The Mist

The Mist (2007) Direction and Screenplay by Frank Darabont, Based upon the Novella by Stephen King.

The Mist is an adaptation from the Stephen King novella of the same name. The story is frequently accounted one of King's best. There is an interesting phenomena surrounding King books. They are great, but when they are made into movies, the movies lack the same magic. (At best, at worst, they stink.)

There are a few exceptions; Carrie, the first Shining, and The Shawshank Redemption. The Shawshank Redemption was done by Frank Darabont, as was The Green Mile, so the man has one of the few King Movie track records that are anything to brag about.

The Plot.This is going to be a short section, and sparse. This movie is too good to spoil.

Maine is rocked by a sever electrical storm. While David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his son Billy (Nathan Gamble) are at the Grocery store buying supplies, a mysterious mist rolls through town. Dan Miller (Jeffery De Munn) comes running into the store, screaming there is something in the mist. One of the patrons who made a run for his car is enveloped by the whiteness, and then begins screaming.

When Norm the stock boy is eaten by some tentacle at the loading bay, David knows they are in trouble.

But will everyone listen to him? No. Denial is a powerful force. Soon, however, the lethal nature of what is occurring can not be denied, and the patrons of the store realize they are under siege.

But their problems are not only on the outside. Inside, Mrs. Carmody, (Marcia Gay Harden) the local religious zealot (you know the kind, claims to be full of Christ's love, and has a face like soured milk, and a disposition to match) Normally accounted a kook, the events lend gravitas to her apocalyptic preaching, and within two days it becomes obvious that the odds of survival are higher outside the store than in.

The Analysis

The movie starts with a bang. The storm whips through, destroying trees and boathouses, and giving everyone that feeling that follows displays of nature's power...that tingling alive feeling you get when you realize you have been spared. Then it is business as usual, cleaning up and getting supplies. Then, in the midst of the everyday banalities of life, the mist rolls in, and everything changes. Phones don't work. Radio is dead. And the people who go into the mist don't come back...at least, not all of them.

One of the key elements of horror is isolation. Mist obscures sight, hides danger until it is right up on you. The characters are cut off from the rest of the world by the mist, and by whatever might be in it.

Another element of horror is the unknown. And they have that in abundance. Even when they can see the monstrosities, they do not know what they are, or where they came from, or how they got her, or most importantly, why. That is a lot of unknown.

And the most horrifying things in the entire store are...the people.

Amanda: "You don't have much faith in humanity, do you? "
Dan: "None, whatsoever."
Amanda: "I can't accept that. People are basically good; decent. My god, David, we're a civilized society."
David: "Sure, as long as the machines are working and you can dial 911. But you take those things away, you throw people in the dark, you scare the shit out of them - no more rules."

These words, like Mrs. Carmody, prove prophetic, so much so that it becomes safer to be outside in the Mist, than inside, with the people.

I refuse to give away any of the plot twists, except to say that the ending is not true to the King story. In a very real way, this is a very good thing. I knew this story, and the movie still just blew my mind.

And this review is Lean-n-mean at 666 exactly.