I was really blown away!!!

Rating: 9/10 (21 July 2008)

I just watched THE MIST on DVD and I was totally blown away, by what I had just seen. First I have to say, that it was probably good, that I knew nearly nothing about this movie. The only thing I knew, was (from a TV-trailer) that it was about a father and his son, hiding with other people in a supermarket from unknown things in the mist outside.
I can tell you - knowing this was enough for me, not to go to the cinema to watch this one. The first "no-go" was the "Stephen King's" in the headline: How many good movies have you seen, that were based on King's books or short stories? One ("THE SHINING") or two ("MISERY") good ones out of thousands that were really bad. The second reason was, that the plot sounded like a bad mixture of "THE FOG" and "DAWN OF THE DEAD" (because of the supermarket...). So I first didn't even think about watching this one on DVD. - MAN, WAS I WRONG!!!!!!!!!
THE MIST is one of the best horror/thriller/whatever - let's call it "suspense-movies" I have seen in years. Not only was it gripping, nicely shot and well acted - also the development of the characters and the issues that were raised in the context (group dynamics in a closed setting under fear, the threat of religious bigots...) of this movie were really on top of its genre.
I won't say too much about the glorious but also tragic ending. I think for me it only worked so well, because (as I said) I hadn't read anything about this movie. So I was expecting something completely different (and really boring) such as a dumb end-fight or the self-sacrifice of the father. The final conclusion came totally unexpected and made the film even more worth watching (you know - dumb endings sometimes can spoil a good film in the end, or leave you with a foul aftertaste in your mouth...)!
The only thing that can be criticized, is that there is some bad cgi in a couple of scenes and that some parts could have been even more thrilling, if you wouldn't have seen the monsters (or parts of them) so early and so clearly.
To sum it up: A great movie, that I can highly recommend.