Directed by:
Frank DarabontScreenplay:
Frank DarabontCinematography:
Rohn SchmidtComposer:
Mark IshamCast:
Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, Frances Sternhagen, Nathan Gamble, Alexa Davalos (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
A horrifying short story by Stephen King becomes this engrossing chiller about the survivors of a strange, mutating mist that invades a small town and brings with it unspeakable monsters. (Showtime)
Videos (3)
Reviews (13)
If there is one horror movie this year that deserves a full score, it’s this one. It has an awesome atmosphere, especially in the second half, and I also liked the diversity of the monsters. But it’s not only about monsters, the story has a very strong dramatic line, too. The ending is amazing! More movies like this! Darabont has another successful King adaptation under his belt.
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This adaptation is faithful to the original and yet it will take your breath away at the end. Darabont has a knack for storytelling, and the actors under his leadership give the performances of their lifetimes. Plus, Thomas Jane is suited to the role of David like no-one else. The special effects are amazing (mainly the fog, because they leave room for the imagination), in the style of Faun's Labyrinth and Hellboy. In the end, you can say what Stephen King said at the press conference: "Whoever gives it away should hang by the balls in a draft." It’ll take your breath away.
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In a thick mist that could be cut with a knife, there is a supermarket, and in it... Darabont and King’s short story fourth time round (if we count The Woman in the Room). It’s a mystery to me why, after a six-year rest, Darabont returns to the screen with an adaptation of this only slightly above-average story by King. Arguments suggesting answers like “an enclosed, group of heterogeneous people in extreme conditions, holding up a mirror to society" or “in the best spirit of classic sci-fi B-movies from the early fifties" just don’t hold water. Stephen King approaches this frequently and usually better. This adaptation is a good movie with an exceptionally powerful ending (although I prefer how the book ends). But in between we get a good two hours that could have been expediently cut down in length. Because what works in the written text, narrated in the first person, won’t necessarily work as a depersonalized movie record of events. Almost nothing is expressed here by images, but just by chatting away. Remove the visuals and you have a fully-fledged radio play. And that’s never good for a movie. However, the last half hour which is exceptional and the best part of The Mist. Is this just a coincidence? Unfortunately it looks like the narrative genius Darabont has become a routineer over the last few years since his last “big" movie. And if this were too little, the nice idea with the pseudo-documentary camerawork (and entire atmosphere) worked seriously badly here and reliably trampled any hints of atmosphere that were to be found. However, the sound and design of the Monster are great positives (the CGI mist is a little unconvincing, but the problem doesn’t lie there). The curse of adaptations of King’s horror stories endures, despite this being a solid movie in essence.
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Hm... the blonde was terribly unappealing... come to think of it, I didn’t actually like anyone in this... The best part was stirring up the mob, how easy it is, right? And that ending? I kind of expected it, exactly like that. Mr. King always tries to end with that bit of a shock, but this one seemed transparent to me; oh well, it's dawn now and the mist is rolling over the tree tops. And I'm not scared at all. Such a pity.
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I wouldn't compare Darabont's film to a cheap horror flick, or, heaven forbid, measure it through the lens of 1950s monster movies. I think The Mist works equally well as gritty horror, and as a kind of psychological drama where rationality vs. bigotry clashes within a small circle of people. Anyway, even the rather ridiculous tentacles at the beginning didn't spoil my overall very good impression. Scary, at times decently suspenseful and with a very powerful twist at the end. And Thomas Jane finally gave a believable performance (Punisher is forgiven). I wonder what the leaders (if they saw it) of the increasingly growing creationist movement in the United States, where their pseudo-scientific doctrine is already on school curricula and whose luminaries use much the same rhetoric as the deranged, had to say about the figure of the religious fanatic Mrs. Carmody. If Darabont wanted to symbolically smack them with it, I won't hesitate to give it the maximum rating :) I'm tempted to compare it with King's novel.
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