10 Great Opening Scenes In Otherwise Terrible Horror Movies

The Happening was panned by critics due to its stilted acting and baffling dialogue and is considered one of M. Night Shyamalan's worst films. And yet, the opening sequence remains effective even to this day in setting up the premise of the movie.

It opens in Central Park, where two women are having a conversation when everyone around them stops in their tracks. Suddenly, one of the women takes out her hairpin and stabs herself with it. We then shift to a nearby construction site where the workers are having a conversation. Their discussion is interrupted when a man drops from a building. As one of the men looks up, we see multiple people drop from the sky, all seemingly committing suicide.

The opening succeeds with its good build-up and even decent acting from the construction worker, something the film's bigger stars failed to do. But the problem with The Happening, much like Shyamalan's latter works, is how promising it starts off only to fall flat with its reveal.

There is a decent amount of intrigue here with regard to why people start killing themselves, but as those who have seen the film can attest, the 'twist' ends up being disappointing.