>> MOVIES > MOVIE REVIEWS

The Mist – Spoiler Free Review

As the credits rolled, the second thought to enter my mind was a simple one. Are the Weinsteins going for the "Most Theatrical Bombs" record? Why that thought? I will get to that later. If that was my second thought, what was my first? That I shall reveal now. The silver screen started to turn black. The lights within the uncomfortably silent theater rose. The credits started to roll. Bodies, two hours still, slowly rose from their seats. Audience members quietly shambled from the screening. My fellow film critics all stood and stared at the screen, then to each other. Finally, in unison we proclaimed in so many words; "Holy f_ _k, Frank Darabont, what hath you wrought up us?" That lone question perfectly sums The Mist. Yet there is more.

So much more...

The Mist is Frank Darabont's newest Stephen King adaptation, and like his take on The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, Darabont proves he understands King better than, well, Stephen King. Darabont took King's short novella and turned an admitted homage to 50s and 60s monster movies into one of the most emotionally damaging films I've seen in years, if not ever. That isn't to say The Mist is a bad film, far from it. The Mist is simply an unending sucker punch to your soul as Darabont continues to peel layer after layer within your mind and forces you to watch your own inner beast come to life. The story itself is frighteningly simple, juvenile even. A freak storm hammers the perennial Stephen King town of Castlerock. The storm knocks out power. The storm batters buildings. The storm cuts the small town off from the world at large. Then, as the good townsfolk of Castlerock begin the rebuilding process, a mysterious Mist rolls into town, a Mist filled with beasts and demons hereto with only imagined in the mind of a pulp author from Rhode Island.

The beasts aren't the horror.

Like so many classic and effective horror films, it isn't the Mist-shrouded beasts that deliver the numbing dread; it is the horrible creatures that live within each and every one of us we must fear. To be sure, the creatures in The Mist provide the quick visceral horror and blood soaked moments in the film. However, their real power lies in their ability to remind us, constantly, that we are not true masters of our environment. As David Drayton (masterfully portrayed by Tom Jane) states early on, "we're only civilized as long as the machines keep running and someone answers when we call 911." Truer statements have never been uttered, nor perfectly rendered as they are in The Mist. As a society, we see ourselves as rational and civil. Daily, we tell ourselves that we have risen above our primitive ancestors; indeed, we claim our modern society is the near pinnacle of human achievement. (At least when we talk of scientific and technological advances). Then, the power goes out. Then, the cops don't come. Then, the fires burn without end. Then the frozen meals thaw and rot. Then, the beast comes for us. Technology fails to defend. Science fails to defend. We try to maintain airs. We try to remind ourselves we are rational beings. We try to suppress the primal instincts within.

We fail at all.

Watching this small group of survivors locked up within a Supermarket (of which a great microcosm of the American society, there is none) break into groups, tribes if you will, is both fascinating and terrifying. The Mist is as much an anthropologic film as it is a horror film. Seeing some splinter into the coldly rational, others with the wholly religious, and others still simply wishing to survive and protect their own. Whom is right? Whom would you follow? How far are you willing to go to promote your stance? These are the questions the beasts lurking in the Mist force each and every one of us to ask ourselves. Will you scoff at the notion of the supernatural and face The Mist? Will you fall to your knees and plead to a vengeful god to deliver you from sin and evil? Will you abandon the very humanity you once praised just to survive one more day? Are we worthy of calling ourselves human if we had to sacrifice so much humanity in order to survive? The Mist asks so many questions of us, the audience, questions we should never have to answer. Questions the poor souls locked in that ever-dwindling supermarket must answer, consequences be damned.

Is this film good?

That all depends on your definition of good. Is The Mist a good film from a technical stance? Yes, it is. The film isn't perfect, but the story and plot flow and the narrative is powerful. The characterization are top notch considering Frank Darabont needed to balance a rather large cast and very little set up time. Darabont literally starts the "action" within the first 5 minutes. In that 5 minutes you see where the lines will be drawn as the horror descends every deeper. The dialogue is crisp and never once feels forced. Every actor involved turns in a wonderful performance. Each one assuming an archetypal, even a primitive, role as they accept their place in this new world in The Mist. This isn't schlock horror or torture-porn. This is a return to slow build terror long lost in the American multiplex. That all being said, I don't know how often I will re-watch this film. To be sure, it will make my "must buy" list, but in the same breath it will also find its place on my "only watch once a year" shelf, along with Schindler's List, Requiem for a Dream, etc. Yes, the film affected me that deeply.

I'm not entirely sure Frank Darabont likes his audience.

How can someone who loves the audience put them through so much terror, angst, pain, and dread? Then again, Darabont did set out to make a horror film. He succeeded, beautifully and horrifically so. A little over 20 years ago, film critic Roger Ebert claimed he couldn't stand to watch James Cameron's Aliens. Not because it wasn’t a good film, but simply because the tension and fear made him physically ill. I never really understood that claim, at least on an emotional level. Frank Darabont's telling of The Mist now makes me understand. This is a terrible, wonderful, awful, beautiful, dreadful, and stunning film. Darabont never once lets up. Never. Many years ago, someone broke my heart, badly. I sat on my floor and cried for hours, pounding my fists onto the floor and screaming that God tell me why he wanted me to hurt so much. I will forever remember the feeling within my body after that event. As I stepped out of Frank Darabont's version of The Mist, that same physical feeling returned. For the first time ever, a film left me with physical discomfort.

Yes, the film is that good and that bad.

As for my second thought, I teased a few pages back. Not everyone will see this film as I see it, nor will all feel as I feel. Indeed, I doubt there is going to be much middle ground regarding The Mist. Either it will hit you like a dread-filled fist or it will bore you immensely. (I'm certain a small fraction of audiance will simply walk out, be it from fear or insult I don't know). That being said, the Weinsteins have again backed a film that will divide the film-going community. First, The Mist (in my opinion) is getting marketed all wrong. The trailers showing vile beasts attacking screaming victims will only help the opening weekend. Once people see The Mist as a film that examines the human soul, they might get turned off. Sadly, it is often the folks that hate a film that find a need to tell everyone how terrible it is. The Mist is a great film, but a great film that will probably only find an audience in the DVD market, much like Darabont's other masterpieces. Also, whom within the Weinstein company felt that The Mist was the "must see feel good Thanksgiving film"? I'm no marketing savant, but even I know this isn't going to draw people in once their bellies are full of turkey and pumpkin pie. Then again, this is the same company that released Grindhouse over the Easter holiday.

All that being said. Please see this film. Steel yourself, but see this film. Open your mind and heart to the experience. Place yourself within the characters on the screen. Ask yourself what you would do, what side would you choose? The Mist is impartial. The Mist simply is. How we, as a society and a race cope with The Mist is the true question.

And the true horror.