The Mist

Directed by Frank Darabont, The Mist, based on a short story first published in 1980, is the latest in a long line of Stephen King adaptations (1408, starring John Cusack was released earlier this year). It is Darabont’s third King adaptation, and follows his adaptations of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, arguably two of the most successful adaptations of Stephen King stories.
Following a violent storm, a small town in Maine is enveloped by a strange mist. Local artist David Drayton (Thomas Jane), and his young son Billy (Nathan Gamble) head to a local supermarket, along with most of the town. Suddenly, a blood-soaked man stumbles through the doors, claiming that there is something in the mist. And it’s killing people. One brave soul leaves the supermarket with a rope tied around his waist, to retrieve a gun from his car. The rope returns with only the lower half of his body attached. So far, so gory.
However, the real horror is not the creatures outside the supermarket, it is the situation inside. The film largely focuses on the people trapped inside the supermarket, and the relationships they form. While The Mist is an effective horror film, with truly gruesome monsters, it is also a study in how people behave in extreme situations.While the ensemble cast, including British actor Toby Jones, delivers believable performances, Marcia Gay Harden (Mystic River) is particularly outstanding as Mrs Carmody, a religious fanatic who becomes more and more deranged as the film progresses.
The weakest element of the film is the monsters. Although the special effects are generally impressive, with some genuinely creepy shots of the monsters lurking in the mist, one shot near the end of the film is particularly awe-inspiring, there are a few instances of less-than-realistic close-up CGI.
The original music was composed by Mark Isham, however, the film is only lightly scored, and the silence only adds to the eerie feel captured by Darabont.
The film is largely faithful to the original story. However, Darabont spends more time than King explaining the origin of the mist and the monsters, which is neither necessary or particularly scary. Darabont also changed the ending dramatically.Stephen King said “Frank wrote a new ending that I loved. It is the most shocking ending ever and there should be a law passed stating that anybody who reveals the last 5 minutes of this film should be hung from their neck until dead.” So I won’t.
However, set against a beautiful score (The Host of Seraphim by Dead Can Dance), the ending is powerful and emotional, and will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.