The Mist (R)
Frank Darabont and Stephen King have had a relationship for years now. First Darabont adapted Stephen King’s The Shawshank Redemption. The film raked in so much (well deserved) critical praise that they thought they would team up again for The Green Mile. The film didn’t garnish as much love as the previous film, but it had its moments. Now, with The Mist, Darabont takes on putting up on the big screen a story that represents what the bulk of Stephin King’s career has been devoted to: horror.
The Mist centers around David Drayton, a comic book artist. David is a loving husband and father. After a terrible storm, the family–his wife and only son–wake to find their small town ripped to shreds by the winds. Off in the distance, slowly creeping across the service of their lake, is a menacing fog. “Strange.” David’s wife says. “Fog never appears on the lake.” Leaving the wife at home, David takes his son into to town to get some supplies. But while they are shopping, the fog envelops the whole town. A man comes in screaming, saying that there’s “something in the mist”. And thus, the horror begins.
What follows is both a relentless fright-fest, as well as a statement on mob mentality and moral ambiguity.
The cast proves to be very strong, the most famous actor here being Thomas Jane from The Punisher. Everyone is convincing not only as victims, but as people, now terrified of the town they once knew like the back of their hand, now shrouded in the unknown.
The only problem with the film is Darabont’s ending. I refuse to give anything away, but the shocking, fatalistic and ultimately hopeless finale may leave some with a bad taste in their mouth, but the ride along the way still warrants repeated viewings.
