One of the best horror movies of all time

Rating: 10/10 (14 April 2008)

Note: I have added the "spoiler notice", even though I will not reveal the ending. I will mention its impact on me, though, which, for some, might already count as a spoiler.
It is so difficult to get a horror movie right. Quite often, in my opinion, the idea of the horror subject is more frightening than the execution. This applies especially to haunted house stories. But here.... I have to confess, I have rarely ever felt horror as strongly as I did while watching this movie.
I haven't read the novella on which the movie is based, but after watching the movie I listened to a radio dramatization and read some stuff on the net and from that I gather that the movie follows the story pretty closely, mostly deviating from it at the end by adding a coda.
The story starts quickly, driving the plot forward and the tension builds up gradually. What I really like about the movie is that while there is the "attack - pause - attack - pause"-rhythm that is typical for horror movies, there is no denouement here in the pauses. While the monsters "plan" their next attack, it is the humans who drive the action further and in many ways, the story that unfolds here is much more frightening than the monster attacks. The monster stuff is there for the blood and gore, the human story provides the real terror that leaves you chilled. It is this rare combination of different kinds of horror that makes this movie stand out so much.
The characters are also completely believable. There is only one scene in which a character seems to react the way he does because of the genre conventions. This is when Mr. Norton strictly refuses to go back to the warehouse to look at the remains of a monster. I felt this to be the only forced moment in the movie where the reaction was not natural, but had to be like this to keep the movie and the tension going.
Mrs. Carmody is a pretty risky character that could easily have gone wrong. But with this script and especially through the outstanding performance of Marcia Gay Harden she remains credible and real. I can't believe how many people view this as bashing of religion or Christianity. Mrs. Carmody in my opinion is not a symbol of religion but of orthodoxy and radicalness. If a Christian is offended by her portrayal, I think he should probably check his own motives.
Now, for the ending... What an incredible, courageous, terrifying, ruthless ending. When I watched the movie in the theater I couldn't believe what I was watching. This ending, while it is just the icing on the cake, is what will make this film be remembered for a long time. I can completely understand why people hate this ending. It goes against movie conventions (if you haven't seen the movie: don't worry, it is not an open ending, the story gets completely resolved) and will crush you on the floor without picking you up. This part you will have to do on your own. The point is, that this is not just a sad ending, but it stresses the unnecessarity of the actions the main character has taken. And by then giving us just a short look into the face of a woman who had taken a chance early on in the movie and was supposed to be dead but had instead survived, it makes everything even more unbearable.
Usually, when a hero dies in the end or something sad happens to him, there is always some sort of closure that what he did was right or that he was a hero of some sort. "The Mist" denies the viewer this feeling. Instead, it leaves us with a feeling of deep deep pain and uselessness. People who hate the ending and maybe feel betrayed by it, probably mostly hate the fact that they have been lured into identifying with the supposedly wrong character. This guy is not an everyman who goes out of the story with his head held high, but one who makes a mistake, an understandable mistake, that will ruin him forever.
A great movie!