The Mist

Director: Frank Darbabont
Starring: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Andre Braugher, Laurie Holden, Toby Jones, William Sadler, Frances Sternhagen, Jeffrey DeMunn
Rating: 15 (R)
Company: Darkwoods Productions, Dimension Films, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Duration: 127 minutes

Stephen King films are vast due to the extreme volumes of work that can be adapted. Some have been turned in to TV shows, others go straight to DVD and then there are the few that go onto the silver screen. So with all this backlog, can this Stephen King adaptation stand-out from the rest? Well, what already gives it a plus is that ‘The Mist’ is directed by someone already experienced with the author’s work, Frank Darabont, famous for writing and directing The ‘Shawshank Redemption’ and ‘The Green Mile’… so you already knows how to handle this material. And now that he has his special magical hands on one of King’s most beloved novels, this sounds like this can be an epic piece of work… Right?

The plot of the film revolves around… well, a mist. When a small country town is taken over by an unusual storm with a thick mist, locals are forced to camp in a supermarket as this storm almost devours this mountain hold. As time goes by, the entrapped begin to notice that something very bizarre is happening in this mist, some claiming it to be kind of monstrous species living within this atmosphere. This splits the locals apart and creates a social divide, causing opinions to fly, loyalty to disband and create internal chaos with killings, misplaced faith and backstabbing all while still trying to figure out how is survive these strange happenings. Due to the majority of the film set tensely within a confined space, the film concentrates a lot more on the development of the characters and the relationships that occur all surrounding a theme of social difference and the demand of equality within a very extreme case of opinionated politics. In other-words, it is seeing how people can react to an intense situation when left to their own devices . This sort of commentary makes ‘The Mist’ a great discussion point with plenty to dig deep into. But it seems to just barely keep this afloat because of the film’s negatives.

‘The Mist’ begins very poorly, introducing the characters and even the mist itself in a hap-hazard and almost meaningless way all with weak dialogue and directed in a rather passing manner. Once the mist settles in is when the story really begins to pick itself up. There are some really horrible and nasty characters in this film that you will love to hate such as the envious neighbour purposely in denial as an act of revenge against our hero and the evangelical fundamentalist christian using the bible to preach that God is bringing forth the apocalypse. Yet, they are approached in a rather hammy and exaggerated acting manner… heck almost wooden at times. The progression of the plot doesn’t help either. The people just seem to be only a set of single minded stereotypes surrounded by what seems to be idiotic sheep, following their word and not the sane, logical one set by, the ‘Punisher’ himself, Tom Jane and his ever diminishing crew. While this does make some interesting plot turns, it creates more frustration than insight, making you want to smack the people on screen, not because you hate the character but of the way it is being presented. It sometimes felt like the film suddenly transformed into a weak amateur Shakespearean play production being cast by wonky set of first time actors.

Which way do we go?

The CGI in this film is somewhat under par, even for a film that is relatively low budget in comparison to the other blockbusters. An audience has now seen far too many advances in computer animation to let some of these things just slide easily. The monsters jump from jaw dropping scary to weakly presented. Yet this is redeemed though with the more physical props, gore and effects set in the movie that can sometimes create some horrifying moments.

So even with all this, the film builds to something almost spectacular. The final 20 minutes are completely filled with tension, redemption and excitement that is enough to forgive the patchy, rushed beginning and frustrating middle act. However, what truly makes this film is its ending. This is probably one of the bleakest and yet thought provoking ending I have seen on the screen in years, almost having the same awe struck effect as the plot twist in ‘OldBoy‘. Without ruining it, I believe that this rapidly become the saving grace of the film and makes this film a must see… even with all its clunky bits.

‘The Mist’ will not be visually or actuarial praised like some of the other legendary Stephen King films, but with the strong theme that can easily be seen as relevant in today’s society and an amazingly memorable ending, it will fall as another plus in the collection of good King adaptation and huge point in Frank Darabont’s CV, even if it takes a long time of sitting and waiting in order to see its potential. You will feel both satisfied and depressed.

Rating: 3/5
(Cleaning Up Monsters on Aisle 7)

If you want to read another review of a Stephen King adaptation, please click here.