The Mist

The Mist (2007)

Director: Frank Darabont

Cast: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, William Sadler, Jeffery DeMunn, Frances Sternhagen

Writers: Frank Darabont (screenplay), Stephen King (novel)

Synopsis:

After a violent storm knocks out power in a small Maine town, local man David Drayton (Jane) heads into town with his son, Billy and his neighbor Brent Norton (Braugher) for supplies. On the way they notice that a heavy mist begins to envelop the town. While at the market, frantic local Dan Miller (DeMunn) warns those in the store that it's no ordinary mist and that dangerous creatures live within it. For safety, the store manager locks the doors and those trapped within must deal with both the supernatural threats living in the mist and the growing paranoia living within the grocery store.

First Impressions:

This is the first movie I've reviewed on this blog that I have no nostalgic connection to. I didn't see it when it was released in 2007 (I'm not even entirely sure I was aware of it). I had caught bits and pieces of it here and there on TV but I hadn't seen it in its entirety until just a few years ago on the recommendation of a friend from work. When I finally did watch the whole film, I was pleasantly surprised, especially since I'm not normally one for horror flicks. In my mind, though, this movie almost plays off more like a science fiction thriller than true horror, but I'll get to that later. One item of note, my preferred version of this film is the black & white version included in the special edition blu-ray but for purposes of this review, I watched the original color version.

Story/Direction:

"Don't go out there! There's something in the mist!"

First things first, I've never read the novel that this movie is based on, nor have I read anything written by Stephen King. It's not like this impacts my ability to review the film or anything, it's just that I won't be referencing any differences between book and film. Anyway, onto the story. 

As I mentioned above, I look at this movie more like science fiction than I do a straight up horror. The reason for this is that, like any good sci-fi movie, this film uses a fantastical set of circumstances to explore the human condition. In this case, how human beings respond to pressure and fear of the unknown, as well as the dangers of mob mentality. I found the themes that the film explores especially poignant considering the state of current internet culture. In the movie, the people trapped inside the grocery store are whipped up into a frenzy by the unstable Mrs. Carmody (Harden), who is initially viewed by those around her as merely a religious wingnut, but as things go from bad to worse, manages to brainwash most of the store with her proclamations that the mist is a sign of the end of days. However, Drayton remains one of the few who aren't swayed by Carmody's preaching and - along with a few others including Amanda (Holden), Irene (Sternhagen) and Ollie Weeks (Jones) - try to figure a way out of their situation.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention how fond I am of Darabont's writing and directing. He just plops the audience right into the story and doesn't feel the need to use lengthy prologues or text to provide us with a background of what's to come. Once again, he TRUSTS his audience. He realizes that part of the fun in a movie like this is trying to figure out what's going on and the audience can't do that if they're being spoon-fed everything beforehand (if you haven't noticed yet, this is a pet peeve of mine). 

I should also take the time to mention the ending of this movie (don't worry, I'll try not to spoil it if you haven't seen it). Simply put, the ending to this movie is gut-wrenching. It's one of the main reasons, I think, that the film didn't do as well critically or financially as it could have. In my opinion, though, I think it's a great ending and it really underscores the theme in the film of how humanity deals with fear, paranoia and despair. I'll say no more than that, just in case some of you haven't seen it and want to go in somewhat fresh. 

Acting:

Darabont has a knack for putting together great casts and this movie is no different, which is particularly noteworthy considering there really isn't an established "movie star" anywhere to be seen. As is my wont, I generally highlight a few performances that stick out for me and for this film, I'd like to start with Thomas Jane. It's a real shame that Jane didn't really morph into the leading man that everybody expected him to because he's a hell of an actor. As David Drayton, he plays your average everyman stuck in a completely insane situation and he's able to switch between confusion, terror and despair very well.

William Sadler also deserves props for his turn as Jim, the dim-witted maintenance man. I've been a fan of Sadler ever since I saw him as Death in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. He's just one of those character actors that blend in with whatever roll he's given and in this film he shows great range.

However, I think the most notable performance in this film is Marica Gay Harden. At the time, she was probably the most well-known actor of the bunch with the rest being either up and comers or career character actors. Harden portrays Mrs. Carmody as suitably unhinged, which progresses to downright deranged as the movie progresses. I'm not sure what preparation, if any, she did for the role but it seems like she took a lot of inspiration from famous cult leaders of the past. A terrific performance overall.

The rest of the cast, including DeMunn (who is always great), Jones and Sternhagen all do well in their respective roles, in a film where it would be really easy to turn the ham up to 11.

Visual/Special Effects:

Oh dear. The special effects. Despite my earlier praise of the movie's direction and acting, the special effects are...iffy. This is a film that required a great amount of CGI work to create the supernatural creatures that inhabit the mist. Unfortunately, the film was made at a time when CGI was still experiencing some growing pains and could be very inconsistent from one film to the next. When you compare the CGI in this film to a movie like The Lord of the Rings, which was made more than half a decade earlier, you can really see that not all CGI was created equal. That's not to say that any of the CGI work looked particularly bad or anything, it's just that many of the creatures just looked like they'd fit a bit better in a video game rather than a live-action movie. One of the reasons I prefer the black & white version of the film is that it seems to hide a bit of the more shady CGI effects. However, I should point out that the creature design overall was very good, with many of the critters in the movie looking fairly cool and original.

While the digital effects in the film were lacking, the practical effects were terrific. Being a Stephen King movie, there was lots of gore effects, which were all done very well. Throughout the movie people are poisoned, eaten, burned and partially dissolved by acid, all of which look pretty good, if not terribly realistic. The mist itself was also wonderfully done and provided terrific atmosphere. I'm not sure if it was done practically or digitally but it set the mood right and was almost a character in and of itself. 

Score/Music:

The score, done by Mark Isham, wasn't terribly memorable as far as I'm concerned. It wasn't bad, nor did it take me out of the film at any point but most of the time I didn't even know it was there. Of course it also fails Little Wooden Boy's first criteria of a good movie score in that I have yet to find myself absent mindedly humming it to myself in the shower or in the car.

Action:

There's not a ton of action in this movie, in fact the film is more about raising tension than pure action. That's not to say there isn't any, it's just not the focal point. The few action scenes that are in the movie are shot well and clearly, as Darabont avoids using the quick-cut, jerky cam style of filming that was popular at the time (and still is, somewhat). There's nothing really about the action that stands out as either bad or good, it's just really not that kind of movie. 

Final Verdict:
Despite some questionable CGI, I still enjoyed the movie. Not so much as a horror film but as a look into the darker side of the human psyche.