The Happening
Headline: ** It's Not Nice To Fool Mother Nature **
Title: THE HAPPENING
Quality: * * * Acceptability: -4
SUBTITLES: None
WARNING CODES:
Language: LL
Violence: VVV
Sex: None
Nudity: None
RATING: R
RELEASE: June 13, 2008
TIME: 91 minutes
STARRING: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, and Ashlyn Sanchez
DIRECTOR: M. Night Shyamalan
PRODUCERS: M. Night Shyamalan, Sam Mercer and Barry Mendel
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Ronnie Screwvala, and Zarina Screwvala
WRITER: M. Night Shyamalan
BASED ON THE NOVEL/PLAY BY: N/A
DISTRIBUTOR: 20th Century Fox
CONTENT: (PaPaPa, EEE, PCPC, LL, VVV, M) Very strong mystical, New Age pagan worldview with very strong politically correct, environmentalist viewpoint where nature is sentient and evolving; five obscenities and seven profanities; extreme violence as people continually kill themselves onscreen in graphic ways, such as shooting themselves, slitting wrists, lying under riding mower; no sexual content; no nudity; no alcohol; no smoking or drugs; and, suicidal themes.
GENRE: Science Fiction
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Older teenagers and adults
Please address your comments to:
Rupert Murdoch, Chairman/CEO of News Corp.
Peter Chernin, President/COO of The Fox Group
Tom Rothman and Jim Gianopulos, Chairmen/CEO
Fox Filmed Entertainment
20th Century Fox Film Corp.
10201 West Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90035
Phone: (310) 369-1000
Website: www.fox.com
SUMMARY: THE HAPPENING is the story of a man and his wife who are caught up in a "happening" where groups of people suddenly and without reason kill themselves. This suspenseful movie is filled with graphic images of suicide and contains a radical environmentalist message filled with New Age ideology.
IN BRIEF:
THE HAPPENING is the story of Elliott and his wife, Alma, who are caught up in a "happening" where groups of people suddenly and without reason kill themselves. This causes a national panic, and Elliott and Alma flee to the countryside to escape whatever is causing this menace. Starting out with a large group, all the others eventually commit suicide or are killed by panicking strangers. At first, the problem is suspected to be chemical warfare from terrorists, but science teacher Elliott eventually figures out that the threat is an environmental one.
THE HAPPENING movie presents a politically correct, radical environmentalist tale that also represents a politically correct form of New Age paganism. The power of God and Jesus Christ are inconsequential. While there is minor foul language and limited negative elements, the movie's extreme violence makes up for that. The violence is almost always on camera with much blood. Sometimes the manner of suicide is absurdly comical, as in the case of a man at a zoo attacking a lion. THE HAPPENING is disturbing and filled with pagan ideology. Media-wise viewers will need to exercise much discernment about this movie.
NOTE from Dr. Ted Baehr, publisher of Movieguide Magazine. For more information from a Christian perspective, order the latest Movieguide Magazine by calling 1-800-899-6684(MOVI) or visit our website at www.movieguide.org. Movieguide is dedicated to redeeming the values of Hollywood by informing parents about today's movies and entertainment and by showing media executives and artists that family-friendly and even Christian-friendly movies do best at the box office year in and year out. Movieguide now offers an online subscription to its magazine version, atwww.movieguide.org. The magazine, which comes out 25 times a year, contains many informative articles and reviews that help parents train their children to be media-wise consumers.
