Not to be mist (sorry!)

Rating: 10/10 (9 July 2008)

Arriving in the UK a considerable number of months after it appeared in the States, this is the third adaptation by Frank Darabont of a Stephen King story (the previous two being The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile). Darabont clearly has an affinity for King, because his three films are all not only faithful to their source material, they are also excellent films (which contrasts strongly with the many, many very poor adaptations of King's material).
The Mist tells of a group of people trapped in a supermarket by a mist which has suddenly arrived from nowhere - or, more precisely, by the savage and bloodthirsty things which lurk, tantalisingly out of sight, within the mist. It is a simple, claustrophobic tale of suspense and uncertainty, one of the main features of which is that among the group of people taking refuge is one who is every bit as big a monster as those things lurking unseen outside (played wonderfully by Marcia Gay Harden).
Thomas Jane is the nominal hero (or, perhaps "everyman" is better in this case), a poster artist who, to my delight, is painting a poster as the film opens showing Clint Eastwood as The Dark Tower's Roland (a quick plug for King's Dark Tower books here!). Just as much a hero is the unlikely Toby Jones in a terrific, but no doubt undersung performance.
The monsters here are downright nasty, very well realised, and wholly convincing.
King's novella ended on a note of uncertainty. Darabont reaches that point and takes us further forward, leading to one of the bleakest endings I can recall in a mainstream movie.
This film works on all levels - horror, suspense thriller, slashfest, character study, social commentary. Well worth a couple of hours of your time if you don't mind gore and scares.