The Happening is a 2008 American thriller film written, co-produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan that follows a man and his family as they try to escape from an inexplicable natural disaster. The plot revolves around a mysterious neurotoxin that causes any person coming into contact with it to commit suicide. The protagonist, a science teacher named Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg), attempts to escape from the substance with his wife and friends as hysteria grips the East Coast of the United States. The film does not feature the director's trademark of a twist ending, one of his few films not to have one. It was advertised as being M. Night Shyamalan's first R-rated film and received mostly negative reviews from film critics.

release year: 2008

star(s): Alan Ruck