While Dennis dazzles you with his review of the magical musical Disney flick "Enchanted," here's my take on another recent release that couldn't be more different...The Mist.
Based on the novella by Stephen King, The Mist is a claustrophobic horror/thriller starring Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, and Andre Braugher.

The director is Frank Darabont, a seasoned King-veteran responsible for "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Green Mile." However, those two acclaimed films are in stark contrast to Darabont's latest work; while those two are both optimistic views on humanity both set in prisons, The Mist is incredibly, even shockingly depressing and pessimistic. The ending alone could go down as either one of the best horror movie endings ever or one of the worst, depending on your view.

Jane plays David Drayton, an artist living with his wife and young son Billy (played surprisingly well by newcomer Nathan Gamble) in rural Maine. Following a freak thunder storm, David and Billy head to the town grocery store with their out-of-towner neighbor (Braugher) to pick up some supplies. When they reach the crowded supermarket, a strange mist suddenly approaches, and a man covered in blood runs into the store claiming "there's something out there."

I'm not going to give too much away, but basically the shoppers soon barricade themselves in the store while fending off the nightmarish denizens of the meteorological anomaly. While standard horror cliches soon follow as the shoppers begin to be picked off one by one, the survivors separate in several factions: the skeptics who refuse to acknowledge what's happening (led by Braugher), those who are simply trying to survive (including Drayton and son, and a colorful cast of supporting characters), and a fanatical sect who believe the mist is the coming of a Biblical apocalypse.

I won't say anymore of this last group, as what they do throughout the over 2 hour film is just as if not more horrific than the monsters themselves. The best part of the film is also found in this group; Harden plays the sect's leader, crazy Mrs Carmody, the "town eccentric." She not only steals every scene she's in, but has some of the best one-liners in the movie.

Besides Harden and Gamble, the rest of the performances are pretty forgettable, if not downright terrible. Jane is wooden is unlikable, and the other actors are simply fulfilling horror standard stereotypes that are downright boring.
The monsters-and there are several different types- are a mixed bag. Some are downright terrifying; others are others are rendered laughable by obvious CGI special effects. However, the latter applies only to one or two of the beasties; most are scary enough and get the job done.

However, the negatives are far outweighed by the positives. The grocery store and the hysteria that ensues among the survivors create a frightening, cramped atmosphere that should constantly keep the audience on the edge of the seats. The attacks by the monsters and Harden's wackjob cult-leader lend a lot of both monstrous and human terror to the works, so while The Mist doesn't do anything to break the mold, it works within that mold very well. This is certainly a welcome relief from the recent slew of gore-fests we've been receiving lately such as Hostel 2 and Saw IV.

Translating King's work from the written word to the silver screen can be difficult; case-in-point 2003's "Dreamcatcher," also starring Jane. But Darabont does an admirable job of creating that paranoid, creepy ambience prevalent in the short story, and even throws in one or two allegories to real-life politics in the film.

In closing, many people may look at this film and simply think it's a rip off of "The Fog." But while it stays within horror-film stereotypes and doesn't offer much of anything that is new to fans of the genre, it still gets the job done. The one groundbreaking element of the film is, as I mentioned, the incredibly shocking ending. That might be worth the price of admission alone. Be warned, though; after you leave the theater, you may feel pretty depressed and in need of a nice long nap, or maybe a hug. This is pessimism at its best (or worst?) and offers a bleak outlook on humanity's ability to come together in times of crisis. And I think that's exactly what Darabont is trying to accomplish.
Score: 7/10


Posted by
Brian McCarthy