Film Review: The Mist

"As a species we're fundamentally insane. Put more than two of us in a room, we pick sides and start dreaming up reasons to kill one another." - Toby Jones

Even after all these years, Stephen King's material continues to be an ever-flowing source of terrific horror entertainment. Based on his novella, The Mist is one freaky, thrilling, and terrifying experience that pits a handful of people (and by extension, the audience) against a plethora of some of the scariest and most unnatural monsters imaginable. The film really hammers the fear into the audience, as characters suffer some rather frightening encounters and horrific deaths. It gets even more unnerving as characters bicker and fight amongst themselves. There are some cases where you might get wound up by the characters' infighting, but it'll be the film's ending which will prove to be the most polarizing aspect. While the novella just ended inconclusively, the film pulls out one heck of an ironic twist in the last moments; it is a cold, brutal, hard-hitting finale that you'll either love or hate (and it'll either make or break the film for you).

The story is pretty simple, and not much different than something like Dawn of the Dead; it just swaps out zombies with Lovecraftian monsters. What really makes it work is, first of all, the characters, who are all adequately developed and full of emotional intensity.  You get a good feeling for who these people are and how intense their struggle for survival really is. In light of such adversity, the film also does an excellent job of underscoring the themes of civil order as it breaks down. The film ultimately becomes a microcosm depicting the end of the world, not overrun by hellish monsters necessarily, but overrun by a primal cult of irrational and fearful human beings. Between the scary monsters and the crazed humans, I couldn't tell you which one is scarier.

The film has quality photography and editing. Acting is pretty swell, and the writing matches up pretty well with the original story. This production makes the best use of its sets, props, and costumes. Some of the special effects don't hold up very well, but are imaginatively rendered. Music is pretty decent.

With its surprise ending, you'll either love or hate this film. I for one love it, and consider it one of the best Stephen King adaptations to date.

5/5 (Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Perfect | Film: Very Good)

This film appears on my Top 100 Favorite Movies list at #88.