Movie Review – The Mist (2007)
Something is in the mist.
Something horrible, something terrifying, and something that is not from this dimension.
The Mist (based on Stephen King’s short story of the same name) takes place up in Maine. The morning after a terrific storm, the Drayton family awakes and surveys the damage to their home and property. David Drayton (Thomas Jane) takes his son, Billy (Nathan Gamble), and neighbor, Brent Norton (Andre Braugher), into town to grab some needed supplies.
It’s the town’s grocery store where most of the movie takes place. The town’s emergency siren blares, and shoppers watch as every emergency vehicle in town goes flying up the road. They also watch as a thick mist approaches them, cutting back the visibility and nearly blocking out the sun.
Moments later, a local man comes running into the store, bleeding and absolutely horrified. His warning is simple: something is in the mist, and it ain’t friendly.
The Mist (2007) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
The approaching mist quickly sweeps through the parking lot and envelops the store. A massive tremor shakes the building, terrifying the shoppers. As power is still out from last night’s storm, the shoppers quickly lock the doors, sealing themselves indoors. It’s after the store’s stock boy ventures outside and is killed do the shoppers barricade themselves, setting the stage for the siege against the unknown.
The big questions remain, what is inside the mist, and can anybody help them?
The Mist (2007) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
One of the shoppers, Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden), is certain that the mist is the start of a biblical Armageddon. Others aren’t so sure. And still other people are skeptical that anything horrible is out there at all. Those skeptics leave the safety of the store, and their fate can only be guessed by those who remained behind.
The Mist (2007) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
That very night some of the monsters pay the store a visit.
At first the shoppers see small flying creatures similar to large mosquitoes. They land on the stores windows, attracted to the lights being powered by a generator. But as the shoppers quickly see, larger flying monsters come swooping in to eat the smaller ones. In the process of eating their prey, some of them break the stores windows and start attacking the shoppers.
The Mist (2007) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
After the nighttime battle, Mrs. Carmody continues with her religious tirade, gaining supporters as the scenes emerging from the mist become more and more evil. Her strength gains over the next two days of the siege. She transforms from a quiet shopper into a fanatical leader who gladly offers human sacrifices to the monsters in the mist.
The Mist (2007) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Can David and Billy Drayton survive the chaos inside of the store? Can they and their friends escape from Carmody’s wrath and the monsters in the mist? Is there any hope for anybody trapped inside the store?
As a whole, The Mist is a fantastic movie.
From the unknowns of the mist to the horrific and bloodthirsty creatures, this movie delivers. In addition to the extra-dimensional beings, we also see the terror of survival within a state of siege. You’ll see people slowly transform into monsters themselves, doing whatever it takes to assure their own survival.
It’s that evil transformation of seemingly “average” people that adds a new dimension of horror into The Mist. It’s one thing to be trapped in a relatively calm situation and just waiting for help. But when leaving the store is suicidal, horrific-looking creatures are trying to break in there and kill you, and you have no idea if any rescuers even know that you’re there, that’s when the people trapped can become brainwashed, homicidal, and just plain crazy.
The Mist was made with a relatively small budget compared to many movies today. It’s most evident when you see the monsters as some of the CGI effects just aren’t convincing. But even with a small budget, The Mist is powerful when it comes to storytelling, which is the heart of the movie.
My main issue with The Mist occurs at the end during part of the ending that keeps everybody talking. David Drayton is an idiot. He’s way to quick to “solve the problem” before waiting until absolutely all hope is lost.
I love this movie. It moves at a fast pace, the characters are mostly believable, and some of those monsters are just plain freaky. I’d say that the spiders in the neighboring drug store are the scariest of the monsters. <shivers at the thought of them> Throw in the concept of a secret military experiment involving looking into other dimensions, and there you go. From science-fiction to horror to an old fashioned monster movie, The Mist delivers.
The Mist (2007) – movie trailer
Only from the twisted mind of Stephen King can something as simple as a harmless meteorological event become a tale of fear and absolute horror.
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This article was originally published at www.chamberofreviews.com on March 5, 2012.