The Happening

The film, The Happening, left me with this question: how would I respond to strangers during a time of crisis.The character I identified with was Mrs. Jones (Betty Buckley), who, like me, tended to shut down and isolate myself during hard times, responds to the three people who come to her door seeking help, Elliot Moore (Mark Walberg), the hero, his wife, Alma Moore (Zooey Deschanel), and Jess (Ashyln Sanchez) the little girl they are trying to protect, in a number of different ways, fearfully, then civilly. Then she becomes frightened, angry, hostile, and finally verbally and physically abusive.


Mrs. Jones does not know that something… poisoned gas, pollution in the air or water, some mysterious force of nature…something has forced these three people to leave all they knew and cared about and seek shelter where ever they could find it. And always this force seems to be just right behind them.














Mrs. Jones had many years ago cut off all communication with other people.
Then when needy people came to her, she was not prepared to do anything for them but chase them off her property by any means necessary















The Happening was written, produced, and directed by that new master of horror, M. Night Shyamalan. The acting is solid, the story, at its heart, is a wonderfully well worked out love story, and the conclusion will offer adults a lot to think about. Check out The Happening!