Very disturbing with a shocker of an ending that was surprising to say the least

Rating: 8/10 (25 November 2007)

Based on Stephen King's short novel from his Skeleton Crew collection of stories, The Mist, as directed by Frank Darabont, follows Stephen King's story very closely and was a very good adaption. It was not the greatest King story brought to the screen, that would likely be the Shawshank Redemption by this same director and Carrie back in 1976 by Brian DePalma, but it does the job it set out to do with a twist on the original story's ending which will surprise a few and likely disappoint others. I kind of liked the ending a little, but I will not spoil it for anybody who will see it.
After a freak storm, which knocks out all power and phone lines and destroys some things, a strange Mist follows in it's wake. Looking at this Mist you would see that there is nothing normal about it. David Drayton (Thomas Jayne) takes his young son and a neighbor into town for supplies. During this time they hear sirens going off and see Military trucks driving passed. Soon after this, a man comes running into the store yelling that "there's something in the mist" and explains how something in the mist took his friend. People start to panic, and it is around this time that the mist sweeps into the parking lot and quickly envelops everything. The build up is perfect as the human element begins to break down slowly. The first creature is seen only by a few who are doubted at first, but then when some doubters decide to walk out into the mist for help, it is not long after before other people realize that there really is something out there, and it's more than just one thing, and these things are all bloodthirsty.
I loved the pacing of this film and the way Darabont ups the ante by showing us what happens to people when they no longer feel safe. You see the creatures are scary themselves, especially some nasty creatures in the next door pharmacy, but the behavior of mankind when not in control of their surroundings is much worse. Mrs. Carmody (in an over the top but excellent performance by Marcia Gay Harden) as the religious fanatic is quite effective, and the way she draws followers to her as things start spiraling out of control is utterly terrifying because it is likely the way many people would react in such circumstances.
The acting for the most part was pretty good, but there were times when I felt as if the actors were forcing it. Thomas Jayne has a scene or two like this, but otherwise he did pretty good as the lead. Besides Marcia Gay Harden, I was also impressed with Laurie Holden who played Amanda Dumfries, and Toby Jones who played the heroic Ollie. However there were a few scenes, mostly in the beginning, where the dialoque seemed a little hokey. For the most part this improved as the movie went on.
The special effects were quite effective as well. I was impressed with all of them, but the scene in the pharmacy next door was to me the scariest and queasiest of them all. I talked about it above already. Also, most of the creations in this movie would fit in any H.P. Lovecraft story. I believe that was where King got the inspiration for writing this story anyway.
Of course there are deaths, some will come as surprises and some you will know coming before they actually do. The gore factor is not over the top like in the Saw movies or Hostel. This is more a scary film then a gross out film, and I found it to be better then all the Saw and Hostel movies.
I will not discuss the ending much. It will come as a shocker, and like I stated earlier, some will be disappointed and some won't. I thought it was rather ballsy for a director, and I commend him for not leaving it ambiguous like the King story, which I felt was also good. That's all I have to say about the ending though.
Overall the movie is very effective and will have you thinking about it after you leave the theater. It's not up their with Alien, ALiens, The Exorcist, or Halloween (the original Carpenter version), but it comes close to matching 2005s The Descent as one of the better horror films to come out in the past couple of years. Enjoy it at your own risk.