The Mist

The Mist (2007): Normally, movies based on Stephen King’s works tend to leave me a bit cold. In this case however, I must admit they did a pretty good job of making a scary movie which also tries to put some explanation to the odd goings on rather than just mentioning some sort of evil force as found in many of King’s works. The movie jumps right off after a bad storm cause a man, his son and his somewhat hostile neighbor to go to town to get supplies and try to start repairing the damage. Most of the townsfolk are there too, when a strange cloud descends on the town and soon most are convinced it isn’t too healthy to leave the store. If you have ever seen the old 50’s black & white creature feature called ‘The Crawling Eye’ you will find yourself in familiar territory. That movie had really cheesy special effects but was strongly supported by a good story and excellent performances from the B movie cast. The same can be said for this little flick but the effects are much better. The setting is a rather open grocery store that quickly turns claustrophobic when all are trapped and attacked by creatures that don’t resemble anything like the local flora or fauna.
The cast includes “A” list actress Martha Gay Harden who portrays the wacko religious nut job frequently found populating this type of flick. There is also the usual group that doesn’t believe anything is wrong and goes out and gets smorgasborded, but overall the movie does a good job setting up a bunch of average people coping with a totally unexpected set of circumstances. While the good ole US Army eventually comes to the rescue, the ending is a bit of a downer and unexpected. The most interesting part of the movie is its treatment of mob rule and man’s potential for violence. At one point some of the people trapped inside have to decide which is more dangerous, the giant bugs outside or some of the people inside. Most horror and SF fans will probably enjoy this one but those with normal tastes should probably miss The Mist. The movie is rated R for: truly icky and strange flying creatures with giant stingers, acid treated web firing giant spiders, swelling stung people with no epi-pens, a wacked wacko, attack by can of peas, ineffective flame throwing, suicidal victims, and for the generally depressing ending.