the ability to target specific threats. Tobacco plants when attacked by heliothis caterpillars will send out a chemical attracting wasps to kill just those caterpillars. We don't know how plants obtain these abilities, they just evolve very rapidly.

Alma Moore: Which species is doing it if you think it's true?

Nursery Owner: Plants have the ability to communicate with other species of plants. Trees can communicate with bushes, and bushes with grass, and everything in between.

I had this same look about halfway through the movie

It’s exposition to try to explain how the trees have ‘decided’ to wipe out humanity. I can see how the pitch for this movie would go over well. We’re killing the planet, the trees are pissed off and decide to go full Arnold on us and wipe us out.

But the most minor of thought about the use of the word communicate and how it implies the plantlife has coordinated an attack on humanity always gave me pause.

If trees can communicate, they might as well have a group chat plotting our downfall. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were just waiting for the next Wi-Fi outage to strike.

I’ve only seen this twice—once in the theater and again when it came out on DVD. I’ve been tempted to rewatch it to see if it’s as bad as I remember, but I’m not sure I want to subject myself to that kind of torture.

Some movies stay with us because they’re great. Others, like The Happening, stick around for entirely different reasons. Whether it’s the wooden performances, the laughable dialogue, or the sheer absurdity of the plot, this film left a lasting impression—just not the one Shyamalan intended.