I'd read the Stephen King novella that this was based on before watching the film, so I had some idea of the events to come. However, seeing them played out like this is an incredibly different experience to reading words on page, and while The Mist could certainly have benefited from a budget deserved of its 'unspeakable terrors in the mist' premise, writer/director Frank Darabont examines the human side of the apocalypse with tact and genuine emotion.
After a vicious thunderstorm damages his home, David Drayton leaves his wife to head into town with his son and pick up some supplies. While in the local supermarket with many other grocery seeking residents, an all-encompassing mist rolls over the town, and when a man runs in terrified and shouting about 'things in the mist', people get a little tense. When it's established beyond a reasonable doubt that there are indeed deadly, other-worldy creatures hidden in the dense fog with a knack for butchering the human race, relationships in the supermarket get strained. Camps develop, representing the extreme religious response to the end of days, our more realistic protagonist and his survival focused friends and finally those in utter denial of their reality. As the body count rises, those in the supermarket begin losing their minds and our hero has to find a way to survive the ordeal with his family together.
Thomas Jane owns the show here as Drayton - a man out of his depth who has to maintain appearances for his son, and somewhat for his own sanity. He's fiercely protective but incredibly tender towards his son, and his role is written particularly well. Darabont's script is spot on in its characters and their development - the political camps that form play off each other nicely, and particularly affecting is the local mechanic Jim's transformation from hard man to religious convert following his traumatic experiences. The camera is another highlight - the movement seems to pre-guess everything that the viewer wants and adapt to it, and also manages to capture some properly horrifying stuff, like the overhead tracking of the military Private as he's dragged out into the mist by the fanatics.
With everything in the film considered, it's the ending that still manages to haunt most of all. While very different to the book, it's so damn bleak that you can't help but decay inside at the horrors displayed. While yes, a little more of the old studio monies wouldn't have hurt, Darabont and Co. have crafted an effective and thought-provoking horror film - 3 out of 4 tentacles.
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