Parts of the film were a 10 and parts were a 1

Rating: 9/10 (3 December 2007)

Never quite seen anything like the Mist. First of all, if you see it, and anyone who has any love for good horror films needs to see this, you really must see it on the big screen. Darabont's "Shawshank Redemption" bombed at the box office and became a huge success after it was released on DVD. This is a better film in my opinion, but I am not one of Shawshank's biggest fans. However this will not gain the status that Shawshank did post it's theatrical release since the stuff that should play well on the small screen is pretty awful. Let me explain. The special effects, the creatures, the chilling scenes with them. That is the 10 part. There were several scenes that are quite frankly Alien and Carpenter's Thing type classic and you just have to see the film for that. And the message is anti-fear and how the military industrial complex instills this in us and controls us, and it is anti-evangelical for doing the same thing. I am a liberal. I agree whole heartedly with the films message, but it is so ham handed that it really becomes annoying. And Marcia Gay Harden's character could take the prize for the most annoying character ever to grace the silver screen. You don't believe for a moment anything about her character or really anything about any of the stupid symbolic characters that side with her. Bottom line is the stupid people are worse than the dumb teenagers in a slasher flick and about as believable. That being said there is lot of homage to the horror films of the 50's and even a Twilight Zone type twist that makes this a great film. But the bad parts are really really bad. I can only imagine how a politically conservative viewer would really get their bile worked up watching this.