" Great emotions, good effects but a little long and dull at times". (8/10)

Rating: 8/10 (22 April 2018)

The Mist film review (8/10) " Great emotions, good effects but a little long and dull at times".
The Mist is a 2007 sci-fi horror film. In my opinion it is an average horror but better as a sci-fi as it is believable, yet not consistently scary.
Plot
The plot was a basic concept but well executed to emphasise emotions and feelings, whilst maintaining tension. It was fairly consistent throughout, but enough variation in the setting, was applied to maintain interest throughout most of the movie. Themes such as racism and religion were carefully employed and likened to society of today. The people in their actions seemed to effectively mimic reality, keeping things believable in a surreal scenario.
Music
Music was absent for most of the movie. The quiet allowed emotive words to have real impact though, and the acting to be carefully observed. It was used well for eerie scenes, and seemingly impossible events were backed up with religious music. Overall the music complemented the themes of the film well.
Setting and effects
The setting was an everyday mundane location, making the events unfolding unexpected. This acted as a good surprise hook to entice the viewer to keep with the film, following the introduction. As time went on the setting became more consistent yet the strength of characters kept things interesting enough to prevent boredom.
The horror was a little too limited at times however, bearing in mind the setting and long movie length. It perhaps needed a little more shock value in places. Particularly around the 1 hour mark, I found this to be the case.
The effects for a 2007 film seemed very well done and for some peculiar life forms this did indeed feel as realistic as possible. The setting was used well to play on emotions and relationships. It also gave a sense of tension. It didn't merit the 2-hour movie duration however, which was why certain parts felt a little dull.
Emotions were not especially effective when people were busy, and seemed to die off at times. In times of tension however, or greater excitement, the emotions also became more believable. The movie ended in a slightly predictable fashion, although the strength of emotion made this really heart- felt which left me feeling that the film was definitely worth the watch.
Summary
I would recommend watching this film as a mixture of horror, sci-fi, and almost reality drama in a way. For the film however, the duration was too long and the enemies a little sparse. Certain parts needed greater excitement and more emotion. Overall this was exciting though, and capable of keeping an interested viewer throughout.