One of the best horror films I've seen in a long, long time

Rating: 10/10 (29 March 2008)

On first impressions The Mist doesn't remotely seem like the kind of film anyone should be excited about. The Mist, what? A bit like The Fog, then. Stephen King's The Mist, oh, that makes it even worse. Directed by Frank Darabont, since when did he direct horror films? Okay, so he scripted Nightmare on Elm Street 3 and The Blob, not bad films, but not classics in any sense. Starring Thomas Jane, has anyone seen The Punisher. And, to cap it all, The Mist died a quick death at the US box office. It'll probably go straight to DVD in the UK.
The only reason I bought and watched the film was on a recommendation from a friend. He pleaded: "You have to see this film. You won't believe how good it is." So I put his judgement to the test.
And thank God. This is a great horror film. From the opening scene, Darabont sets a tone that's creepy, sinister and beautifully judged. The script is realistic, the character are believable and the direction... Darabont has almost reinvented himself. The Mist is dark, scary and even funny (intentionally). You care about the characters, the scary scenes are scary, and the whole film is carried off with an efficiency, a lack of pretension and a strong idea of what makes a good, if not great, horror film.
And the ending... how dark can you get? I can understand why this didn't do well at the box office. But neither did Shawshank Redemption...