10 God-Awful Horror Films (With Amazing Kills)
4. The Happening
What happened with The Happening? This sci-fi horror thriller was supposed to be a return to form for M. Night Shyamalan. Instead, this dumpster fire proved to be the nadir of Shyamalan's career (at least until The Last Airbender). The Happening is so profoundly goofy, you'll wonder how the formally revered director was nominated for, not one, but two Oscars.
But The Happening is not without merit. In the opening, a group of construction workers leap off their site to their death for no apparent reason. This scene is so petrifying, you can understand why many viewers were under the impression they were about to watch a great movie!
When it comes to the dialogue, performances, or monologues revolving around hot dogs, The Happening doesn't work. But when it comes to the death sequences, Shyamalan knocks it out of the park.
It's genuinely upsetting when Julian drives through a town, only to see the residents have hanged themselves from the trees. It's messed up to watch a man feeding himself to a lion. The scene where the civilians calmly take turns picking up a handgun to blow their brains out is simple, and yet, deeply powerful.
While watching these harrowing sequences, you'll momentarily forget how awful the rest of The Happening is.