Movie Review: Stephen Kings' The Mist

So many of us are waiting with baited breath for Stephen King's latest thriller, The Mist, to come out in theaters on November 21st. For those of us who have read the book, it cannot come soon enough.

I first read The Mist after I picked up an old Stephen King paperback book in a thrift shop almost 10 years ago. Skeleton Crew is a rather large book full of King's many short stories, many of them still pretty unknown. This book was published well over 20 years ago, in 1985, yet is still popular among Kings following. The Mist grabbed me back then, as it still does now, and I admit to having re-read that story at the very least a dozen times. I always thought what a great movie it would be. So imagine my surprise to find the book had been published, on its own,proclaiming, "soon to be a movie hit" by MGM and Dimension Films.

So what is this movie about? Well, I'm sure you've read the reviews and seen the trailers, either on TV or the Internet. But what you don't know, if you haven't read the book, is the sense of foreboding, of helplessness, of terror, that the Mist contains. It starts out simply enough. A violent thunderstorm hits in the small town of Bridgton, Maine. Afterwards, a thick, unnatural mist begins to cover the town and the dwellers living on this ocean-front property. When main character, David Drayton takes his five year old son Billy to the supermarket, accompanied by neighbor and former enemy Brent Norton for supplies, the real terror unfolds. The Mist covers the supermarket, panic starts to unfold outside, and everyone in the supermarket becomes trapped inside.

Then the "things" begin to come out of the Mist. Tentacles. Wings. Suckers with acid in them. The people inside realize their best hope is to stay put, although there are still some who believe there is nothing out there. As terror mounts, so does panic among the group. Is the source of the problem "The Arrowhead Project", a secret, yet almost urban legend military project rumored to be going on in the town for years? Or is it God's will, as proposed by fanatic Mrs. Carmody as she slowly begins to gather followers? Is giving these creatures a human sacrifice in the form of a young child the only way to stop these terrible creatures from killing? Should they stay put and hope for rescue, or venture out in the Mist and hope they come back alive?

There was humor in this story along with terror, although whether it is revealed in the movie, we shall see. The anger of Norton when he can't get his expensive chainsaw to work. The frustration of the supermarket managers as the trapped men begin draining their alcohol supply. King makes you feel like you are there, in the market, and that at anytime you may be snatched by one of the spiders or by a tentacle, its suckers and acidy form ready to burn your skin away.

The Mist is guaranteed to be an on-the-edge-of-your-seat thriller. Stephen King has done it again with his dark ideas and suspenseful stories. Don't miss this movie when it hits your local theater this fall.