9 Horror Movies That Couldn't Live Up To Their Awesome Opening

8. The Happening

The Collection
20th Century Fox

People give poor M. Night Shyamalan a hard rap, but at least with The Happening, it's somewhat deserved. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that this film is a good one because that would be a bare-faced lie, and there's no arguing that the initial death sequence isn't a good head and shoulders above everything else that happens in this mess of a film. Really, the concept of The Happening isn't really an inherently bad one, it's just the execution wherein the problem lies.

But that's a problem for later in the film. The opening manages to deliver a far more interesting promise with it's weirdness, beginning with two women on a bench that spot symptoms of a neurotoxin taking effect in Central Park.

People begin to repeat words, some walk backwards, and some stand perfectly still, right up until one of the women takes out her hair piece and stabs it into her throat. As you do. We then move to New York City where the same thing is taking place - with the most emblematic image of the film coming to light as construction workers calmly walk to their death from a lofty scaffolding. It's creepy, effecting, and serves up a false promise of what the rest of the movie could be.

 
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Horror film junkie, burrito connoisseur, and serial cat stroker. WhatCulture's least favourite ginger.