The Mist

Rating: 9/10 (24 November 2007)

The Mist is based upon the novella of the same name by Stephen King. The film takes place after a big storm where some of the townspeople gather in a grocery store and soon find out that outside of the store there are bloodthirsty creatures lurking around, so for safety they decide to stay protected in the store and barricade themselves in. However things take a turn for the worst when the store can not hold back all of the creatures and the people in the store soon realize that along with the creatures their own worst enemies are each other as well. Basically, The Mist reminded me of a type of film that would be released in the summer months because it is what I would call a popcorn film because of the action, entertainment and fun of it. The film also reminded me of a bad movie in the sense of some of it is very over the top, laughable at times, but despite this also very captivating and a joy to watch for a two hour entertaining diversion. I don't often say this, but the things that made The Mist so over the top including some of the acting and plot twists were also some of the things that added to the film's campy charm. And I never felt it was so ludicrous that it was embarrassing for the cast or the filmmakers. On the other hand there are a few strong performances in the film and the story is very intriguing and full of action and enough to keep you involved for the two hour running time and some of the effects aren't that bad either. There were also a few darker and more powerful moments injected into the film and instead of feeling awkward or out of place in an otherwise very campy film, I felt they worked and even strengthened the film in parts. What I also enjoyed was the film's character study which introduced us to many different characters and as the film goes along it also shows us their true human nature and will to survive and sometimes ending up doing terrible things to others to achieve their own survival. Basically other than a few main characters the others were mostly out for each other and the film captured realistically what it most likely would have been like in a chaotic situation like this no matter how far fetched the actual story is. I realize that I gave this film a very high rating, but it entertained me and kept my interest and because of some strong touches to the story as well as some well written characters and the fact that this is just one big popcorn film that would have been a big grosser had it been released in the summer months, so for all these reasons and if you are a fan of Stephen King or campy B movies that are a lot of fun then you probably will find something to like in this film as well.