Don't expect a creepy/scary horror flick

Rating: 3/10 (26 November 2007)

The best thing about this movie are the previews and trailers that advertise it. It's an interesting premise with tremendous possibilities, but unfortunately the movie doesn't hold up to these enticements.
Don't expect a creepy/scary horror flick. The movie is based on a story from Stephen King, and it has more of a surreal/supernatural vibe like many of his other stories turned movie: "Dreamcatcher", "Storm Of The Century", "The Langoliers". These last two movies have similar story setups like "The Mist" where a group of random people find themselves pitted against some supernatural entity. However, in the "Storm" and "Langoliers" the people work together more or less and try to understand what they're up against in order to survive. In "The Mist" the curiosity factor is missing and the larger group splits into smaller factions: macho dolts, religious zealots, and the ersatz family unit plucked from the aisles of the grocery store.
The movie is predictable not only because outcomes are clearly setup on a linear path ahead of time, but also because the characters repeatedly tell you what is going to happen and then it happens just like they said. For example, a man is told not to go outside because it's dangerous and he will get killed, but he goes outside where it's dangerous and he gets killed, several people say that if something isn't done about the religious fanatic she will turn the crowd against them, but they don't do anything and she turns the crowd against them, and this connect-the-dots method of story telling goes on and on throughout the movie.
The movie pulls out all the stops and goes way over the top. It becomes very preachy like religion leads to fanaticism and the military is evil (whether there's any truth to these notions is irrelevant, it's the dumbed-down manner in which these ideas are presented that makes the movie so annoying). The characters act very stupidly too. When a group of people come under attack in the pharmacy, they continue to stand around waiting to be picked off instead of immediately running away which would seem much more realistic. Another disturbing aspect of this film is that it lacks a discernible time line; whether it's been a matter of minutes, hours or days between events is unclear. Some measure of time would have been useful in understanding the characters actions. If the characters completely give up hope after only an hour they're idiots, but if they give up after days with no hope in sight then their actions might be more understandable.
This movie saves the worst kitsch for last. Think family unit out for a Sunday drive with grandmother and grandfather in the back seat, mother in front passenger seat gently caressing a young sleeping child in her lap, and dad diligently driving. Suddenly they run out of gas. So, dad pulls out a gun, loads four bullets, and aptly blows his passengers away without the slightest objection from any of them. So much for their desire to survive. Then dad steps out of the car and is rescued by none other than the military.
Quite a disappointment.