Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 17:17:25

A fantastic and truly terrifying horror film.

When it comes to scary movies, monsters don't do it for me. Vampires, werewolves, alien beings--they are all entertaining, but not scary. People terrify me; human fraility scares the crap out of me. Which is why "The Mist" has long been one of my favorite King novellas: sure, it's a monster tale, but the REAL monsters in the story aren't the ones out in the mist--they're the ones inside the store. In some cases they are obvious; in others, not.When I first saw "The Mist," I thought it was a good B-movie, with a classic ending (truly one of the best in horror cinema). I was disturbed more so than usual, but not absolutely floored. But I thought about it. And thought about it. It's been almost a year since I first saw it; I recently watched it a second time (in black and white this time, btw). And I was terrified. The special effects are pretty good, though at times they get in the way of the actors. Let me stress that--the actors, here, are the true stars, not the special effects. Thomas Jane is phenomenal; Marcia Gay Harden is chilling. Frank Darabont does a brilliant job of bringing King's tale to the screen (even King himself has stated he wished he'd thought of this ending).The story, for what it's worth, centers around a group of people trapped inside a convenience store. Outside the plate-glass windows is...the mist. The mist and the deadly, flesh-eating creatures that lurk in it. The real story of the movie, the real meat (and the real scary stuff), is what happens to the people trapped inside the store--how they cope with it, to who and what they turn to for comfort. This is a film that tackles the topic of what would happen when ordinary citizens encounter something truly alien--not something we're halfway familiar with, but something completely outside our capabilities for rationalization. What WOULD happen if strange beings appeared from practically nowhere and began eating your loved ones? How would that affect the human psyche?That's what King's tale tried to explain; Darabont's film follows suit. It is a haunting, subtle film that will stay with you long after it's over, thanks in part to (what I consider to be, at least) one of the greatest horror movie endings ever. You should also, if given the chance (which thank God you are, on the two-disc edition), watch the film in black & white. The effects come off as a little cheesier...but that's half the fun. Because, with a film this dark and disturbing, we'll take the fun wherever we can find it.

funnyman122 2012-05-24 20:45:23

A Great horror/thriller for anyone!

Stephen King really pushed the bar for psychological thrillers, andthis movie is no exception!As the viewer you are forced to wander "What would I do in thissituation?" throughout the entire movie. It is also more scary in thecreepy kind of sense. The plot line in the movie is great, with almostno flaws. The ending of this movie will have you kicking and screaming,it is just so ironic you want to write and direct the same movie with adifferent ending.You are left to wander "what if (he/they/she) had (insert phrasehere)?" I recommend it to everyone, it is GREAT.10/10 - Best I've seen in a while. It is hard to explain why this movieis really so good. First off it is suspenseful, you wouldn't want to waste a minute in thebathroom, your eyes will be glued to the screen the entire 2.5 or sohours. To my next point, it is overall creepy, the situation the charactersare put in, the creatures, the end, its all very creepy. Next, some parts are sad. I'm not talking boohoo he/she died has, I'mtalking you might cry at a death or two sad.Lastly, anger. Some choices people make, some peoples attitudes makeyou want to feed them to die gruesomely, and for that matter you want alot of them to just shut the heck up!

iliveforhim1976 2012-05-23 03:39:59

MOVIE REVIEW: Stephen King's The Mist

I personally don't like the IMDb summary. It doesn't really speak aboutthe movie that I just saw nor the story I have read and like a lot. Solet me try to work up a summary that is worthy.My Summary: A day after a huge thunderstorm that puts a tree throughthe window of their lake house and topples the Draytons boathouse, amysterious mist rolls in off of the lake. David Drayton and his sonaccompany their neighbor Mr. Norton into town to the local grocerystore to get some supplies. They quickly find out that the mist is morethan just fog. Becoming trapped inside the store along with many othertown members and out of towners, they engage in a battle that will testtheir ability to reason, sanity, and faith as they come face to facewith what evil really is.A string of many familiar faces, including Thomas Jane (The Punisher)as David Drayton, are among the amazing cast assembled for this film .The story is one about the nature of fear and what will happen when youtake people out of their normal surroundings and pack them together inan intense, stressful, and terrifying situation.Frank Darabont, who directed The Shawshank Redemption and The GreenMile, takes a different approach to this film. Instead of playing itsafe with crane shots, steady cam work, and sweeping music like theprevious two films, he instead decides to use a much more rough styleinvolving hand held shots, old school special effects, and virtually nomusic. This in turn gives the viewer a much different experience. Youfeel as though you are trapped in the store with the players and thatyou can't escape either. When things start happening to the people, youfeel for them, you can understand their pain because you are goingthrough it also.I also must give Darabont credit for writing an ending to the storythat originally didn't have an ending. It is a very good ending and onethat Stephen King approves of. I do feel there were some things lackingfrom the film and I thought that it could have been better. However, Idid enjoy it.

sddavis63 2012-05-22 09:09:59

Taut With Suspense And Very Frightening At Times

From the opening scenes, "The Mist" grabs you and pulls you into amystery, and the pacing of the story is brilliant, as the mystery isgradually, bit by bit, revealed and explained in a way that ensuresthat the viewer never loses interest. Throughout, this movie is tautwith suspense, and unlike many so-called "horror" movies, this one iseven pretty frightening at times and it all leads up to a conclusionthat is both absolutely shocking and horribly sad, because in the endyou know that David (Thomas Jane) did the only thing that he possiblycould have done in the circumstances (and it was actually an incrediblynoble and heroic act) only to find out that it was absolutelyunnecessary, leaving you to wonder how in the world this guy is evergoing to be able to survive what has happened.It isn't necessary to speak at length about the plot here, except tosay that this is a pretty fascinating study of how a relatively smallgroup of people react to being forced to confront a horrific situationfrom which there seems to be no escape. What lengths will they go to?What depths will they fall to? All the characters are interesting towatch. My only real criticism of this movie might be the character ofMrs. Carmody. The performance from Marcia Gay Harden was very good, butit seemed to me to be something characteristic of a handful of StephenKing stories - the addition of unnecessary content that sometimesdistracts a bit from the horror of what's happening. I could see valuein adding a character who would rally an increasingly uncontrollablemob around them. Why the character had to be a fundamentalist religiousnut was beyond me, and she did start to grate on me after a while.Aside from that one point, though, I thought this was an excellentmovie, the best horror movie I've seen in a very long time. 9/10

The SHam 2012-05-16 12:49:47

Painful,

I am surprised by the positive reviews for this film.As far as I'm concerned, this is not a horror film in the true sense ofthe genre, closer to a thriller maybe, but I can't say there was ascene that gave me a feeling of fear or apprehension. There werehowever, several that left me angry with the character's actions, whichwere totally unbelievable. The acting, as far as I'm concerned theacting was poor, and the music was clichéd and kind of annoying.Essentially, this movie really annoyed me, and the ending, come on! Notone human reaction portrayed in this film was remotely believable. Thisis not a horror film.

whatever-tanveer 2012-05-15 21:09:35

Just Unique!

This is the from which I came to know about both Frank Darabont andStephen King. And you know what you get when they are together onsomething. You get a masterpiece. The Mist is truly one masterpiece.This is not just a science fiction movie with creatures from anotherdimensions. This movie works in different levels of human psychology.The story is good but the ending was brilliant.The acting, directing and the special effects are just in a way youwould expect. It had just the amount of suspense needed.If The Green Mile is the best from Stephen King then this is surely thesecond best.(I haven't seen The Shawshank Redemption yet.)

lastliberal 2012-05-15 04:59:22

The day I need a friend like you, I'll just have myself a little squat and sh*t one out.

What happens when you are trapped with strangers in the face of horror.Do race and class and religious differences come to play and exacerbatethe situation? Sure they do, as they did in this film.The monster was real and evil. The horror was definitely something tofear. What could they do? What would happen? When the creatures startedcoming in the grocery store the real terror began. The creatures getmore gruesome and the horror more exciting. It just keeps building andbuilding.Marcia Gay Harden was spectacular as a religious fanatic who stirredthe people to commit evil in God's name.I have not seen terror and suspense as displayed in this film. It wastrue horror.The ending was mind blowing!

yaktam 2012-05-14 17:48:26

Amazing - a message of hope

Simply amazing. I too watch dozens of films a month. Every once in awhile I come across a truly amazing gem. This was one of those gems.This wasn't a film about horror. The horror veil is there merely as amedium for King's work, as other posters have iterated. It was amessage, a glimpse as it were, of our own society in one of its darkestmoments. The entire broad spectrum of humanity played out in this onesingle film. Bravo! to the director, screenwriter and all the otherpeople involved for a brilliant adaptation of a story I must read oneday.Day to day life is nothing more than one "challenge" after the other.How we deal with these challenges, is what define us as human beings.What keeps us going, from challenge to challenge, is hope. StevenKing's message to us was a simple one - never lose it.

dweberspam 2012-05-09 06:16:04

Horrible horrible ending

OK, I would like to first say that I LOVE Stephen Kings books (not somuch the new ones) but classic Stephen King. His past books arefantastic!!! I especially loved this short story when I read it and wasthrilled to see they were making a film out of it. *sigh* Thedisappointment was so great!! Basically the movie does follow most ofthe book very closely. I enjoyed that. Usually when I watch a moviethat is based on a novel I am watching it to see the book come to life,not to watch something completely different. As I recall, in the book,they escape the grocery store and continue on through the mist. Theynever come out of it but they survive until the end. That is the besttype of ending. It gives you a chance to imagine a happy ending forthem or a horrible one. It give the reader a chance to continue thestory. Now the ending of this movie was ridiculously stupid. The wholething behind the movie was about human nature, how we would place blameon others for our misfortunes. The same is with the movie. In boththere are those that rise above our apparent primitive nature andprotect the ones they love and escape or die trying. Like I said, inthe novel this happens and we can imagine the happy ending. In themovie, not so much. So they go through all the trouble, they get awayfrom the majority of the bloodthirsty people in the supermarket, forwhat? So they can drive a little ways, run out of gas, and he has tokill everyone in the car? That's stupid! Oh, and conveniently the mistclears up seconds after he does this. What kind of moral is this? Youhelp the ones you love and care about and die and the evil peopleprevail and are rescued? Whatever. I'm sorry people, but only thetwisted would enjoy this "new" ending to the story. I'd be curious asto what King actually thought of it.

jtammyjas-1 2012-05-08 08:55:14

Stephen King, Master of Clichés

I finally realized that the King is Dead. I kept hoping that he mightrise from the ashes and actually start writing scary stories again.After watching this crapdaptation of his novella, The Mist, I finallyrealized that he was never really that good to begin with. Literally,every character in this piece of garbage is a cliché. You have thestrong, sensitive wasp artist type with his beautiful lakeside home andperfect wife and sensitive boy. Next, add the unbelievably dumb andintolerant hick local mechanic and the feisty old teacher (representingthe secular, public employee sector) bemoaning how underfunded theschools are in their obviously wealthy community. What modern horrorstory would be complete without an unbelievably aggressive Christianfanatic to prey upon the weak minded? She was so over the top that Icouldn't help but think that Mr. King was also on the soap boxpreaching to us about how we're supposed to hate anyone with deepreligious convictions. I don't go to church myself, but I was actuallyoffended, especially when the audience was goaded into applause whenshe was finally murdered by the humble, sensitive cashier. All of thischeap drama takes place in, of course, King's safe little Waspy town ofCastle Rock. Maybe he should start a theme park...The ending was COMPLETELY awful. Although the hero had, at one point,warned about leaving the grocery store before the evil religious nutturned the place into a Jonestown, he ends up doing a Jonestown at theend by killing everyone in the car for their own good. What was soimminent at that point? The giant bug had paid no attention to them;the spiders couldn't get in. Why not just wait? Talk about defeatism!What if the mother in Cujo had taken a similar tact when she was stuckin her old, hot car with her asthmatic boy with the rabid Saint Bernardwaiting outside?! A more interesting tact in The Mist would have beenfor the hottie teacher to rescue the boy from his suicidal dad, haveDad chase her and then have the troops take him out before he catchesthem. Or not. The movie was still essentially boring BECAUSE WHO REALLYCARES ABOUT A BUNCH OF TRITE, Cliché CHARACTERS?I gave the movie 2 stars for the fun monster bugs.

2012-05-06 01:13:36

That's f**ked up. . .

Okay, I need to take a breath. I just finished watching "The Mist," and it was on point. At first I was disappointed with the initial creature in the Mist. I didn't want to see just yet what was in the Mist. I thought, "oh no, not another monster movie." Luckily, thankfully, it wasn't, and I was more than satisfied when I began to see the other creatures in the Mist. As the movie unfolded it began to get, and keep, my attention. In this instance, (rare for most movies) questions that came to mind were answered: like why didn't they ask the soldier boys what was going on- answered; why didn't they make a flame thrower from a lighter and an aerosol can (yes, that was my question, hey they're in a supermarket and I have an Anarchist Cookbook mind)- answered. I was wondering if and when the heretic would get hers- answered. I actually became invested in a few characters, like Ollie, poor Ollie, I knew him well. But all this didn't compare to the ending, I was hoping for a closer, but I didn't expect jaw dropping. I kept mumbling to myself, "that's f**ked up, that's f**cked up." If only they'd waited. . . In the end, I liked the film as a whole, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a horror/ psychological/ thriller, not necessarily in that order. It is a great film that can leave me devastated.

indigoazure 2012-05-05 07:45:38

Another Garbage Film (may contain spoilers)

This is just one more in a long list of bad movies made in the past 10years. Who noticed the writers were on strike when they've been onstrike for the past 10 years? This movie had all the reflections of a psychopathic society. Theoverly religious woman was exactly like the religious idiot in SilentHill and tons of other movies with one dimensional characters.Actually every character in this movie besides the little short guywith the gun was one dimensional and worn out. I felt he had a littlemore to him because he came across as sincere, made a real effort tolive, and had a skill that was unexpected. I imagine that most of thepeople who like this movie are young people who didn't grow up duringtimes of great movies.And the end? Talk about no ability to problem solve. My thoughts are"why are all the characters in movies, cavemen these days?" I mean,western culture is always pumping up the "superiority of man" and yetwestern art reflects a species who barely try to survive tragedy andusually don't. I wonder how we ever made it this far being as weak aspeople are in films these day. But more importantly as weak as writersimagine people to be. I mean really... can't figure out a solution? ... kill yourself. Can'tmake sense of the situation? ... kill other people. Scared to die? ....Get delusional.What? Who raised these people? Oh I forgot, it's just a movie, butwait... someone wrote it.I'm also sick of not being able to watch a thriller or horror movieanymore without religion being thrown in. It is starting to feel likean brainwashing attempt. I knew this movie was over as soon as thewoman started spouting a bunch of religious messages and people wereactually listening to her and letting her continue. I thought about commenting on the things in the "mist" but they werejust too stupid for me to waste time on. Seems like they were reallyonly there anyway, to lure you into a religious brainwashing session.I found myself desperately wanting to watch a movie, skipping past thereligious monologues to get to the "meat" of what was really happeningand wanting for those people to make a real effort to survive.... Neverhappened.

Jizdenky 2012-05-04 22:20:30

Humanity Lost In The Mist

Frank Darabont's surprisingly layered science fiction horror film 'TheMist' is one of the most impressive of its in recent times. Now I saysurprising because most of the film adaptations that I have seen ofKing's novels haven't translated well on screen (with the exception ofa few like 'Christine').Grabbing the viewer's attention from the very beginning, 'The Mist'starts off as a tribute to the many cult classic monster flicks. Anunidentified object threatens a small town who keep themselves lockedin a supermarket. As the object reveals itself, panic builds. Many ofthe characters are clichéd caricatures that one has so often witnessedin the cult classics. As the monster begins to show itself and thecharacters and as entertaining as the movie is, I thought it would bejust another monster attacks the city flick. But just at that moment'The Mist' plunges into new and deeper depths.I think one reason why this movie received so little recognition isbecause it gave the impression of being just another typical genrefilm. It's a shame that this wasn't given much of a chance because itraises some profound questions about humanity that one would ratherignore than confront. After the final scene, one is left with anunsettling feeling as it has one of the most depressing (but leastpredictable) endings (and I couldn't think of a better one as a happyending would have been less impactive).The only flip side was theme of religion. The Marcia Gay Harden trackis obviously crucial and raises issues that are parallel to today'sworld conflicts especially religious fanaticism. However, it also givesthe impression that all religious people feel that way or a vulnerableto such manipulation. I wish there was some focus on at least onereligious character who opposed Mrs. Carmody's ways. There is only onesentence with a biker where he delivers a line to Mrs. Carmody...and isthen disposed of. What I'm saying is that I would have liked to seesome conflict within the religious context and point out why beingreligious isn't a bad thing and that fanaticism is.I'll stop here as the issues the film raises are best discovered by theviewer. Now, on the technical side, 'The Mist' is exceptionally wellmade. While some argue that the special effects weren't anythingamazing amazing, I couldn't disagree more. The film is a tribute andthus it isn't meant to look like another 'Avatar' but even otherwise, Ithought it looked very good. The cinematography is remarkable and theminimal use of a background score is very effective. Darabont highlysucceeds in creating an atmosphere of danger, fear, isolation anddespair.All the actors perform superbly. Even those who were given roles thatare clichés, play them well and succeed in evoking frustration. But ofcourse, the ones that shine are Thomas Jane (as the dad in despair),Laurie Holden (this kind of cinema isn't anything new to her- coughcough - 'The X Files', 'Silent Hills' and now 'The Living Dead'),Marcia Gay Harden (see for yourself to know what I mean) and Toby Jones(the mediator).Don't be fooled by the trailer, the premise or poster. 'The Mist' isfar more than what one would expect it to be. It won't bring a smile toyour face after the hopeless final scene following the rolling closingcredits, but you'll have had the experience of something much betterthan what this genre of films usually has to offer.

frezeframe 2012-05-04 10:39:42

I think this is a fair review:

-This is for those who have seen the film and didn't think it was the"Best movie ever" First of all, let me say that the director FrankDarabont is a terrific director and has made two of my top 100 all timefavorite films... The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.However, this was like watching Ken Griffy Jr. step up to the plate,swing and miss. I was extremely disappointed. I was told that this wasscary and that the ending was one of the best endings EVER. I don'ttake that too lightly, especially when it's written on the cover of theDVD. I know it was a horror film, I know it wasn't supposed to be takentoo literally, but come on... people don't behave the way they behavedin The Mist. Here are a few things that made me write this comment- 1.There's no way they would have let Marcia Gay Harden (who was one ofthe few good actors) have that kind of power over them. Whether she wasa profit or not. And if she did have that power... surely she wouldhave gotten the gun, or been aware that someone might try to shoot herif she held up our "protagonists" at knifepoint with her new posse(consisting of the town folk who had no business being in a posse) 2.The dialogue was tough to sit through. It just seemed forced andunrealistic.3. The characters were rough as well. With the exception of the twoleads... they were mediocre actors who were following lines in ascript. There was no depth to the characters and hardly any subtext.The subtext that was provided was pointless.. because the ending showedus that the whole movie was kind of pointless.4. The army guys. Hated them. Their characters sucked. Sorry Frank, butthey sucked. What they just decide to hang themselves in the backroom?? Are you kidding me? And for being military men, they sure werecowardly. And for being fresh out of boot camp... they sure knew anawful lot of information about this "mist." Were they militaryingelligence? No they weren't. They were about to go on leave. Theywere fresh out of highschool kids.. and they knew the details of thissecret military operation. And how do they deal with it? They hangthemselves? Way to go. If the characters were smarter, or likable, ormore significant, er.. believable... then maybe we would care when theydie. The way it was, I found it hard to care about them because theyseemed fake. The actors sucked too.4. The ending. OK, fine. I know it sounds good on paper... killeveryone. But really? Why not wait till the monster is right in frontof you, or until you have no other option... or why not have aconfrontation with the monster? Or how bout just end the movie bysaying the line "there's 4 bullets left".. and not show it? Theaudience invested in these characters, then bam.. everybody's deadexcept for our hero and the viewer is left feeling like crap... not tomention- feeling like our hero was a total pus#y. It was reallydepressing, and not worth sitting through the whole spectacle of thisridiculous plot, to not have anything come out of it. - I understandwanting to do something different. And it was. It just didn't resonateat all with me. Stephen King didn't even write the ending that way. Hestopped it after our hero says there's four bullets left. He left it upto the imagination. Did they make it or not? I don't know, it justseemed too easy to me to kill everyone. It was a cop-out.So, great director... just a sh#t#y movie. It happens. Steven Speilburgmade AI, the Coen's made Intolerable Cruelty and Frank Darabont madeThe Mist. I hope he gets his groove back for Fahrenheit 451. That's all

coolsisterjames 2012-05-01 20:30:46

Good teenagerish gore movie.....

Wait until this comes out at the video store.... Entertaining, hokey,some good special effects but the creatures while technically great didnot mesh with the people and time....something more logical would havescared me more, something that just might really be lurking outthere....I wanted to see the whole thing to the ending but I just neverfelt the tension build up that is necessary for a scary film... Badending and although I worked in the medical field for 30 years, I don'tneed to see someone's bowels and other organs up close andpersonal....remember, leave a little to the imagination..Gore issickening, not scary...

Antonio 2012-05-01 14:09:42

Not at all bad!

First of all: I love films, I watch as many as I can and it's one of mybiggest interests. My taste in movies range from heavy dramas to cheaphorror B-flicks. Second: I read the short novel for The Mist when I was 13 I think and Inever forgot about it. There was something really chilling in that partin the beginning with the man shouting "There is something in themist!". Without even knowing it I had anxiously awaited the filmversion of it. My friend had come over a cam-recorded pirate and I waslike: Hell NO! I have to see it on the big screen! So, finally there'sa movie I'm dying to see, but there is no opening date for Sweden asfar as I'm concerned... why? It seems this movie will be astraight-to-DVD release in Sweden...Anyway, after reading the reviews here on IMDb i was intrigued on howit divides people, those ho hated it and those who loved it. And I knewright then and there I had to watch it! I had to make my own decision.So I watched the cam-pirate... And I loved it! I was really into themovie and I thought the creatures looked and felt real and I think ithas all the chills of the novel. And the ending? I did NOT see itcoming. I was actually shocked. It was GREAT! This is a fine horrorfilm which sadly many will miss, I don't think its marketed wellenough. Hopefully it will have it's revenge on DVD.Mind you, had I seen this in a proper cinema, my rating would behigher...

jupitergal2 2012-04-28 13:27:12

Excellent - Exactly what a Stephen King movie should be!

FINALLY! I am so impressed. From other reviews I'd seen, I thought thiswas going to be another not-so-successful screen translation of one ofmy favorite King stories, but I am so pleasantly surprised, which isquite funny considering the theme and feel of this movie. But itdelivered everything it should have, and brought all the best elementsof the story to life. The actors did a perfect job, and everything wascompletely realistic - even the fantastical elements. Nothing overdone,no overly showy CGI, just right. A perfect blend of monsters - bothnonhuman and human (such as those created solely by ignorance andfear). Kudos, kudos, kudos to a writer-director who really nailed it -Frank Darabont. And the ending fit in perfectly, though it went furtherthan King did himself. Yay! A great classic-type horror story done withmodern technology. Loved it.

Jack Gattanella 2012-04-28 01:40:37

a near-classic throwback to 1950s sci-fi movies, with an emphasis on cool, creepy monsters and a chillingly human atmosphere

The Mist is one of the bleakest horror films to come out of Hollywoodin many a moon, but with some points that can be taken. This isn'ttrash or torture-porn, but an expertly crafted piece of sci-fi/horrorfiction that can only come from someone as bravely demented as StephenKing (or rather from what appears to be a bravely demented creativitythat, of course, knows no bounds). But if you asked me who directed ithad I not known Frank Darabont had, I wouldn't be able to say: this isfar from the classically-stylized form of Shawshank and Green Mile, andinstead resembles what is like a sci-fi channel movie of the week, onlymuch better written and acted. In fact, it's more comparable to themost succinct and terrifying that 1950s sci-fi movies offered, wherecreepy (and I do mean creepy and gross) monsters and huge insects andthings crawl all over and in the darkest places, but it's the humanbeings and how they react- and how society is reflected ten-fold in thereaction- that counts.Truth be told, the actual plastics of the film are well-done; themonsters themselves, which are explained only for a moment as athrowaway by a frightened soldier who says this mist and the creaturesthat come from it are from another dimension and there's some sort ofportal or other, are delightfully nasty. They're the kind of hugecritters that might have had room in King Kong had PJ had even moretime, with the form of an insect or a huge squid or a gigantic crab,can make the audience jump and laugh and yell at the screen. Plusthere's the mist itself, which holds a kind of "big-other" quality, asis described by philosophers as this other entity that human beingsjust can't really completely grasp, even when it's staring them rightin their faces (not quite as direct as in Boyle's Sunshine with thesun, but close enough), and if one wanted to read into it enough it's akind of crafty, ingenious metaphor from King on the nature of fear, ofterror completely unbound in the unknown, or the little that is knownwhich when confronted (i.e. when they go out to the pharmacy) is aboutas startling as anything imaginable.But on the side of substance, this is also a winner, maybe evenmore-so. There's not much doubt in my mind that Darabont, for all ofhis faithfulness to the original King text, enriched the material forpresent times with a classic example of rationalism vs. irrationalism.The premise is this: an out-of-towner (Thomas Jane) is in a smallsea-side Maine town when after a heavy storm a mist starts to crawlover the town, and as he goes to the supermarket to get supplies, withpractically everyone else in town getting things, the mist comescompletely over, a man runs out "there's something in the mist!" hesays, and the door slams shut. From there-on there's a struggle on thefronts of, simply, what to do: Jane just wants to know what they're upagainst, how to get to the cars, how to get the hell out; AndreBraugher's character, a lawyer, might be the most rational, thinks it'spoppycock that anything is out there even after the encounter some ofthe men have with the tentacled creature at the loading dock; andMarcia Gay Harding, in one of the great examples of playing a one-notecharacter so right, is a hardcore bible-thumper who riles up thoseinside of the supermarket to realize that the end of the world iscoming ala Revelations, and that she- following not getting killedwhile standing still by one of the alien-bugs- is the wrath of God.It's the first time in a while have I seen an audience yell and cringeand laugh at how each major character meets their fate, no matter whatthe approach.If it isn't quite Night of the Living Dead classic-status, it might beexpected- hence the comparison to sci-fi channel movie-of-the-weekstatus, in small part. It is clichéd with certain characters,archetypes, lots of hand-held camera-work, and a melodramatic musicalaccompaniment. But it's worth seeing on the big screen, if only for theaudience-participation sake, and to take in all of that potent terrorthat is realized from the fronts of effective creature-feature andsocio-political drama. And the ending, to be sure, save for Jane'sover-the-top reaction, is bewildering, and I mean that as a compliment.

Brett Chatz 2012-04-25 20:04:08

Not for the squeamish

A small, quiet town in Maine, New England, is turned upside down when aportal to another dimension is opened by a group of military scientistsin The Arrowhead Project. The real tragedy is what the governmentaccidentally brings through this ominous portal – terror and horrorlike never before.What was once a peace-loving environment becomes a feeding frenzy forflesh-eating abominations from hell. David Drayton (Jane) is just aregular dad going about his business when an electric storm sends agiant tree crashing through his living room. This storm is particularlyvicious and soon even his neighbor (Braugher) – a boorish man – suffersthe same fate. Over on the horizon they notice something inexplicablegathering momentum – a heavy mist.The group heads out into town to replenish their supplies but that's asfar as they go. With this ubiquitous mist comes nothing but gruesomedeath. A large group of townies finds refuge in a local supermarket.Here their fears are amplified; paranoia takes root (in true StephenKing style) and hell on earth begins its frightful journey. The Mistsilently stalks all living creatures while it conceals carnivorous bugsand beasts of unimaginable proportions.If you are squeamish or easily spooked, The Mist is definitely not foryou…

Skynet-TX 2012-04-25 07:25:06

The worst ending possible

This is one of the best movies made from a King novel. The first 110minutes is simply excellent. The last five is terrible. They simply hadto cut it off. This ending is the worst possible: David and four of hisfellows leaves the store and traveling with his car discover that themist has consumed everything. After a few days (?) they meet a reallyhuge creature and after running out of gas decide to finish theirlives. But there's only four bullet for five people. David kills hisfellows and gets out of his car to be taken by the creatures. Andsuddenly the mist starts to dissolve. Then dozens of survivals startsto appear from the road they just left behind and the army shows up aswell. And the mist disappears. It is TERRIBLE.A much better ending could be something like this: David gets out ofthe car and walks into the mist. And the movie is over. We don't knowif he will be taken by the creatures or what happens with the rest ofthe world. Or an even better one: they have five bullets for the fivesurvivals. We cab hear five shots as David kills the others and finallyhimself. And that's it. I hope there will be an alternate version withone of these endings.