A Surprise Package

Rating: 8/10 (9 November 2008)

It was mostly my appreciation of Tom Jane that led me to this otherwise little-promoted Stephen King book-cum-movie, despite the fact that I'm not much of a horror buff. In respect to him I was certainly satisfied with the movie. But there's more to it than that ...
A formulaic horror movie sequence sets the premise for the film - a bunch of people trapped in a building and subject to the whim of a mysterious monster (or something). From the remainder of the film a number of points can be raised. Filmcraft-wise, the CG is not particularly amazing. The monster(s) work much better when hidden behind the mist. A number of times early on their texture doesn't really match the rest of the scene. The mist itself was used an a great way though, with enough people disappearing into it, and appearing from it to properly convey the "in here and out there" feel that the captives would be feeling. The direction was quite good with plenty of slow zooming and panning that I thought worked well.
Religion was also brought into the mix to provide a complicating element within the shop to supplement the ones outside. Apart from losing some of my faith in people, it served well to identify the required human reaction to horrific circumstances. I thought this was done a little bit too conveniently, but it didn't step over the edge, even though it went close.
The acting was reasonable without being exceptional, probably my fondness for Tom Jane leads me to think he was quite good.
The final point I'll raise deals with the end. There are comments that call is a homage to a B grade film. I thought quite different when I saw it. I felt it was a very non-Hollywood ending, that wouldn't sit well with many in the audience, and I appreciated the intent.
In summary, I wasn't expecting much and what was presented was mostly well executed (no pun intended - never mind) and the ending was enough to make it more memorable than it otherwise would have been. Definitely see it if you like horror, and no harm in watching it if you like Tom Jane either.