The Mist (2007)

Review

A freak storm hits a small community bringing down trees, causing widespread power outages, and other wise wrecking everyone's evening. The next day artist David Drayton inspects the damage to their lake side property with his wife and young son. David notes a mist rolling in across the lake and remakes to his wife that he has never seen this sort of thing before. Thinking nothing more about the strange phenomena he heads into town for supplies with his son Billy and next door neighbour Brent Norton. They note a lot of military and emergency traffic on the road and Brent remarks how the soldiers are from a base in the nearby mountains where scientists are working on something called "Project Arrowhead". Arriving at the local supermarket the team find the place crowded with shoppers and start touring the aisles looking for provisions.

A local rushes into the supermarket warning that something in the approaching mist snatched his mate away. This is just a prelude as the mist rolls in and for no apparent reason causes an earthquake. David, Brent, and other supermarket shoppers are about to discover the mist is filled with monsters, and those monsters are very hungry. Even worse the monsters aren't confined outside, there's something worse about to go down inside the supermarket as Mrs. Carmody, the local religious nut, decides it's the end of times and some of that old time religion is needed to save the day.

Well guess since this movie was based off a novella by Stephen King everyone is hip to the groove and just waiting on the rating? We don't roll that way here, not on your Nelly, I'm going to write a thousand odd words and then give the rating because we care, or something. Anyways yes the movie is based off King's ultimate "B" grade concept but Darabont does take things in new, and for mine, much more shocking directions. Well okay the ending changes but everything else is pretty much the same, which is kind of disappointing as there was a television series just hidden in the mist here. The Director/Writer does get it right and nails the central ideas from the King prose, so that's a win for everyone including Maine's favourite son.

The special effects people are out in force with the creature designs, which for me worked a treat. Stephen King pretty much envisaged The Mist as a black and white creature feature and Darabont delivers on that vision, albeit it in colour though rumour has it the North American DVD release of the movie also includes a black and white version of the movie, that would have been cool! So the creatures worked for me, from giant leech like tentacles, through flying and stinging insects, to spider analogies that had a creepy feeling, and all manner of beasties in between. Sure we are pretty much talking CGI, but there's a very solid integration that doesn't show the seams. Actually besides the spiders there's wasn't a lot of chills to be had from the creatures in the mist, and to be honest I noted some discrepancy with portrayal of said night stalkers, for example a severed tentacle dissolves after prolonged exposure to normal atmospheric conditions but every other creature is honky dory.

One of those movies where the CGI actually works and is humming along nicely

Where Darabont adds texture to the movie is ensuring Stephen King's notion of three distinct groups of people is maintained through the film's narrative. David Drayton's group represent the "common man", hell may have come to their small town but they are going to do their best to cope with the situation. David himself is the self styled American action hero who only needs a sniff of chaos in order to swing into action. It's telling that when the bag boy is taken by tentacles slipping under the rear roller door David is the only one who warns against the plan of sending the boy out to clear the generator filters, equally David is the first to try and help when the boy is wrapped in a flesh ripping nightmare, though Ollie Weeks does eventually leap into action. Both characters may be initially shocked by what is going down but are quick to leap into the breach and try and keep things rocking along. Which of course makes the ending of Darabont's movie even more poignant, as you realise the characters have finally given up all hope.

The other two groups present darker sides of human nature. Brent Norton refuses to believe what is happening, even when the proof is irrefutable, like a lot of horror characters he marches to his doom in the unassailable belief that what he is seeing has some sort of rational explanation. Joining Norton are a number of other citizens who simply cannot believe that their ordered lives are coming under assault by the forces of chaos. And of course the final one of our groups is the lunatic fringe lead superbly by the far from sane Mrs. Carmody. Whipping her supporters into a hysteric state of fundamentalism Carmody manages to blame the wrath of God, anyone who opposes her, and anyone who simply doesn't believe in her Roos loose in the top paddock rantings. She gradually swings people to her beliefs as the situation worsens in the supermarket and people look for answers or at least someone to take out their anger on. The interesting notion presented here of course is that fundamentalism of any persuasion thrives on hate and not on anything remotely constructive, as apparently taught by various mythical deities, looking at you Westboro Baptists.

Wow this review is starting to sound like a real bad English Lit paper! Suffice it to say we get plenty of creature action, a lot of deaths, good atmosphere and tension, and an ending that will shock the socks off you. A very intelligent horror movie that works a hell of a lot better than the usual run of the mill flicks we get sent our way.

Back in 2007 we had two Stephen King adaptations released to cinemas, this movie and the more commercially successful 1408. I have no idea why The Mist didn't do so well at the cinema, a lot of people have read the novella, there was a lot of buzz about the movie leading into 2007, and for sure King fans will generally support the movie adaptations. I know there was a big backlash against the negative portrayal of Fundamentalism coming out of North America, but I wouldn't have thought this would negatively impacted Southern viewers. Whatever the reason, folk missed out on a damned fine horror movie that took its "B" grade trappings, shrouded it with some high end drama, and delivered an adult meal to dine out on. If you haven't caught up with The Mist yet then you are facing the option of either remedying that situation immediately or expiation, make your own call.