Extremely Disturbing yet Well Made

Rating: 8/10 (28 December 2007)

Before reading this review and if you're even considering seeing this movie I'm going to say this straight away; if you get queasy or are easily scarred during movies, read no further, this movie is not for you. But if you're still thinking it looks interesting, I'll tell you the plot, and then maybe you'll reconsider.
This film is based on a novella by horror mastermind Stephen King, and follows a group of people who get stuck in a supermarket after a large mist covers the entire town. At first they think it's just a harmless bit of fog but they soon find out they're dead wrong. In the mist lives creatures, horrible monsters from another dimension who one by one take someone every night and kill them. But one guy played with gritty realism by newcomer Thomas Jane is determined to get out and when he does he stumbles upon unspeakable horrors.
Still find it appealing? I thought not. Director Frank Darabont who made King's other books "Shawshank Redemption" and "The Green Mile" into masterpieces has created a grotesque, disturbing film about the things humans will resort to when confronted with fear. Kind of like "Lord of the Flies" complete with a sacrifice, which is definitely the most disturbing part in the film. And I'm not saying that this movie is badly done, no, this movie is extremely well made, and a truly horrific movie but its not because of the giant mutant bugs, but because of the characters.
In this movie is a character that, without a doubt, will become the most hated villain of the year; it's a religious lady played by Marcia Gay Harden. Though it bothered me that the villain was religious she isn't religious in a Christian sense, she's a demonic extremist who believes the only way to appease the creatures is to kill the non-believers and offer them as a sacrifice. It is truly sick and twisted.
So I don't recommend this film to anyone unless you're a gore-loving fanatic. And it doesn't even end happy, the end sequence is shocking and depressing and will make you leave the theater feeling in the dumps and like you've been pounded repeatedly with a sledge hammer.
For entertainment value I give it 2 out of 10. But for being well made, engrossing, and truly scary I give it 8 out of 10.