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Plot:
After a brutal thunderstorm pounds a small town, the residents discover a malevolent mist hangs over their homes, killing anyone who remains outside. Trapped in a grocery store, a band of survivors mu...( read more 
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MCT:August 19, 2008
"As a species we're fundamentally insane. Put more than two of us in a room, we pick sides and start dreaming up ways to kill one another. Why do you think we invented politics and religion?"
When it comes to adapting narratives from the maestro of horror literature, Stephen King, the outcomes have proved to be largely diverse. Stephen King's original novella of The Mist carries a fascinating premise and it was destined to be adapted for the big screen. King's largest fanatics must have breathed a collective sigh of relief when it was announced that the cinematic rendering of The Mist would be helmed by writer/director Frank Darabont. This prolific screenwriter-come-director earned his reputation after creating two successful film adaptations of Stephen King novels (The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile). On top of this, Darabont's career started in horror when he wrote A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (one of the franchise's best), The Fly II and The Blob. Hence The Mist marks Darabont returning to form.
In the long run, the film received a varying critical reception. Darabont's fanboys of course faithfully lapped up the production while others couldn't grapple everything on offer. Darabont's The Mist possessed mountains of potential, but it's clear Darabont has passed his golden years (those familiar with Darabont's version of Indiana Jones 4 will undoubtedly agree). His script here strives too hard to impart sophistication in the backdrop of a standard horror movie. At the end of the day this challenging amalgamation tries to master too many things at once with limited success.
Following a ferocious storm in the town of Maine, a mysterious mist cloud begins to congregate the next morning. David Drayton (Jane) is an artist residing in Maine whose house is severely damaged by the violent storm. David travels into town with his son (Gamble) and neighbour (Braugher). As the dense, mysterious mist starts enveloping the entire area, David and his son are among a large group of terrified townspeople that become trapped in the local grocery store. David soon ascertains that there are things lurking in the mist...horrifying creatures that aren't of this world. As these said creatures surround the grocery store, residents must band together for a chance at survival. However, due to the disposition of human nature, David begins to wonder what is more threatening: the deadly creatures prowling in the mist, or those inside the store...the human kind that David has always thought of as his friends and neighbours.
The provocative and masterful screenplay penned by Frank Darabont explores and examines the dangers of human nature in our existing culture. He keeps the scares taut and frightening: when a large creature appears it's usually enshrouded in the thick mist. However the greatest aspect of the script is also the film's greatest flaw: the use of conventional characters. Darabont's intention was to essentially construct a social commentary to display the consequences of human nature in the worst of situations. He uses these character stereotypes as a way to hold up a mirror in order for us to see our modern society. The philosophical discussions play a profound role in the dialogue as well. However, using clichéd characters also retracts from the entire experience. As an audience it's easy to predict what will transpire next. By all means it's admirable to arrange a social commentary in the precincts of a mainstream horror movie, but it simply doesn't work as well as Darabont had intended.
That said, the people within the grocery store are ostensibly divided into two diverse categories - extras and protagonists. The extras do absolutely nothing useful while the protagonists, established early in the picture, do all the work. There's no dimension between the two types of characters.
Furthermore, it initially appears that Darabont is completely in control of the material. When the mist covers the grocery store, the mystery of what's lurking outside will incite fear in his audience and will send a chill down your spine. The drama is executed in completely believable detail as well. Although clichéd, the characters are credible creations who take sides, get on each other's nerves, try their best and make mistakes. Darabont perceptibly aspired for this to be an extremely smart horror movie, one that isn't entirely B-Grade when one sits back and chortles as victims are picked off singularly. The brilliance dims when the monsters appear. The CGI is decent at best, but hardly a visceral or convincing experience nor are they anything to brag about. Then Darabont's crime is damaging the credibility. As the loading bay doors close, the tentacles that crawl through are obviously abundantly strong: too strong, in fact, for the metal door. In effect we realise that the creatures can break into the store at any time, and their hesitance is only on the part of the screenwriting.
Unfortunately Darabont appears incapable of orchestrating the mayhem in the horror scenes as the creatures attack. Everything just happens in one big mess. While realistic in the sense that plenty of things would occur during an attack, it's the unrealistic time management on the part of the editor that destroys the effect. For example we see someone set on fire. He starts burning, then we cut away to different situations for a few minutes before returning to the flaming man as if only a few seconds later.
The Mist is virtually devoid of a soundtrack until the conclusion nears. This effective approach allows the ambient noises to play a primary role in setting the atmosphere. The roar of the creatures provokes intense fear, and by the end even a sudden noise is petrifying. Darabont is also capable of manufacturing a hook that keeps one immersed in the film until its conclusion. Despite dodgy editing, the mayhem and horror is wholly engaging. Of course the characters act like idiots at times, but again it comes back to the natural consequences of human nature during a perilous situation.
The film is almost completely redeemed by its ending. This ending left me absolutely speechless. It's a courageous, bold and un-Hollywood move to create an ending of this kind. It's powerful, hard-hitting and absolutely amazing. The ambiguous religious symbolism is played with throughout the running time, and the possible relevance to religion is left open for interpretation. For a horror movie, Darabont must get credit for this audacious conclusion.
The film is also well performed by a mostly ensemble cast. Thomas Jane will forever, through my eyes, be seen as The Punisher. However, he offers arguably his greatest performance here. At first calm and friendly as well as being a family man, we watch as his morals and attitude descends and eventually creates a different person. The final scene in particular is emotionally-straining.
Marcia Gay Harden offers a convincing performance as a religious nut, obsessed with proving that the mist is the will of God. Her character grows highly irritating, which is predominantly the point so Harden did her job correctly.
Laurie Holden believably plays alongside Thomas Jane in a character that is, surprisingly, not very clichéd. There is no predictable love story at all.
I must give a brief mention to William Sadler, who I remember for his performance in Die Hard 2. Here, Sadler is a clichéd bumpkin who displays a deep side as well.
Toby Jones is also among the finest members of the cast whose character is appealing and fascinating.
Bloodcurdling and confronting in the correct degree, Frank Darabont's The Mist is an apocalyptic visualisation of humanity's devolution as doom descends in the form of a thick cloud of mist. His penetrating screenplay fascinatingly conveys a hard-hitting, horrific morality play about the clashing of archetypes in the most extraordinary of circumstances. The creature designs are sublime although the special effects are barely passable.
All in all, The Mist has the right mixture of intrigue and horror to create a spellbinding, albeit flawed horror movie.
Cal's favourite highlight: the old lady with one heck of a badass attitude who uses weapons in the form of cans of peas and flames! -
MCT:August 17, 2008
they come in the mist .
and the angle will take the fallen , or should the army stop f-ing with time and space.
lol. -
MCT:August 17, 2008Exciting and riveting. A spectacular ending to a well acted, exectued horror. Something the remake of THE FOG should've picked up on - 2 similar concepts this one exectued correctly.
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MCT:August 15, 2008
i remember reading the short story of this, and to see it carried over into a movie was creepy because it was so similar to the way it was when i imagined it while i was reading it! but OMG the ending...
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MCT:August 15, 2008I love scary movies and sci-fi movies, and this was a slightly flawed version of both mixed together. I thought it was pretty good.
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MCT:August 14, 2008
There were moments where in like every other horror/monster flick I was yelling at the screen "WHAT THE FUCK??/RUN!!/MOVE!!/SHUT UP!!" but other than those it was a pretty well done movie.
Great acting, pretty good story [I haven't read the book so I don't know how close to it it was] and although the spx were lacking, they pulled it off.
It was really enjoyable and kept me entertained for the entire 2 hours. I loved the social commentary undertones on religion and politics and just 'civilization' as we know it. SPOILER BELOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :::
Boy I was happy when they finally knocked off Marcia Gay Harden. -
MCT:August 14, 2008Stephen King and Frank Darabont are amazing. The irony, the cinematic and poetic beauty of this film is unforgettable. This will get you thinking even after the movie. It brings up the question how far can you stretch a man before you break him? If you are put in this certain circumstance, what do you think will you do? It questions human nature and our social order.
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MCT:August 12, 2008It's weird this movie isnt more well known seeing how good it was. Even though its a monsters movie it deals more with the situation everyone is in, not the monsters but when the monster are in it its pretty intense. End bit was pretty schocking but very well done.
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MCT:August 12, 2008
Brilliant! The ending is truly shocking but a brilliant ending to the film. One of the best films I've seen in a long time!
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MCT:August 10, 2008Note to Hollywood producers, please, please, please do not let Frank Darabont do a hatchet job on a Stephen King story.
Not learning after his marshmallow effort with The Green Mile they have let him loose again with this limp, unexciting creature feature wannabe is boring to the max, filled with hackneyed dialogue, contrivance after contrivance and minimal character development. Who cares if these people, with a couple of notable exceptions get killed.
Thomas Jane does the best he can with his cardboard hero, Marcia Gay Harden can't be blamed with being lumbered with an unplayable character, a walking talking cliche. Toby Jones as Ollie and Frances Sternhagen as plucky Irene Reppler fare the best.
The explanation for what's in the mist is borderline laughable.
What it does get right is the uncompromising finale, trouble is there's two hours of crap to wade through first.
PS, it isn't even scary.
The two stars are for the ending and the occasional decent creature effect. -
MCT:August 10, 2008
Speechless lol...
Never Thought The Ending'd Be Like This..
Yep God Hated Yer lol
Gr8 Ending! (: But I Didnt Respect Tht -
MCT:August 9, 2008
Never read the book so yeah, the ending leaves me hanging on the hello.
A very realistic thriller. Never give up hope. -
MCT:August 9, 2008
Ollie: We have to tell them. The people in the market. We have to stop them from going outside.
David Drayton: They won't believe us.
Ollie: They have to.
David Drayton: I'm not sure I believe it, and I was here. What we saw was impossible. You know that, don't you? What do we say? How do we... convince them? Ollie, what the hell were those tentacles even attached to?
Here is another Stephen King horror movie adaptation. Like all of these, it has three sections: A neat set up, some kind of twist along the way to take things further, and then an ending that will polarize people.
Thomas "the Punisher" Jane stars as David Drayton, an everyman whose house was among many hit by a storm the previous night. He, his son, and his neighbor played by Andre Braugher all take a trip to the local grocery store in this small New England town.
It doesn't take long before a heavy mist covers the entire area, leaving a bunch of people stuck inside the store. Why are they stuck? Because there is something in the mist that you don't want to mess with. This is not much of spoiler when I tell you that its a variety of nasty creatures that kill.
Amanda Dunfrey: You don't have much faith in humanity, do you?
Dan Miller: None, whatsoever.
Amanda Dunfrey: I can't accept that. People are basically good; decent. My god, David, we're a civilized society.
David Drayton: Sure, as long as the machines are working and you can dial 911. But you take those things away, you throw people in the dark, you scare the shit out of them - no more rules.
While in the store, there are a number of panicked people, as well as a crazy religious lady played by Marcia Gay Harden, who believes that this is the result of God's wrath.
Mrs. Carmody: We have Judas in our midst!
What follows are a number of scenes where people do panicky things, say stupid things, do stupid things, get killed, get religion, and get in a fighting mood.
It's B-movie horror, but it's well done B-movie horror. This is due to how the concept starts out fairly well, besides the fact that there are few answers.
The actors are fairly strong, particularly Thomas Jane, who I always like to see in things and Tobey Jones as your friendly store clerk Ollie. Nice work from Andre Braugher as well.
And then you have the direction from Frank Darabont of all people. He must have said, "Hey Stephen, Shawshank and Green Mile were fun, you have any books outside of prison I might want to do." Well he does a good job here as well, combining some of the larger scaled scenes with a lot of hand held work. To create a mood by having characters stare into a gray wall is impressive.
By the end of this movie, the music goes way over-the-top along with some of the events that transpire. By the very end however, is what will cause the most controversy between people. Suffice it to say, I enjoyed what happened and it separates it from most horror thrillers to a degree.
For a 127 minute movie, I was entertained throughout, even during some corny moments, but there was even a time to applaud, some impressive visuals, and some other memorable moments..
Furthermore, for some reason every I think about this movie, I think of how much I enjoyed it, and how well put together it was. That certainly reflects the way I like this movie.
David Drayton: Sure there's no way I can talk you out of this?
Brent Norton: David, there's nothing out there. Nothing in the mist.
David Drayton: What if you're wrong?
Brent Norton: Then, I guess... the joke will be on me after all. -
MCT:August 9, 2008
this is a great movie all around... except for the end my friend stared to cuss the movie out lol,yes that was you tara :p
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MCT:August 8, 2008
I had high expectations on this movie. I am a hughe fan of Stephen King so I though this one had to be good.
This movie is very special, no soundtrack through the whole movie. It was more like a reality movie if you get what I mean. It felt more "real" without the music and I really liked that. I am this kind of person who appreciate supernatural movies that is so far away from reality as can be. And then there's people who don't (like that shitbags next to me in the cinema, complaining all the time about how boring it was)
But let me put it like this. Give this one a chance. It migh be a bit slow in the beginning but it grows after the middle of the film to the end. The finale is just horrible, that made the movie.
I am not going to say anymore=) -
MCT:August 7, 2008Am I the only one who wanted them to establish a little longer stay in the vehicle rather than making it so quck of a decision? Just wondering.
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MCT:August 7, 2008
My review is going to contain major spoilers! Not just for The Mist but for The Green Mile, Dolores Claiborne and Misery. Just so you know! It's much easier to concentrate on telling you what I think of the film, and Stephen King, rather than play a balancing act on what is or is not constituted as a spoiler. If you haven't yet seen it and want to know what it's about then go out and see/rent/buy it for yourself! My thoughts are more to provoke a reaction in those that have already seen it (feel free to disagree cus it's only my opinion!). If you want a concise idea of what I think of this film (with no spoilers) then read the last paragraph.
If you like monster movies and/or Stephen King then you will love this. An exciting and suspenseful monster movie with a deeply troubling moral core. Personally I thought it was great and awful all at once (a typical reaction I get with a Stephen King tale). But heyho... perfection is over-rated anyway!
Some people may think that my words are a (rather over-zealous?) 'J'accuse' on the writings of Stephen King. It's not meant to be and seeing as I have only read two of his books then I can't really comment on him as a writer. I have read Misery which, as I remember, was a really great read (it was nearly 20 years ago when I read it). The film was a total disappointment, as it seemed to completely ditch the novel's unique dual storyline for a basic smash and bash horror. Incidentally, the violence meted out on Annie in the climax of the film is a lot more aggressively brutal than I remembered in the book. Such intense violence I found quite troubling. Maybe because the vengeful aspect was being rammed home once again.
The only other King story I have read is the 'novella', The Mist, but that was only after seeing the film and was more out of curiosity than an actual desire to reacquaint myself with King, the writer. But I will come back to that in a moment.
So, for sure, there is no denying that Stephen King is a compelling story-teller. His huge popularity is surely a testament to his accessibility at least. As are the countless film and TV adaptations of his stories - who hasn't SEEN a King story? And film is what I am interested in so it's what I will be commenting on here - NOT his writing. What I know of him is only through the films.
Sometimes adaptations of his work are very entertaining, occasionally they are flawed masterpieces (The Shining, Carrie, Dolores Claiborne), more often, they are extraordinarily bad (do I have space here??). Two are regularly held up as being Great Films. Personally I think they are both vastly over-rated: The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Shawshank isn't bad. I just find it a bit of a yawn and it's gloomy sentimentality is a little lost on me so I suppose that it's only really a matter of taste on this one. But I really do take issue with The Green Mile.
The point about a morality tale is that it tells us something about ourselves using the characters portrayed. More significantly, it tells us something about ourselves we maybe haven't already grasped - or even maybe refuse to acknowledge. The makers of The Mist seem to be making such claims with their film and they fail and succeed in equal measure.
We already know that humanity is a very fragile thing and that given a few gentle (or not so gentle!) nudges, the wafer-thin facade of civility, that we all hide behind, evaporates to reveal the animal in us as our sense of morality becomes very basic. This theme is older than film itself and it's one we are all familiar with.
When the bible-bashing Mrs Carmody (a rather one-dimensional but exciting performance by Marcia Gay Harden) bites the bullet, there were clapping and cheers of "yeah, shoot the bitch!" at the screening I attended. Of course it was inevitable that someone would eventually snap and act in a violent manner towards her but it was still shocking and such a vocal reaction is very disturbing to me and it's a typical one for a Stephen King story.
When the gun, that is used on the aforementioned bible-basher, is found in the first instance, in the back of your mind you know it will eventually be used on people rather than the actual threat from the mist - this IS a Stephen King story after all. But the rapidity at which this happens and the brutality, combined with the audience reaction, speaks volumes about human nature - not necessarily the characters but, more specifically, the audience. How quickly WE become a mob. Why do we cheer? Partly relief of course but more significantly because once again our most basic sense of morality has been satisfied: Knee-jerk reactionism and the 'execution' of a villain. But, just as the makers are only interested in holding up and condemning Mrs Carmody (and her followers) as the real villain, so too the audience feels comfortable in making vocal their agreement and satisfaction at her fate.
This is possibly the film's most quintessential Stephen King moment and it's indicative of the appeal of his stories I think. Only the actions of Mrs Carmody and her mob are being judged here. There has been a definite line drawn between the good and the bad. And our morality is certainly not the issue here. That's not what Stephen King is about. We are expected to take sides and thats not questioned.
The idea of 'ordinary' people taking the law into their own hands, meting out their own justice or revenge or (preferably and more inflammatory) both, is a common one in Stephen King and however 'justified' the actions of the characters seems to us, I can't help but feel there is some kind of insidious manipulation at work here - almost a kind of Old Testament ethic and, as much as I loved The Mist, it is no exception.
Time and again, in a King tale, we are given black and white morality and our concurrence of this ethic is never questioned. The 'villains' are evil, the good guys are innocent, the villain is eventually killed by the good guys and we are glad. Justice is done. This tidy combination of knee-jerk moral judgments, rough-justice and revenge that permeates his stories is bathed in a kind of faux liberalism. We happily condemn the bullies and evildoers and those that act in morally questionable ways and we even cheer when they are dispatched. But we never come away from one of his tales questioning our OWN sense of morality. Why is that?
Self-appointed prophet, Mrs Carmody is a typical Stephen King villain. She is one-dimensional in her motivations, to say the least. She spouts a pick & mix of expletives and Old Testament judgments which makes her instantly identifiable as a hypocrite, a bigot and a bully. But her aggressive and borderline sociopathic nature is never deeply analyzed here. She is simply the crazy lady, who accosts you on public transport, writ large. But here we are excepted to believe, that during a crisis, she could wield considerable influence over normally sane people. People, who like us would normally dismiss her, would now follow her every word. Maybe they would, but would it be this swift and this extreme? Comparisons with The Lord Of The Flies don't make sense to me either - the circumstances were far bleaker in Golding's novel and they were children! And, more significantly, the tragic death of 'Piggy' is in no way seen as 'justified' - we weren't expected to cheer. This is because Mrs Carmody isn't Piggy, she is the living breathing realisation of the (imagined) threat from the jungle that has incited the children's imagination and fear.
So now she is dangerous. She may not be the 'bogeyman' - he of course is outside in the mist. She is his vessel though, his spider beneath the sheets. Or, to put it more glibly, she is the knife & fork! So no wonder we cheer when she is dispatched. As a character she has been so dehumanised that when her killer expresses his shock and revulsion at his actions, we just don't buy it. When the hero says "thank you" we think "too right!" The whole sequence made my stomach lurch in its sheer dehumanizing nature.
This is the reason the adulation of The Green Mile is so disturbing to me. As someone who has always been 100% against the death penalty (it really isn't open for discussion with me!) the masochism (sadism?) of this tale makes me a little nauseous. But what disturbs me most of all is that it's a bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing. Namely, a pro-death penalty film parading as anti-death penalty. A kind of bastardising liberalism if you like. If you are pro-death penalty, ask yourself this one question: after watching The Green Mile, did it make you think that the death penalty is wrong for someone who is GUILTY of murder? Think about it carefully. Unless you are ALREADY anti-death penalty, I would be very surprised if it did. Coffy, after all, is INNOCENT of his crime. His death in the chair is, more specifically, a miscarriage of justice (and also a commentary on the racist bigotry of the period). When the real killer, Wild Bill Wharton, is revealed (by Coffy in one of his visions), what happens? Coffey compels the sadistic guard, Wetmore, to gun down Wharton and, in so doing, seals his own fate. Bingo! Coffy gets his revenge - both villains are punished with death (or at least a living death in the prison guard's sake). How is that anti-death penalty? It's the same in Misery, Carrie and Dolores Clayborne - a vengeful 'justified' death for the 'villains'. We don't feel morally compromised for not questioning this; the villain's actions are never deeply analyzed so we feel no empathy for them. We only see the consequences of their evil deeds. Invariably they are sadists even - why would we feel compassion for a sadist? All our empathy is focused on the 'innocent', the good guy. Empathy for the innocent is natural and easy and not something that should be questioned of course. But pandering to knee-jerk condemnations of the guilty instead of challenging them is just as insidious.
I haven't read the book of Dolores Clayborne and although I think it is a great film, the same black and white morality is present. The daughter (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh) eventually forgives her mother (Kathy Bates) for killing her father - and so she should - he is a brutal sadist. But we, the audience, have been on her side all the way because we have seen what he does. There is no ambiguity here. He's bad and she's good. She should kill him and she should get away with it. Which she does. We don't mourn his death but cheer it. He was a bastard. Our conscience isn't pricked and our sense of morality hasn't been challenged. Finally, her daughter's forgiveness guarantees the film's 'happy ending'. A satisfying conclusion.
So now we have the death of Mrs Carmody. She has manipulated her followers into believing she is a prophet and they have killed the soldier by (ahem!) offering him up for sacrifice to 'Devil' in the mist (as you would!?). She is soon calling for the same fate to be meted out on a young boy (our hero's son). A rather extreme reaction from an already rather extreme individual. But then we are expected to believe that in an extreme situation she would have a big crowd backing her up. So she HAS to die of course. Of course, on the surface, it's self-preservation but on a deeper level it has become an 'execution'. It can't be just incidental, for example, that she is shot - being hit over the head with a hammer or a shovel from the DIY aisle would have been much more in keeping with the 'make-do' tone of the story but there's nothing like a bullet in the gut (and in the head!?) to drive home the execution message.
And so we cheer. Is Mrs Carmody the real monster of The Mist? I beg to differ on that score. The monster is closer than we care to admit here. We condemn her and her lynch-mob while not even realising we are part of one ourselves.
After she is killed, the camera pans over her prostrate corpse, closing in on her face and we see her wide-eyed incomprehension. Incomprehension that I'm sure is meant literally as hers - nothing more (even in death she's shown as arrogant!). I don't imagine there is any subliminal message here that maybe it reflects OUR incomprehension! We are not supposed to question our judgment here.
It can't be just incidental that she is drinking milk when she is killed so that we see the blood mingle with it. Literally purity and corruption becomes blurred. The corruption of the good words of the bible maybe? But by who? Mrs Carmody? Her desperate killers? What about us? The Old Testament preaches 'an eye for an eye' but the New Testament teaches us to 'turn the other cheek'. When push comes to shove, Mrs Carmody is not the only one taking it in turns to profane or follow the words of the Old Testament.
It would have been just as interesting and just as credible to have the good guys get the better of Mrs Carmody without gunning her down. Or even that she could have had a change of heart maybe? Who knows, maybe even have become a hero? Is man's compassion less interesting or less credible than his potential inhumanity? The satisfying of blood-lust is always more exciting I suppose.
There is a great deal to enjoy and get excited about with The Mist. A cracking story that is actually quite disturbing and has many scares. Much of what comes out of the mist is never fully visualised and this certainly adds to the chills. The trip to the pharmacy was particularly thrilling and suspenseful. In many ways I was a reminded of the first attack (ambush?) sequence in Aliens (the slow build-up of suspense, the discovery of human cocoons, walking straight into what seems to be a nest etc). And when the creatures attack it's the stuff of nightmares. In fact, except for the less successful sequence when the flying creatures break in to the store, the half-hidden half-seen tactic of the B-Movie is exploited pretty well throughout the film and certainly cranks up the fear factor.
The acting on the whole ranges from barely adequate (Thomas Jane and Laurie Holden) to caricature (Marcia Gay Harden). But that seems to be more in keeping with it's B-Movie credentials and in some respects adds to the appeal. It does have a wonderfully under-stated and dry sense of humour that helped me warm to the characters immensely and who could have easily just felt like faceless monster fodder. Anything that has as it's heroes, a short, bespectacled, slightly effeminate shop assistant and a gobby old woman armed only with household appliances as weapons (cans of peas and aerosols!) deserves kudos in my book. Along with Marcia Gay Harden, they also get the best lines "The day I need a friend like you, I'll just squat down and shit one out" made me laugh out loud. It's the best line in the film. "Welcome to Sesame Street, kids. Today's word is 'expiation' And the old lady informing Mrs Carmody, rather pertinently "Stoning people who piss you off is perfectly okay. They do it in the Bible" after she has just hurled a can of peas at the bible-basher's head. But often it can feel heavy-handed and obvious as it needlessly spells out the films awkwardly handled themes "Put more than two of us in a room, we pick sides and start dreaming up ways to kill one another. Why do you think we invented politics and religion?"
The ending shrieked of a cop-out and it's awkward and clumsy execution left me dry eyed. The intention was not only a sad one but ironic and downbeat But due to it's brisk editing and awkward under-emoting by the actors, the intended downbeat feel is dissipated substantially. After a few moments of staring at each other and nodding in agreement they rather abruptly agree to kill themselves. Add to this their lack of real distress (except for Laurie Holden) and it felt more like they were deciding whether to eat the last of their food rations rather than to end it all. Then more 'irony' as they find they only have four bullets - there is five of them. "I'll think of something" our hero assures the others. Cut to a shot from outside of the vehicle and we hear 4 shots in very quick succession (our hero doesn't even seem to hesitate when he kills his own son!). Our hero stumbles from the car and it turns out that his idea of 'something' is screaming at the hidden creatures to come and get him mmm... I'm afraid this just made me snigger.
Then the ultimate two finger salute to our heroes (no, not irony folks!) as the noises in the mist turn out to be the cavalry - in the shape of the military. Seconds too late it seems. This wasn't sad or ironic at all just incredibly bad timing. And all it did was serve to reinforce the stupidity of it's heroes, which up to this point they were anything but. So now I know longer felt pity for them. I just thought "you stupid cretins, you killed a child!"
Why do our heroes give up so easily? As soon as the fuel runs out and they hear a couple of growls outside, they cave in! Why? Up till now our heroes have been smart, plucky, resourceful and very brave so their sudden caving in made no sense to me. Even while it was happening I was thinking "naah!... ?? surely it's a trick?" But they did and it just felt wrong on every level. But most of all it felt tacked on. A cop-out. Was this a last minute decision to give the film dramatic closure maybe?
Personally, regardless of the clumsy way the ending was handled, I would have preferred something a bit more open - such as maybe what we had in The Birds (or maybe even Planet of the Apes!). It would have pissed off a lot of those with no imagination but would have been more credible. It would also have been more in tune with the original ending of the novella (in it's final moments the narrator even likens the ending to a Hitchcock film). Just because an ending is an unhappy one doesn't mean it's realistic or more credible. Killing your hero can feel just as much of a cheat as letting him live.
A downbeat ending isn't necessarily a new thing in the horror genre anyway - it's always been there. The hero is just as likely to cop it at the end as the villain is. It's just that, in this case, it seemed to serve no purpose. The Mist is more likely following a pattern. Despite claims that it is some kind of brave 'anti-Hollywood' ending it is, on the contrary, very much in the vein of what is being made in the horror genre at the moment - opting for a colder and more downbeat feel. Often apocalyptic, or simply just cruel (28 Weeks Later, Cloverfield and Funny Games being most obvious examples) When did we become so cruel and cynical? Where is the hope? The relief? When did humanity become such a dirty word?
Incidentally, the real ironic moment in The Mist is not our plucky heroes blowing their brains out while the cavalry are literally outside the door. It comes moments afterwards and it's infinitely more subtle than the one everyone is dropping their linen over - blink and you'll miss it: Early in the story, when things start to get scary, one woman ignores all the calls to stay inside and bravely leaves the store in search of her children. Everyone else, including our hero, lets her go alone. Too cowardly to assist, they watch as she disappears alone into the mist, to what everyone assumes is her doom and she is quickly forgotten - by us as well as the characters. Fast-forward to the closing images of the film as our hero watches military vehicles and trucks pass by. In one vehicle, containing survivors, he spies the brave mother. She has been reunited with her children. They are unharmed.
In one single shot it brings home the paranoia and utter neurosis of the characters actions all along - barricading themselves up in the store. If they hadn't been so paranoid. If they hadn't been such cowards. If they hadn't been so American - shopping till they're dropping for supplies, shutting themselves in and making themselves prisoners of their own neurosis. They were really only holding down the lid of their coffin. Maybe it was only ever as simple as walking straight out the door when it all started?
I actually really enjoyed The Mist (yes! REALLY I DID!!). Apart from the ending, it's a vast improvement on the novella which I found incredibly boring and with a writing style that verged on the mechanical. In many respects it's a 5 star flic. A visually impressive horror that's thought provoking, very scary and has a great sense of dry humour - elements usually lacking in this kind of film. It isn't boring for a single second. It's also great to see ordinary people in peril instead of a bunch of dispensable, plastic smart-talking teens. It's just a shame about the heavy handed morality and it's clumsy and cruel cop-out of an ending that make it a 4 star flic instead! -
MCT:August 6, 2008
A highly underrated film, the mist explores all aspects of human reaction to extreme fear. The acting is superb, and the film relies very little on monsters and CGI to provide the horror element - this is through suggestion, and, more-so, the actions of the characters. Following the Stephen King novella faithfully, the film lasts perhaps 5 minutes longer than the story, completing the exploration of human reactions to fear, with one of the most noble, and tragic, soul destroying actions to have been captured in a mainstream fictional film. It's a very brave film. As ever, it seems Frank Darabont has an uncanny ability to translate King to film, providing 3D characters and heart. (On a side note, it's a nice nod to see the film poster Thomas Jane's character is working on is for Stephen King's Dark Tower masterpiece - I wonder if the fact it gets destroyed in the storm is symbolic of the likelihood of it ever being successfiully committed to celluloid?)
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the movie wasn't that gr8 but had a shoking ending. wont keep u on the edge of ur seat but was alright
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MCT:August 3, 2008
the christian lady was driving me crazy everytime she was on but the end was horrible if it was to be true. a good movie worth seeing
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MCT:August 3, 2008
Couldn't quite bring myself to give it the full 4 stars. The Mist is a good movie. Due to a couple of things bugging (watch the film and then slag off that cheesy little pun), I was left feeling a little disappointed. The film runs well all the way through, however the ending, which I think was meant to be controversially amusing was just annoyingly bad.
NB: I know none of my mates were particularly bothered about what was going on in the labs in the army camp, but I would have liked to have seen the whole "lets try this wacky experiment" play out on the screen. -
MCT:August 2, 2008
Ultra-talented writer/director Frank Darabont could go on making Stephen King adaptations for the rest of his career and I think the world would be a better place. His film Shawshank Redemption, is the absolute best King movie ever put on film; yes, I believe it's even better than The Shining. The Green Mile, was another excellent adaptation, a little long in spots, but tonally just right. With The Mist, he moves away from the prison-drama setting, into more familiar King territory, a horror story. And in my opinion he made the best horror film of 2007. One whose reputation will grow with time; because like many great films it was misunderstood upon it's first release.
The Mist takes the classic horror cliche' of trapping a bunch of people together with monsters banging on the door, and turns it on its ear. Darabont started out in horror films, writing the best of the Nightmare on Elm St., sequels with The Dream Warriors and also wrote the completely underrated remake of The Blob. So it's with no surprise that he's created a wonderfully built, incredibly well thought out B-Movie. If it weren't for a few spottily built computer monsters, The Mist would be an almost perfect horror film. There are great characters to root for in the hero David Drayton, a painter and dad, who stays calm under pressure; played nicely by the underused Thomas Jane. I particularly dug the character of Ollie; he's a chubby, balding, overage bag-boy, who has a big brain and a kick-ass action hero brewing inside him. They gave them a great human villain, in Mrs. Carmody, an over-zealous religious nut, who believes the monsters are God's apocolypse and she's ready to sacrifice the sinners to save the believers who begin to follow her. Marsha Gay Harden, brings this woman to life with such ferocity, that she is often more terrifying than any of the creepy-crawlies outside.
Although there are definitely a couple of classic monster scenes; the first time they get a taste of what's really happening, some incredibly creepy spiders, and I thought the "fishing for monsters" scene was darkly hilarious. I like how the monsters have an ecosystem all their own, with creatures of all size, from insects to dinosaurs, feeding on each other, and only turning to the humans as another source of food. The grocery store setting is the perfect place to bring characters from all walks of life together and it gives them ample food and shelter. It's only when things start to go so wrong on the inside that the heroes dare to venture out into The Mist. Once they do, it brings a whole other level to this already excellent film. The end is one of the most pessimistic I've ever seen, it leaves you with an ache in your gut, for what these characters have gone through. And I believe that's why the film didn't catch on like it should have, it's not the typical "everything is going to be okay" type of wrap up, and the film is much more powerful because of it.
Originally posted on: What I Watched Last Night
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Comments
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waelishak1posted 35 days ago -
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It is appalling how many of the reviews are complete spoilers. Stop including the key details!
posted 49 days ago -
I do have to say that I was not a huge fan of this movie. It was alright, but there were things that could have been redone. The book is a lot better and I prefer that ending. This ending did nothing for me. As far as the "crazy lady" that was a huge idea of the story, she is meant to be hated, that's the point. I think if Stephen King had more of a hand in the making of this movie it would be better.
posted 124 days ago -
To me this is a typical Stephen King movie/book when the concept is basically a simple one and then it is hammered over and over again. These instant-characters who basically come out of a cartoon. I don't care about the special effects so that is not my complaint.
The characters go to the next door drugstore but can't get to the car that is visible from the store window? "Hey, who owns the 2004 Scion"??
The "heroes" go through what they do, only to allow themselves to be shot because they run out of gas? Then the tragic emergence of the Marines 5 minutes after the guy kills his son? C'mon. This seems like a f-you from Stephen King seeing what people will swallow.
Oh. I forgot to say, I hated this film.posted 127 days ago -
It's a very well thought story about where desperation may lead you in times of criciss,I was shocked how quicklly people turned one against the other and how they were listening to all that bullshit from that fake prophet,seeing that pour souldier getting stabbed to death kinda remined me of Jesus on he's last road on this earth.And that end....left me speachless I think most of us whould have done the same.This movie wasn't made to be extremly scarry or to be a huge hit in the box office,but was made to show the hidden dark "otherside" in our human mentality.
posted 131 days ago -
Did anyone besides me get the prophetic references (not in what the Bible lady said, but in the events of the movie themselves)? It parallels a lot of what it says in the Book of Revelation in the Bible.
p.s. I agree with what barbadosx said, also.posted 137 days ago -
To everyone who goes on about the monsters weren't that scary or whatever - the monsters weren't supposed to be the scary part! What humanity is capable of is supposed to be what chills you, and this movie - delivers! And brilliantly, too.
posted 140 days ago -
I loved the scary parts of this movie that would be the only reason i'd tell people to watch it but I hate the ending that tops my list of awful endings. Also the characters are terrible most of them are real stupid I think there just supposed to be crazy but no. I thought even the main charcter Thomas jane plays was bad. He leaves his kid alone most of the film and in the end you all know what he does... I'd like to say so much more but i'll end up typing forever...
posted 144 days ago -
This is the kind of movies that should be in the MCT test cause one's appreciation or dislikes, shows how much they really understand movies.
Whoever says this is crap doesnt understand movies at all. Its not a great film, but it is as good as it could be.posted 149 days ago
