THE MIST (2007) Directed by Frank Darabont
This is my first time watching this movie. When it came out, I thought it looked interesting, then I also thought maybe it was just a rip off of The Fog. Once I realized it was actually taken from a Stephen King novella, my interest was spiked. Still somehow I managed to go a few more years without seeing the movie. I guess I was using that time watching awful remakes of 80s Slasher films that just ended up enraging me…cough Nightmare on Elm Street cough!
The film is about a small town in the Pacific Northwest that has become engulfed in a thick mist. Around 80 townspeople hold up fort in a small market and fight to survive not only from the creatures the mist has brought, but the primal survival instincts of the people themselves. Some choose to stay put, others choose to leave the market. Where did the mist come from and when will it disperse?
Our main characters are a man named David Drayton and his son Billy, whom is probably 10, if that. Together with their neighbor Brent, they travel to town only to find military and policemen are occupying the streets. They go into the local market to buy supplies when a strange mist rolls into town. Soon after the mist enters, so do a group of soldiers, whom grab items and exit the store. The people inside begin to worry and wonder what the mist is and what it brings. An old man runs in with a nose injury saying that there is something inside the mist. The townspeople quickly close the doors and the store begins to shake. They go to check the generator only to find that something is pushing on the door to the receiving bay. A bag boy named Norm played by American Pie’s Sherminator, volunteers to go out and check, he is quickly grabbed by a huge tentacle that has small mouths all over it. This creature is pretty bad ass, although the cgi is rather dated. Sherminator is quickly dragged out of the building.
After they tell the others about what is outside, a crazy religious nut named Mrs. Carmody starts declaring it’s the end of days, because why wouldn’t she? She is a religious nutzo that freaks out about the apocalypse. Anyways…while cult lady is squawking away about god knows what, Brent thinks they’re playing some joke about Sherminator being killed by a monster. I mean it’s a logical thing to joke about, some young guy’s death, it is a real knee slapper. Brent and some others head out and we assume they’re killed by unknown creatures. The rest of the folks in the store barricade the doors up with dog food bags, not sure how well that would hold but ok. Big scorpion creatures land on the windows and are killed by these flying lizards. They break the glass and attack some of the people. Two people die and one is injured. One bug lands on Carmody, she prays and she is spared. Then she gets people to believe she’s holy, only making her more annoying.
David and some others go to the pharmacy and they get attacked by giant spiders that shoot acidic web, two guys die from the spiders and the others get back to the store. When they return Carmody already has a bulk of the store following her and her crazy preaching. Two soldiers that night kill themselves and the third admits that this is all a military attempt to see other dimensions. A doorway was opened and the creatures came through. Carmody convinces the people it’s the soldier’s fault and they feed him to the creatures, a giant mantis like monster snatches him up and kills him. Such a good Christian woman to do that to a soldier!
Carmody attempts to steal the supplies of a group trying to leave, which causes someone to shoot her, and FINALLY she dies. The group of people including David and Billy leave. Five people make it to the car: David, Billy, Amanda, Dan, and Irene while two others are killed. They drive off with the gun that was used to shoot Carmody. David makes it to his house to find it destroyed and his wife dead. He continues to drive south into the mist, they come along a bus covered in webbing. The car runs out of gas a few hours later, and they realize that they’re likely going to die. David grabs the gun and looks in the chambers, there are only 4 bullets left. Realizing that one would have to live and be destroyed by the monsters. David shoots the others deciding he should suffer with the creatures outside in the mist. Shortly after he kills the others he loses his mind and decides to step outside and face his doom. Just then theres a sound in the distance and a couple tanks roll up, the mist slowly dissipates and soldiers march by. A truck of survivors rolls by, while David feels the impact of what he just did.
The Mist was a rather decent movie. I enjoyed the creatures and the idea of people going into survival mode and losing their humanity. The acting was strong for a creature feature and the little boy was surprisingly not annoying. Carmody drove me nuts, but I suppose that was the point in that character, so can I really complain? The idea of the government opening a portal to another dimension is rather interesting, far fetched but entertaining. I came into this movie not knowing what the ending had in store, I knew it was shocking and would make you hate all of humanity. I am happy it wasn’t ruined by a podcast or article online and that I could feel the impact of what happened. Unlike a crappy Shamalamadingdong twist, this was rather impactful and I enjoyed it. I kind of saw it coming but wasn’t sure. While the plot is fantasy, the actions and personalities of the people were very real. It is refreshing to watch a horror movie with characters that are believable and bring emotion to the screen. You really feel for David at the end and how awful it would be to kill your son and friends, only to find out that it wasn’t necessary.
I would suggest this movie to others that like creature features. It is not the best Stephen King adaptation, but it is not nearly the worst. Thanks to multiple suggestions from coworkers, shout out to Craig and Jake, I finally got around to watching this and enjoyed it. I found myself drifting off during some of the slower parts and like I said the CGI was rather dated at times. All in all it’s a solid horror movie. I would give The Mist a B. I am partial to practical effects for monsters and I’d love to see this movie without some of the dead parts but hey you can’t win them all!
