Spoiler For M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Happening”? Do You Care?
UPDATE (05.20.08) An early movie review of The Happening is out there. Here’s our coverage.
UPDATE (3.13.08) Check out our preview for The Happening, including the full trailer.
ORIGINAL POST: When M. Night Shyamalan was interviewed for the recent AFI Top 100 List, he admitted The Sixth Sense would never have been as successful if it came out now. Why? Because after one weekend, an army of morons would have rushed online and given away the ending. (My words, not his.)
True enough. But do Shaymalan’s movies deserve the ultra secrecy he demands? I get the feeling he’s becoming more of a marketer — hinging on the ridiculous “twist” ending concept — than a filmmaker.
When The Happening started production, I commented on his plot privacy — as well as his ability to make fun of it.
Now, the Philadelphia-based web site Phillyist has offered a plot summary and spoiler for The Happening. Is it real? Probably, but who gives a crap? For me, the biggest story is how much this may spoil Shyamalan’s valued secrecy… and how right his AFI comment was.
If you’re interested, here’s the link to the Phillyist post. Please note: I have no idea if it’s real. As Stephen King might say, read at your own risk.
Other Posts of Interest
- New Movie Preview: THE HAPPENING
- ALREADY?! Cloverfield Spoiler (But Not Here)
- The Happening: New Shyamalan Movie Begins Shooting Monday
- Demand for “The Mist” Spoiler
- What Happened to THE HAPPENING?
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Interestingly enough, a friend of mine and I were just discussing films with big twists. We found that today too much emphasis is often placed on the twist of a film. Take for example, “The Crying Game.” The movie was released as a small independent, but then word of mouth made them market the film touting its glorious twist. The twist takes place less than half-way through the film, and of course more people were fascinated by a mere plot point than the impressiveness of the entire film: actors, script and story were great.
I think too many films today rely on a small twist with little thought to plot or characters. One of the reasons I loved “The Sixth Sense” was because of its compelling characters and situations, not just because of a twist.
For those of you who like to be surprised, I would recommend watching the original “Twilight Zone” and “Outer Limits.” You’ll find that its all been done before.
-Elijah Scott
- Elijah Scott -
I was just commenting with folks on /film about an odd “Top Ten” endings list. I had to mention Planet of the Apes, which has a classic Twilight Zone finish (especially since Rod Serling was a writer on the film)…
I contributed to filmcritic.com’s Top 50 endings of all time. Check it out if you’d like:
-Norm S.
[…] the spoiler to The Happening, the upcoming M. Night Shyamalan thriller. Instead of giving it up, we told you where to find it. And for the excellent television series Tell Me You Love Me, we offered some character updates […]
[…] did this with M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening, so here it goes: If you must must must see the spoiler, it’s in the Forums section […]
If I made a movie, Brooke Oberwetter would run around naked screaming “there’s no global warming” and she’d be telling the truth as well as showing the world her small boobs and flat ass.
it is as close as Andrew Langer is ever going to get. I just wish someone would do something about that Hawking, he’s really put a dent into my book sales.
John Berlau
Author, Eco-Freaks
Well regardless I hated The Village, I hated Signs and I wouldnt even bother with Lady In The Water. Spoil the ending all over the internet all you want im still not gonna read it nor watch “The Happening” on the simple fact M.Night Shyamalan is a joke filmmaker….He should eat himself alive! He’s a little arb bitch!
Sam,
I hated village and signs, but i actually found myself liking Lady in the Water. I mean its a interesting little story that kept me entertained, and i didn’t have high expectations like i did for signs and than village. I would recommend it, but …i really don’t know your movie tastes.
I agree with Sam… hated The Village (actually predicted the “twist”), Signs & The lady in the Water. I did like Sixth Sense and Unbreakable though.
Wow, I’ve only watched sixth sense and unbreakable and enjoyed them both, but I haven’t seen any of his other movies on the advice of my friends. One of my friends told me that ’signs’ has the sort of ending that I absolutely can’t stand, so that was enough for me to stay home. His other movies weren’t so great that it was really worth the risk. That mastercard commercial made me think he was an arrogant prick, though. kinda embarrassing…