Many years ago, I was quite impressed by Stephen King’s novella, “The Mist,” part of the stories collected in “Skeleton Crew.” I knew above all it would translate into a great movie. I had missed the theatrical release of the film (in 2007) and now finally had the opportunity to catch it on DVD.
Note: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR THE FILM – PLEASE DON’T READ FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WISH TO KNOW THINGS ABOUT IT!
With perpetual apologies for my lack of work ethic, please see the imdb.com ploy summary below…
A powerful thunderstorm unleashes a mist that envelops a small Maine town. Dozens are trapped inside a supermarket knowing that in the mist are horrible creatures which feed on humans. Being stranded takes its psychological toll. The trapped shoppers split into 2 camps: those who believe it is an act of a vengeful god who demands human sacrifice and those don't. Based on a rather long short story by Stephen King, long considered one of his scariest.
And my laundry-list thoughts….
It’s What You Don’t See: this one proves that oftentimes it’s better NOT to see the menacing creature, especially when your horror film centers around things residing in a mysterious mist. When John Carpenter was more subtle than you (see “The Fog”), you know you need to cut back on the creepy crawlies…I felt like I was watching “Starship Troopers” at times…
The Actors: Thomas Jane is probably the only actor who could play a murderous vigilante or a male hooker and still retain his soccer-dad charm. It definitely works for him in this role. Andre Braugher steered a plotline that could have become an empty and cliched comment on race relations into a comment on rural suburbs and obnoxious weekend New Yorkers – much more interesting. But the MVP of this film is almost certainly Marcia Gay Harden…
Mother Carmody: Harden’s Mrs. Carmody needs to join the pantheon of great King villains, especially fellow raving fundamentalist zealot Margaret White, poor Carrie’s mom. Harden and the writers gave this character nuances of subtlety missing in King’s prose. I noticed this with “Misery” too – on the page, both Mrs. Carmody and Annie Wilkes start out as ugly vicious beasts…there’s never any doubt, any build-up to their monstrousness. In the film. Mrs. Carmody went from the harmless crackpot you try to ignore at the local grocery to the religious leader of a burgeoning new society, someone with the absolute power of life and death.
Some people might groan and say ‘another stereotypical negative portrayal of Christians, ho-hum.’ But consider: if you are someone trapped in that supermarket, how do YOU know the scenario in “The Mist” isn’t exactly what Mother Carmody says it is? If very little around you is making sense, why wouldn’t her logic be sound? This sociological disintegration element was one of the best parts of the film
The End: Now then – those of you in the know about “The Mist” have probably heard that the ending of the film is radically different to that of the movie, and may even get the title of my post. Yes, in fact, the film’s ending is downright depressing, and I thought pointlessly so. If you wanted to take it down a dark route, you had the perfect plot device in the Biblical human sacrifice. But as it stands, it’s a nihilistic statement that added nothing to story or theme.
TIP:
Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Comments