“The Mist”
2007
**** out of ****
Director: Frank Darabont
Cast: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden
“He's a fucking kid. He's supposed to be stupid. What's your excuse?” – Thomas Jane, “The Mist”
“The Mist” is mad. It is mad because you sons of a bitch keep paying money for shitty horror flicks. I don’t blame them. Remember the last time that there was a good Stephen King movie? Me neither. (In all seriousness, the last good one was “The Shining,” and I’m speaking of the Kubrick version.) Before “The Mist” was released, “Hostel 2,” “Halloween,” “Captivity,” “The Invasion,” and “30 Days of Night” roared through the horror cinema circuit. All of those weren’t well received by critics.
About a month later after “30 Days of Night” was released, “The Mist” was dumped right into theaters. It felt the box office failure that “28 Weeks Later,” “Bug,” and “Grindhouse” felt, but that wasn’t so surprising. You try being released next to “No Country for Old Men” and “Enchanted.” The film was in and out like that. It was like that no one ever heard of it. I never had time to see it either, but I admit – if it was still out a few weeks after it was dumped, I would have been there.
But I was there come DVD time. I sat out front of my video-store opening day for an hour just to get the film… and “The Kite Runner” and “Shrooms,” but mainly “The Mist.” I knew I was going to like it. Just the tagline alone, it told me that I was going to love it. After I got it, I came home, put it on, and soaked in Stephen King goodness.
It is the best Stephen King movie in twenty-seven years. Quote me on that.
“The Mist” starts when David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his wife (Kelly Collins Lintz) and child Billy (Nathan Gamble) witness the aftermath of a storm the night before. David, Billy, and the next-door neighbor (Andre Braughner) jump in the car to go to the grocery store to stock up on some supplies. On the way there, they realize that there is a lot of thick mist in their way. And then, out of nowhere, people come running in the grocery store, screaming that there is something in the mist. They lock the door and board up the windows with bags of dog-food.
And I didn’t even say the beginning of it…
But I won’t. I want you all to go into “The Mist” expecting nothing and coming out feeling weird. This is not a mistake. You are supposed to feel like this. The final hour of “The Mist” is something that you should know nothing about. It is nothing short of uncomfortable. The dark and dreary setting gives us no hope for any happiness. Frank Darabont works so hard to create a claustrophobic setting. Just staring outside of the grocery store gives the audience the sense that something bad is going to happen.
The characters are believable also, even if they do come off a little bit too over-the-top at times. Thomas Jane, who is still really underrated, completely owns the main role. It’s not enough for everyone to recognize his name, but it’s a start. Laurie Holden plays a completely believable teacher with some ghosts of her own. Toby Jones sparks up the entire film by playing the nerdy grocery store bagboy. Underneath of him, however, is an ultimate badass gun-firer.
The heart of the film comes from Thomas Jane’s character and Marcia Gay Harden’s religious zealot Mrs. Carmody. Harden comes off annoying and someone that you would just want to kill. I know that when I say “the heart of the film” I really don’t mean that it is the heart of the film. But the two going head-to-head is nothing short but brilliant rivalry. Jane and Harden try to get people to decide which side are they on. Of course, the religious people are on his side, but everyone who knows who Mrs. Carmody really is (a looney) they all side with Jane. It is until that final half-hour that it really takes a turn to who wins the once innocent game of rivalry.
The film’s most coveted secret is the ending. I won’t spoil it, but merely because it doesn’t sound the least bit impressive on paper. You have to see it to believe it. It plays out much better while watching it and trying to deal with your own emotions than it is when you read it. I’ll give you nothing but a hint – get ready to feel disappointed. If you are a happy fellow, you will hate the ending. If you are like me, this will be your new favorite movie.
“The Mist” is exciting. It’s cynical, mad, dark, bleak, uncomfortable, and sometimes annoying. But giving it the chances, what would you like to have – the good horror film that is all of the above, or the bad horror film that is all of the above?
I don’t blame you either.
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Fantastic review of a vastly underrated movie. I liked how Darabont approached this movie. It could have been stupid, but it was very well thought out and had interesting characters. This will probably find its audience on DVD and cable the way Shawshank did.
Personally, I feel this is one of the best horror films of recent years.
Not just the ending, but the whole tone of the film is very powerful and very scary.
Great review!!
I'm with Jerry on this one. My first thought, as I walked out of the theater from that film was that I just watched a classic horror film. It was just that great of a film. Great reivew
"The Mist" was already one of my favorite King stories, so I nearly peed myself with excitement to get into the theatre to see it. I vividly remember the ending to the story, so may have been more shocked by the end than anyone in the theatre.
Brilliant adaptation. Brilliant movie.