Starring: William Sadler, Chris Owen, Andre Braugher, Nathan Gamble, Toby Jones Directed By: Frank Darabont Average Rating: Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: Color, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen Label: Genius Products (TVN) Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: March 25, 2008 Running Time: 126 minutes Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Description: A mysterious mist, thick with blood-thirsty creatures, descends on a small town, where a group of people holes up in a grocery store to fight for their lives.
Amazon.com: Writer-director Frank Darabont, who showcased the softer side of Stephen King in his film adaptations of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, turns to darker material for The Mist, his latest King adaptation about a group of ordinary townspeople trapped in a supermarket by a mysterious fogbank. Thomas Jane is top-billed as a Maine illustrator who attempts to calm the frightened shoppers, but his job is cut out for him from the get-go, first by the discovery of malevolent creatures lurking in the mist, and then by the mad mutterings of Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden), a local eccentric who calls for Old Testament-style sacrifices to appease the supernatural forces. Darabont delivers monster movie thrills and understated social commentary with equal skill, and he's well supported by his cast (which includes Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, William Sadler and Jeffrey DeMunn) and the vivid special effects by KNB EFX, which effectively mix CGI with models and stop-motion animation (the terrific monsters were designed by legendary comic book artist Bernie Wrightson). And for those curious about how the novella's downbeat ending has translated to film, suffice it to say that Darabont's conclusion is at once different and more unsettling than King's. --Paul Gaita
3 other movies in one. Major Spoilers in this review! Beware!
Although I enjoyed this movie and give it 4 stars. I can come up with all the other stories and movies this one movie copies from.
1. The Fog (Obviously) 2. Curse of the Demon (Creature from another dimension) (Dana Andrews) 3. Any Outer Limits episode that deals with creatures from other dimensions. 4. The Illustrated Man (yes, it's hard to believe, but in this movie, Rod Steiger finds that the world is going to end and decides to kill his family before this happens. He survives, but the next morning when the world should have been destroyed, it isn't, but his family is dead by his hands.)
Overall, The Mist is still a good movie despite that it's doesn't really tread new ground, but it's enjoyable.
The Mist Review I loved the movie and think it was directed very good and the actors were excellent but the ending was different and was not expected.It was a very good movie.
Brilliant ending takes the movie up a notch! The Mist highlights what Stephen King does best. Throw the characters in a scary situation and display how they react. In this story, a small town becomes engulfed in a mysterious mist that shrouds bloody death to anyone caught in it. The townspeople holed up in the local grocery store have no idea what's about to befall them when they enter in the morning, but they are soon to find out as the mist surrounds them. When they finally see a creature attempting to enter from the back room, all their fears of the unknown are realized and it's a bloody mess.
Led by artist David Drayton (Thomas Jane - best known as Frank Castle in The Punisher) the townspeople make their way through fright from inside and out. Yes, outside evil creatures are afoot, but inside the evil is just as scary as some of the people begin to fall under the sway of a nutzo religious fanatic (perversely played by Marcia Gay Hardin) into a mob mentality that, unfortunately, felt all too real.
When it becomes obvious that the saner members of their group no longer have safe haven inside the store, a small group makes its way into the Mist in hopes of eventually driving their way out of it. Not all the members make it to Drayton's vehicle, but the few who do finally have a ray of hope, even as bit by bit the creatures hidden in the Mist are revealed... until the shocking end when King wraps the story up with stunning irony and brilliance in its horror and macabre.
The creatures in the Mist outside are not the true evil. No, the true evil is within the characters populating this movie and within the circumstances that, no matter how we try to control, eventually lead us to believe some things are impossible to predict.
My thoughts:
It was quite obvious King was getting back at his most zealous religious critics with Gay Hardin's character! I had to laugh at how he tied up her storyline because, after all, characters live and die by a writer's will! The religious nuzto angle felt a little too contrived at times, but it's all redeemed for me when one big Biker dude, about to meet his own bloody fate to aid his fellow townspeople, stops at the door and says to her, "I believe in God, but I don't believe he's the bloodthirsty bastard you make him out to be." (paraphrased by me!)
Although the creatures were kind of silly at times, the ending of this movie really made the film for me. King so "went there" with his story and I love him for it even more!
4.5 of 5 from me- but mostly because of the ending, otherwise it rates a more average grade!
Took me totally by surprise There are a lot of well written, in depth reviews of this film already here. I just wanted to chime in and say that it met my ultimate criteria: it held my interest and made me care about what happened next. I agree there were no clever plot twists, but the acting of every single person was so committed and realistic that I couldn't stop watching. This was one of those flicks where a friend just put it on and said "Let's watch this, I think you might like it", and he was absolutely right. I think it probably helped that I knew nothing about it before he popped it in. I did not expect the ending, but I agree that it worked. All in all, a good story, well told, with superior supporting acting.
Not exactly a reconstitution of the Fog If you think, like I did, that this movie may have some plot elements in common with the glorious Fog, you're dead wrong. Other than the milky white stuff that permeates the lower atmosphere, that's the only similarity. Perhaps I'm to blame for my mistaken expectations, but this movie detours into a very strange place, must like From Dusk Till Dawn, where you think its a cops and robbers movie, only to realize that WHAM!!! its about something far different that you didn't see coming. Ditto here. And...that thing you didn't see coming, well, its kind of stupid. Without revealing too much, its based on a paranoid view of our government that gets out of control in a very "been there, done that" kind of way. Those familiar with King will understand quickly what's going on. So aside from the general concept being weird, some of the subplot elements are very annoying. For instance, there's a bible banging scene that goes on faaaaar too long. Listening to someone who rants on and on about who we need to repent, etc., well, I'd still have a certain religious affiliation if I found that rewarding. Luckily, I have my trusty fast forward button, as well as my car that can enjoy the cozy confines of my garage on sunday morning. Bottom line, the movie is somewhat interesting, but at 2+ hours, its a long ride that gets rougher by the minute.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
