While there have been no advance screenings of M. Night Shyamalan's new movie for UK critics, the US journalists have seen it and were left decidedly unimpressed.
The director's latest thriller The Happening stars Mark Wahlberg and tells the tale of an environmental global epidemic. It has been panned by critics, with Variety calling in "patchy" and The Hollywood Reporter commenting, "Shyamalan's latest feels, even at a swiftly paced 90 minutes, padded." The Associate Press claimed "The Happening shocks, then bores."
However, The Sixth Sense director has defended the movie saying it's just meant to be a fun movie. He said, "I wanted it to be a fantastic, fun B-movie. The No. 1 thing is I want people to say: That was a really fun B-movie.'"
His last two films The Village and Lady in the Water were critical and commercial disappointments.
The Happening is released on June 23.