| Review | The Mist (2007) | Director | Frank Darabont |
|---|---|
| Writer | Frank Darabont – Based on the novella by Stephen King |
| Cast | Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, Frances Sternhagen, Nathan Gamble, Robert C. Treveiler, Alexa Davalos and Sam Witwer |
“It appears we may have a problem of some magnitude here” – Bud
A massive storm hits a small Maine town and causes a lot of damage. The next day a lot of residents head to the local supermarket to stock up on supplies. Among them are David (Jane), his son Billy (Gamble) and neighbour Brent (Braugher) who has a fairly rocky relationship with David. As the folks go about their business a thick mist approaches fast and suddenly a deathly frightened man comes running into the store shouting that there’s something in the mist.
The people inside hole up and take refuge while the mist slowly engulfs the outside view. David and three others discover something horrible while in the stock room where a tentacled monstrosity kills a store employee and they narrowly escape. But it proves hard for David to convince the others in the store of what truly happened. Brent flat out calls him a liar and the mentally unstable Mrs. Carmody (Harden), a religious fanatic, starts preaching the Word of a Vengeful God out to punish mankind. Before long, though, no doubt remains as to the danger when the monsters in the mist start attacking. And a situation arises inside the store where people become divided in how to handle the situation.
This review comes with a spoiler alert
There’s something about “The Mist”. It took me a long time to finally watch it and then I quickly went and read the novella by King. It sticks with you. Not just the infamous ending of the movie (different in the novella) but the whole film is so well done in creating a truly apocalyptic feel that slowly dawns on the characters (and subsequently; the viewer). It’s one of those instances where I felt kinda’ spent in the end and watching the hopelessness engulf the characters had an effect on me. There really is no let up here and that gut-punch ending really knocks you down.
Like so many of King’s writings, “The Mist” conjures up a truly fantastic premise filled with the supernatural and otherworldly monsters but grounds it in a relatable way with good characters and proceeds to escalate the tension brought on by human error and frailty when they’re faced with unspeakable horror. The internal crises that erupts inside the supermarket when the people holed up there split into different factions lead by someone who refuses to believe in anything that isn’t rational (Brent’s followers) or lead by someone who preaches the End of Days and preying on people’s fears (Mrs. Carmody’s followers) the tension reaches frantic heights.
David is the hero here, so to speak, as the viewer’s conduit to what’s taking place and trying to find a way to deal with things. Through his eyes we see the manipulation of Mrs. Carmody and the stubbornness of Brent but neither of them feel like caricature creations. Then there’s a host of other characters that make an impression; Ollie (Jones), store employee who really rises to the occasion, Jim (Sadler), a simple minded hick, Irene (Sternhagen), a former school teacher who’s not to be messed with and Private Jessup (Witwer), a soldier stationed in the Maine town who may have some knowledge of the terror that’s happening. “The Mist” is populated with characters that are interesting to watch and whose actions do not feel contrived.
Stephen King has been good to Frank Darabont. The director’s former credentials include two King adaptations; “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994) and “The Green Mile” (1999), and both received huge critical acclaim. In my opinion Darabont’s work on “The Mist” is no less impressive. As with the other two films he’s working with great material provided by King. “The film follows the novella very closely but it does add more material to supporting characters, and welcomely so, and therefore makes even more use of the group paranoia that escalates. The novella is only about 180 pages long so King’s trademark for rich character creation is confined to David. Also it’s a first person narrative.
King has also been relatively good to Thomas Jane. Jane’s filmography is filled with projects that either have attracted little interest or seem to have disappeared into oblivion. I thought he was rock solid in “The Punisher” (2004), my personal favourite adaptation of a comic book antihero, and he’s also good in the hugely enjoyable, but fairly maligned, “Deep Blue Sea” (1999). Jane was in Lawrence Kasdan’s underrated adaptation of King’s “Dreamcatcher” (2003) and then later delivered a, arguably, career high performance in “1922”, another adaptation of a King novella. He’s very good here as the character goes through the ringer in the course of the film and Jane is up for the challenge. But he is overshadowed somewhat by a sensational performance from Marcia Gay Harden as Mrs. Carmody. She’s a sizable character in the novella but a mega force in the film and the actress really makes an impression. The late Andre Braugher is also very good as Brent as he makes the viewer simply want to enter the TV set and give him a slap.
All in all; I can’t say enough good things about “The Mist”. It’s impeccably made, quality writing all around, terrific acting, hugely suspenseful and atmospheric, gory and all too involving in many ways. But it’s not an enjoyable sit down and it really affects me and makes me think. Of course that’s a good thing and certainly the mark of a job supremely well done by the filmmakers.
Just to reiterate – major spoiler alert
But I just have to comment on that ending. David obviously does the unimaginable to spare his son a cruel fate and the others with him and through a cruel twist of fate is left alone…just to find out he was literally minutes away of eyeing salvation for all. It’s a cruel ending. It makes me sad…and mad. And that’s the point isn’t it? Mission accomplished.
I do like the ending in the novella better. It’s what you’d maybe refer to as a Hitchcockian open ending that leaves things unresolved. But it didn’t leave me feeling much better as you’re mind conjures some disturbing imagery as to what awaits the characters in a doomed situation. And that’s apocalyptic.
Physical Copy
My copy of “The Mist” is the 4 disc Collector’s Edition on 4K UHD and Blu-ray issued by Lionsgate Films in 2023. The A/V quality is first rate with the UHD image looking flawless and sound wise it’s superb. I’ve watched the film twice and both times in colour but maybe next time I’ll pop in the Black & White version that’s apparently Darabont’s preferred version. There are plenty of special features which include deleted scenes, a conversation between Darabont and King, a making of documentary and more. There’s also a commentary with the director which I’ve gone through and it’s a good listen.
Why physical copy?
I always encourage the acquisition of physical copies as I dread the day when films will only exist as files on computers and through streaming services. The companies that put the effort into making the discs, create new artwork or reproduce the originals, issue booklets and much more deserve all the financial support they can. Therefore I will always mention the Blu-rays or DVD’s (and yes; also if I review something streamed through Netflix or the like) even though I gain nothing from it personally.
