Factual error: Filbert is in the southwest corner of PA. It is very far out of the way of Harrisburg and completely off the route from Philadelphia to Harrisburg.
The Happening (2008)
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, John Leguizamo, Zooey Deschanel, Ashlyn Sanchez
Factual error: There are no tracks, stations or train routes in Filbert, PA.
Continuity mistake: When the Jeep stops in Priceton, we can see its on a single land road. However once it starts to accelerate in the next shot to ram the tree at the intersection, it is now a forked road.
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Suggested correction: The road is a standard two way road that is unpainted with road markings. Almost all non major roadways are unpainted and many of them fork into two separate roads.
Trivia: Elliot's line, "Be scientific, douchebag" was ad-libbed by Mark Wahlberg.
Elliot Moore: Can this really be happening?
Elliot Moore: The event must've ended before we went out today.
Mrs. Jones: Planning on stealing something?
Elliot Moore: No, ma'am, we're not.
Mrs. Jones: Plan on murdering me in my sleep?
Elliot Moore: What? No.
Question: Technically, these people would not die from the neurotoxin directly, so do you think it could have eventually worn off? That is, of course, if the people didn't kill themselves first. The government could have sent in troops with gas masks and everyone put in straight jackets and padded rooms so not to get hurt until the toxin wore off. That could have worked; what do you think?
Chosen answer: If it would/could wear off would be debatable. As far as sending troops in wearing gas masks: The masks are simply filters that block molecules of certain sizes. If the neurotoxin molecular structure was small enough, it could pass through the filters. And then there is, if you really wanted to die, you will find a way regardless of the situation.
Question: In the scene where little Jess is playing at the swing, right after she walks away from it, aren't there blood stains (or something just as reddish) on the swing's wooden seat?
Answer: It appears so. M. Night often uses the color red in his movies as a visual clue that something emotional or violent is about to take place. If there was blood on the swing, it could be a forewarning to the audience that the house in question is more dangerous to the main characters than originally assessed.
Question: I don't understand why the people kill themselves. I mean I understand that the neurotoxin removes their self-preservation instincts, but wouldn't that just make them not care if they live or die and take unnecessary risks, not actively seek out ways to kill themselves?
Answer: If such an event were to actually occur in the real world, that would be the most likely scenario. The mass suicide is just how M. Night Shamylan chose to portray the event in his film.
Answer: I just thought, that because of the toxin's way of making your thoughts and actions move backwards, it might mean that it also switched the human way of wanting to survive. The opposite of surviving is, of course, dying.
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