The Mist

THE MIST
MOMENTUM PICTURES
RELEASED 4 July 2008
Stephen King translates incredibly well to the big screen. 2007’s hotel-room-from-hell movie ‘1408’ was one of his best, and classics like ‘Misery’, ‘Stand By Me’, ‘The Shining’, and ‘Carrie’ all feature famous cinema moments. Two of King’s best-loved movies were adapted and directed by Frank Darabont. ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ and ‘The Green Mile’ were both released to mixed critical reaction upon release and poor box office, but while ‘The Green Mile’ is  now well-regarded by film-lovers, ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ is not only King’s most popular movie but also features in most top ten lists of all time, usually making it the youngest entry (a youthful 1994 release date). Darabont obviously ‘gets’ Stephen King, so I was really looking forward to watching his latest ‘stab’ at the ‘King of Horror’.
After a vicious storm wreaks havoc in their small town in Maine, artist David Drayton (Thomas Jane) heads out to the town supermarket for some much-needed supplies with his young son, Billy (Nathan Gamble), and his neighbour, Norton (Andre Braugher), in tow. Entering the supermarket, a mysterious mist engulfs the building with frightening speed and both locals and out-of-towners soon discover that there is something extremely nasty in the mist that wants to kill them. Trapped, with no means of communication to the outside world and no idea how far the terror extends, a fierce stand-off builds between David and the local religious nutcase (Marcia Gay Harden).
This incredibly rich character piece works on many levels. There are political allegories, moral dilemmas, religious conversion, and a damn good horror movie with shocks and gore aplenty. It isn’t giving much away (because you find out early on in the movie) to say there are some really nasty monsters in the mist, and there are some superbly-staged fights against the deadly menace. Camerawork is of the floating, documentary style, but it isn’t overpowering and just places you into the situation that little bit better. All the actors are on top form, and taking place in such a confined location, I could really see this working as a stage play. It’s very much about the power struggle that develops between people when forced together for a period of time.
I think everything about the film works perfectly, apart from the ending. The ending, which obviously I can’t talk about without ruining the film for you, doesn’t make any logical sense to me. I understand why Frank Darabont wrote this ending (Stephen King wrote an inconclusive final page), but it just simply doesn’t work. Darabont is using the ending to say something big about life, but he’s missed something glaringly obvious that I can’t accept.
Regardless of the ending’s faults, this is still a rollicking horror movie with plenty going on in it’s belly.
FOUR OUT OF FIVE