The Mist (2007)

This Movie Is About: David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his son, Billy Drayton (Nathan Gamble) trapped in a grocery store after the worst storm in recent history. With the storm brought a strange mist into the small town and it isn't long before the people in the grocery store realize that there is something very bad in the mist. Now, David, along with a variety of different people ranging from small town hicks to out of town lawyers must work together and keep their nerves if they want to survive the creature in the mist. But the longer they spend in the grocery store, the more they realize that the real danger isn't on the outside but in the inside, and all around them.

You Should Watch This Movie Because: is you are a Stephen King then you will definitely want to watch this movie because you have no doubt read the story. It is one of his most famous short stories that has been termed "legendary" by many. The film does a great job in bringing the story to life and especially excels in creating the monster trapping the group of people in the grocery store as well as bringing out the dynamic between the groups of people. The real story isn't about them surviving the monster that is attacking them but the fear around them. It is a very interesting human condition to explore and it is explored very well in this film.

What's Hot: Watching the progression of relationships and dynamics unfold during this story was a great pleasure. Just seeing how fear changes people and their perception of the world and hope not only helps us enjoy the experience that much more, but makes us wonder what we would do in that situation. The characters themselves are distinct and very strong. I haven't sat in a movie and witnessed an entire audience cheer when someone got shot. It's that type of unified response by an action that shows great character development. This film is a horror movie so let's talk about that. The atmosphere is creepy and unsettling and even though the gore and the scares aren't quite up to par with standard horror movies these days, this movie always puts you on edge and makes you believe that anything can happen at any time and that danger is around every corner.

What's Not Hot: When I was watching this movie and it got to the end. I was thinking "great! I'm going to give this movie a really high score." But then you know what happened? Or what didn't happen? The movie didn't end. It just went on and on. And I get it. I thought it was just because the studio wanted an ending which the short story did not provide. So I was all for a little wrap up in the end but it didn't wrap it up. Instead it took everything that the movie packaged from the beginning, spilled it on the table, and smashed it to pieces with the added on ending. I won't ruin the ending for you because it is quite shocking and disturbing. The problem with this is that the ending is not deserved. I mean, everything that this movie stands for, the message, the theme, the character motivations get thrown out the window and replaced by pure shock. In fact, I was so shocked that when my beloved ending finally arrived, I didn't want it. Instead, I wanted a time machine which can take me back 20 minutes to when it all went to hell and just walk out of the theatre.

Last Comments: The Mist does so many things right that it's very impressive as an adaptation. The atmosphere is creepy and the characters are dynamic especially put in a situation with each other. The director is really like an invisible hand guiding these characters to each other and just letting them play out as nature would have it. The monsters are great and the visuals are top notch as you would expect. I hate to smash a film for 20 minutes and just forget about the previous 100 minutes but a movie is a whole and is only as strong as it's weakest link. And that weakest link comes with the added on 20 minute ending where everything just falls apart. It's shocking and bold and something that not many people will try. I normally would not have a problem with this kind of stuff and I generally promote it in my own writing. But this ending was inorganic to the story, the theme, the characters and everything that this film was trying to say. It disregarded everything the previous 100 minutes attempted to establish and just went for the shock factor for a reason that escapes my mind. I have not seen a film fall apart so drastically in such a short time in the history of my film watching career.

Breaking It Down:
Story: 6.0 (Frank Darabont)
Direction: 8.0 (Frank Darabont)
Acting: 7.8
Cinematography: 6.5
Music/Sound: 5.5

Entertainment Value: 7.4 (not an average)