The Mist

I remember watching horror films and genuinely being scared. Lately though, I've been very disenfranchised with most horror films especially with the proliferation of shock/gore/splatter films such as Hostel 2, The latest Saw film, Captivity, etc. A while ago though, Asian horror films contributed to the progress made within a tired genre with the likes of The Ring trilogy, The Eye, Grudge, Dark Water, The Phone etc but manyof these films have been remade by their US, Hollywood counterparts and it out runs its course. Enter Stephen King's "The Mist" and I'm saying to myself - "This is why I go see films!"

With very little background provided, thrown into the plot with a huge storm knocking out power and leaving destruction in its wake, when before long we are plunged into the grocery store that becomes the setting for almost the entire duration of the film. Unlike many horror films, the characters are not two-dimensional and through their conversations with each other, we glean a lot about who they are. It helps that this is a small town where everyone knows everyone, and they all make sure each other knows this. You have to love the old retired teacher for calling you an underachiever right before you go out to risk your life against creatures from another dimension. The occupations of everyone play into the plot course too: a movie poster artist trying to tell the group that he saw tentacles attempting to pull them out into the mist; a lawyer doing his best to see the practicality of the situation and the necessity of evidence to convince him. They all have one thing in common, though, and that is the need for protection, the need for a herd to follow a leader. As Armageddon plays out on the other side of the glass windows, fear takes hold, pitting faith against rationality and morality opposite ceremonial sacrifice.

Frank Darabont (Director) who also directed Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, ought to be the only one adapting Steven King novels and short stories for the screen. He brings a human balance that's missing in most horror films these days. You can have the most unbelievable, and maybe the most ludicrous, situations and events, but if the characters are made believable and, further, peel the layers to expose fear, prejudices and vulnerability then you have the foundations for making an effective film. I was gripped by that all-too-rare-these-days sense of dread that permeates through almost every scene which left me emotionally exhausted at the end. And what an ending!!!! It's just so dark and sombre it will leave you in complete disbelief.

Overcoming any crutches that the nature of horror/thrillers bring with them, Darabont has crafted an emotionally draining piece of cinema that leaves the audience gasping for air as though they have been kicked in the stomach.

While the fights with the bug-like creatures are effective, they only play out as the first step to the battles that are soon to come. I credit all involved for keeping the tone where it needed to be in order for success.

This is an R-rated tale and it pulls no punches to that effect. Whereas most films of this ilk would take a simple route out of the carnage, we are allowed to watch all play out to its unavoidable end. Fear makes us all do that which we think we could never do and, if anything, The Mist is a cautionary tale to serve as a reminder to that one crucial and unbending fact of life.