The Mist

Title: The Mist
Director: Frank Darabont
Cast: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Andre Braugher
Year: 2007
MPAA: Rater R for violence, terror and gore, and language.
Date of Review: November 24, 2007

Every few years there’s a horror movie that comes along and becomes an instant classic. Probably 1 in 5 of those then moves up the ranks once again, to become a horror movie that people will remember for years to come. Fathers and uncles will secretly pass down the recommendation to their sons and nephews, who will sneak off to Blockbuster and rent this old, worn out copy of the movie they were told was “really scary” back in 2007. I know this will happen because it’s how I came across so many of the classic horror films I did as a kid. My uncle and dad would talk about movies with me and discreetly hint (“oh, The Exorcist is on TV - that’s a really scary movie”) different titles I should look for the next time I’m out.

And when looking back at the films that are remembered so fondly, it’s true that fear of the unknown must be our greatest fear, because that’s the theme that unites a lot of these movies. In Robert Wise’s The Haunting, a building sense of dread is created without showing any ghosts or goblins - we are terrified by the idea of what could be there. Similarly, in the still-frightening films of Alfred Hitchcock, it’s the fact that we don’t see tons of blood, guts and gore that scares us so much. So why is it that Frank Darabont has been able to achieve a pitch-perfect blend between subtlety, and “showing the monster”?


It’s funny to be writing all of this after recently having a discussion with some friends about Cloverfield, and the rumors regarding the possibility that the gigantic...um...whatever will never be shown, and whether that is going to work or not. Some say that because the nature of human fear resides so strongly around the unknown and unexplained - therefore making the more minimalist approach of not showing the monster more effective - that it should remain a mystery. Others, however, just want to be shown the monster, and be blown away by a gargantuan beast causing death and destruction. But, again, why is it that Darabont has managed to create a movie that appeals to both the lovers of psychological horror, and of seeing monsters kill and be killed?

Darabont obviously has a knack for storytelling. He knows how to make people mad, how to tug at their heartstrings without feeling preachy or manipulative, and has now shown that he knows how to scare us. With The Mist, a story is being told - in typical Stephen King fashion - within a story. Amidst the world’s end, a “Lord of the Flies” type scenario occurs, as some people go mad and others show incredible compassion. Some seem born to follow in the footsteps of whoever offers the easiest solution, and others feel they must do what they see as being morally right and just. As the monsters on the outside get bigger, so do the monsters on the inside of this microscopic society in a grocery store.

The film contains many signature Stephen King moments - scenes that are so utterly depressing or so morbid and violent that the audience’s reaction may be to laugh. Some people at my showing laughed, yet at the end those very same people walked out saying how much they loved it, and how scared they were. When a film pushes you so far that you don’t know whether to laugh or scream, that’s really saying something. The ending will no doubt be polarizing - perhaps even more so than that of another of this year’s controversial releases, Gone Baby Gone. And that’s not a hyperbolic statement at all...the ending to this film will no doubt cause some to despise the rest of the film. But they’ll never forget it, and so they too will probably end up recommending The Mist to one of their children, exclaiming how “that movie was great, up until the ending.”

If you’re a fan of Stephen King. If you’re a fan of horror movies. If you’re a fan of H. P. Lovecraft. If you just want to see a very good movie that will also scare you silly, do yourself a favor and see The Mist. It’s going to be a classic - you can count on that. And you can be the one telling people in years to come that you saw it in the theatre, and “that’s when they made really scary movies.”

9 / 10