"Mist" the Point

Rating: 7/10 (26 November 2007)

I had a 5-hour layover in Hartford recently, during which time I purchased Cheddar Chex-Mix, Grape flavored Dasani water, and a paperback of Stephen King's "The Mist," which I enjoyed thoroughly, as I do with most King books. He paces his action well enough that the jolts of excitement and terror come at just the right moments in increasing ferocity until he reaches a mind-blowing climax and a fitting conclusion.
So, naturally I was eager to see Frank Darabont's adaptation, having seen nothing but good things from this talented screenwriter/director. And yet, I come back from the theater disappointed, something I was praying not to be in the times between the action sequences. I did like the movie and audiences will too, but my opinion of it sank like a rock during the last five minutes; the ending was completely botched.
But onto the good: After a storm for the record books, in which trees fell on and through houses, David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his son take a trip to the supermarket to pick up supplies, bringing his not-so-neighborly neighbor Brent Norton (Andre Braugher) along and noting the unusual mist forming over the lake, coming ever closer...
And then, as promised, we get the monsters. They come in droves, of all shapes and sizes, inspired by the creepy-crawlies that haunt children's dreams and their parents' pantries. Though sometimes the CGI seems out of place, most of the time it works quite well, and sometimes what we do not see is much scarier, as the mist only allows about five feet of visibility. It is a most impressive mist, flowing just unnaturally enough to make one uneasy about breathing, touching, or even looking at it.
Even more impressive than that, however, are the performances. All of the characters seem genuine in their motivations as they go from confused to scared, panicked to fanatic. Norton's denial of the entire situation seems a little contrived, but I'll forget that in a heartbeat when I see the religious insanity of Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden), which translates so well from the book that what sympathy I felt for David and his posse I felt double in hatred for her.
So, good performances, great story, nice special effects, terrible ending. I would not dream of ruining either this film or the book for anyone, although those who have read the book will find a reference to the ending in the first paragraph of this review, but I will say this: King concludes his novella with a self-described "Hitchcock Ending," one fitting enough to satisfy an audience but still open to interpretation, aka "The Birds." Now, however, Darabont feels the need to tie everything together, and with the sacrifice of that conclusion, the movie is left without a point. Looking back, though, the movie works as a whole, but I wish that I had walked out about five minutes earlier.