This film posits that there may be some bad stuff in the mist, but the stuff that’s inside of us can be just is bad.
Frank Darabont has to be considered the most successful adapter of Stephen King’s work. I could make the argument that Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile are not quite as great as their reputations suggest, but compared to dross like The Lawnmower Man or Needful Things, they are pretty much unimpeachable. How would Darabont fare with a horror adaptation as opposed to the straight drama or light sci-fi of those works, however? Pretty damn well, as it turns out.
The Mist is akin to an old school creature feature, the type you would go see at a drive-in when those were a thing. When a town is ovverrun by a thick mist seething with unknown terrors, a group of citizens makes camp in a grocery store. This little microcosm includes a cross-section of society, and in case you hadn’t noticed lately, some parts of society suck. Our chief protagonist is Thomas Jane, who is at the store with his eight-year-old son. He slowly bands together with a group of reasonable people and tries to weather the storm. Unfortunately, Marcia Gay Harden is convincinced that the mist is a sign of old testament armageddon, and begins rallying her own group of survivors to more nefarious ends. The central theme of what fear will drive people to do is not handled subtly, but this is a movie where giant tentacle monsters rip some people in half and basketball sized spiders spit acid at the rest – subtlety is not in its DNA. What’s fascinating is the way that theme also materializes with the film’s heroes in the much-talked-about ending. I won’t get into it, because you really should watch it unspoiled, but suffice to say it takes your breath away.
My favorite thing about The Mist is just how much of a Stephen King vibe Darabont is able to inject into the film. Beyond the New England setting and the fascination with spiders, the movie just feels like a King work. I know that Darabont expanded what was essentially a short story and introduced a lot of his own elements (including that unforgettable ending), but there is no mistaking these characters for the work of any other author. As someone who started reading King in middle school, that familiarity makes the movie a really fun, almost nostalgic experience. This is a must-watch for King fans who are desperate for a big screen adaptaion that does the author justice, but it should be plenty enjoyable for your average horror fan, as well.
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