Zooey Deschanel thinks people "didn't get" The Happening

Zooey Deschanel has defended M. Night Shyamalan's poorly received The Happening in a new interview, saying that "maybe people didn't get" it. 

"That film was pretty universally not loved! The director, M. Night Shyamalan – Night – had a strong vision and we were all trying to do what he wanted," Deschanel told The Guardian. "I trusted him, because he’s a great filmmaker. I didn’t know until I saw the film, but I think he was going for a stylized horror, like The Birds, and maybe people didn’t get that. I had a blast working with Night and Mark Wahlberg, but while I’ve done serious drama, I’m not sure I fit with thrillers. I find most joy in doing comedy."

Released in 2008, The Happening stars Wahlberg and Deschanel as a high school science teacher and his wife who are trying to escape an invisible, environmental threat that's causing mass suicides. The movie was panned by critics and has a rating of 18% on Rotten Tomatoes, the third lowest score for a Shyamalan movie on the review aggregator site after 2013's After Earth and 2010's The Last Airbender – which have scores of 11% and 5% respectively. 

Wahlberg has previously been less kind to the movie, saying that Amy Adams "dodged the bullet" by not being cast. "We had actually had the luxury of having lunch before to talk about another movie and it was a bad movie that I did," he said at a press conference in 2013 (via IndieWire). 

"She dodged the bullet. And then I was still able to… I don’t want to tell you what movie… Alright, The Happening. Fuck it. It is what it is. Fucking trees, man. The plants. Fuck it. You can’t blame me for not wanting to try to play a science teacher. At least I wasn’t playing a cop or a crook."

Shyamalan's next project is Knock at the Cabin, an apocalyptic home invasion horror movie that stars Dave Bautista and Rupert Grint, and is set for release on February 3, 2023. In the meantime, check out our picks of the other best upcoming movies this year and beyond.