A bold and powerful horror film, a must for King fans!

Rating: 10/10 (6 March 2009)

Over the years Stephen King's shorter works (his short stories and novellas) haven't always made for the best big screen adaptations. Recently however King's works have been done some good justice (this year's 1408 being a fine addition) and now this stunning film version of King's novella The Mist, which may just be the best and brightest King-based film in many a day.
Following a violent storm, several residence of a small Maine town head off to the local grocery market where they find themselves trapped by a massive cloud of mist. As fear and paranoid grow among the locals it soon becomes evident that monstrous creatures lurk outside, but that's not the only threat.
The Mist is one fantastic tale of unknown terrors and human evil. Director-screen writer Frank Darabont does an excellent job of capturing the chilling effectiveness of the novella. Not only is the film pretty faithful to the original story, it also adds some effective elements of it's own, such as a jaw dropping conclusion to what was originally an open-ended story. The creature FX are gruesomely well done, the suspense and claustrophobia are quite intense, and Darabont's documentary-type camera work makes the film all the more realistic. There's also some great doses of sweat-inducing action to be had. Adding even more to the story are the well-drawn and heart felt characters, which make the film's bold climax all the more powerful.
The cast is quite good. Thomas Jane is endearing as our unfortunate hero, Marcia Gay Harden is a chilling villain as the religious fanatic, and Laurie Holden is solid as a new-comer to town. Toby Jones, William Sadler, Frances Sternhagen, and young Nathan Gamble round out a great supporting cast.
All around The Mist is a fine horror film. It isn't a schlocky, clichéd, or pretentious popcorn scare fest, but an intelligent and deadly serious journey that possesses far more than just gore and shock. It has genuine depth and that alone puts it above most modern genre movies.
**** out of ****