The Kind of Excellence You Should Expect

Rating: 10/10 (11 December 2007)

Yet another King/Darabont collaboration. If you've seen the trailers, then you know the premise. A mist encompasses a small Maine town containing hordes of unknown, man-eating beasties. We follow a supermarket full of people as they try to deal with the situation. That's all the set-up you need.
This is the best film in theatres that no one is talking about. After having been out for three weekends, it has yet to crack the top 5 in the US box office. Amateur and professional critics alike are undeservedly pegging this film as a monster movie. Yes, there are monsters in this movie, but this bill of fare is not simply cheap schlock. There is much more going on here than cheap scares and flesh-ripping gore, and from what I can tell, that seems to be the biggest complaint.
"The monsters aren't scary enough," "The special effects don't look good." "I didn't like the ending, it's depressing."
That's the difference between this film and the bubble-gum horror that audiences have been subject to and come to expect from the genre for far too long. This movie isn't about the gore, it doesn't need cheap scares and squirms to frighten the audience. This isn't Saw. It doesn't need hyper-realistic CGI monsters to be frightening. That isn't what is supposed to scare you. It's fluff.
This movie is about the demons within mankind. Sure that sounds trite and at times it is, but that doesn't negate the fact that it's still a true and effective theme in literature and film. This movie is about what fear can do to the Average Joe when there is no one to enforce the rule of law. This movie is Lord of the Flies in a supermarket with a backdrop of Lovecraftian paranormality. That's why it's so effective. You could change the venue and the outside threat and this story would remain as poignant and powerful as ever. This is the kind of social commentary that is especially pervasive and effective in this genre of film and literature. This story ranks with Planet of the Apes and Fahrenheit 451 and I think it will be remembered with a similar fondness for a long time to come.
Forget the imaginary monsters on the outside. Be scared of the very real monsters on the inside.
This is the best new film I've seen in years. Go see it.