The Mist

I like that Stephen King's unpredictability and uncompromising nature can be felt every second in the story, that the common (outdoor) enemy is sufficiently straightforward and "evil", and that it is clear from the beginning that no nonsense can emerge from the events outside. But what knocked the breath right out of me in the worst way was that in the crucial passages the story always relies on the aggressively religious motive of punishment for sins. Instead of carefully measured fear, Frank Darabont tries to crawl under your skin with mass psychoses and hits a wall. If such a gallery of bloodthirsty monsters is lurking outside, I really have no desire to listen to a threatening fanatic. Moreover, the whole film is somewhat undermined by an ending in the style of brutal finishes that change the original tone. Despair thus clashes with an unexpected twist, and the desperate mood is tainted by a sense of futility. (16/05/2008)

This adaptation is faithful to the original and yet it will take your breath away at the end. Darabont has a knack for storytelling, and the actors under his leadership give the performances of their lifetimes. Plus, Thomas Jane is suited to the role of David like no-one else. The special effects are amazing (mainly the fog, because they leave room for the imagination), in the style of Faun's Labyrinth and Hellboy. In the end, you can say what Stephen King said at the press conference: "Whoever gives it away should hang by the balls in a draft." It’ll take your breath away. (10/03/2008)

I wouldn't compare Darabont's film to a cheap horror flick, or, heaven forbid, measure it through the lens of 1950s monster movies. I think The Mist works equally well as gritty horror, and as a kind of psychological drama where rationality vs. bigotry clashes within a small circle of people. Anyway, even the rather ridiculous tentacles at the beginning didn't spoil my overall very good impression. Scary, at times decently suspenseful and with a very powerful twist at the end. And Thomas Jane finally gave a believable performance (Punisher is forgiven). I wonder what the leaders (if they saw it) of the increasingly growing creationist movement in the United States, where their pseudo-scientific doctrine is already on school curricula and whose luminaries use much the same rhetoric as the deranged, had to say about the figure of the religious fanatic Mrs. Carmody. If Darabont wanted to symbolically smack them with it, I won't hesitate to give it the maximum rating :) I'm tempted to compare it with King's novel. (12/03/2008)

This film has some intentional B-movie elements and, at the same time, deals with religious themes, reaching a mystical dimension beyond that of a traditionally conceived fantasy. Frank Darabont combines serious existential topics and Greengrass-like image authenticity with digital tentacles and attacking spiders. And with a budget of just 26 million, it beats Spielberg’s War of the Worlds. The Mist is a remarkable, impressive, somewhat intellectual and non-mainstream film with a reverse version of The Shawshank Redemption’s message about hope. In short, it is a small work that deserves great praise. (16/09/2008)

For Darabont, the notion of horror is something completely out of place, given that he can't even handle the most basic genre practices. He borrows from Carpenter here, and Cameron there, only to drape the whole thing with dialogue straight out of a dumb 1960s sci-fi movie. For two hours, the plot spins in a merry-go-round, with maybe a spindle of religious fanaticism pushing the viewer's emotions. Otherwise, except for the very end, it’s an absolutely cold, terribly long, and unintentionally stupid B-movie, which apparently got rave reviews just for the impressive ending. (08/03/2008)