The Mist (2007)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Frank Darabont

Writers (WGA):

Frank Darabont (screenplay)
Stephen King (novel)

Release Date:

21 November 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Stephen King's Legendary Tale of Terror

Plot:

A freak storm unleashes a species of blood-thirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole-up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.

Plot Keywords:

Mist | Supermarket | Army | Tentacle | Neighbor

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Thomas Jane	...	David Drayton
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Mrs. Carmody
Laurie Holden	...	Amanda Dumfries / Dunfrey
Andre Braugher	...	Brent Norton
Toby Jones	...	Ollie Weeks
William Sadler	...	Jim
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Dan Miller
Frances Sternhagen	...	Irene Reppler
Nathan Gamble	...	Billy Drayton
Alexa Davalos	...	Sally
Chris Owen	...	Norm
Sam Witwer	...	Private Jessup
Robert C. Treveiler	...	Bud Brown (as Robert Treveiler)
David Jensen	...	Myron
Melissa Suzanne McBride	...	Woman With Kids at Home (as Melissa McBride)

Also Known As:

Stephen King's The Mist (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, terror and gore, and language.

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour | Black and White (alternate DVD version)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

USA:R | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | Germany:16 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Australia:MA | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | France:-12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Finland:K-15 | Portugal:M/16 | Japan:R-15 | UK:15 | Ireland:16 | Sweden:15 | Spain:18 | Argentina:13 | Brazil:16 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Peru:14 | Italy:VM14 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia)

Filming Locations:

Shreveport, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Darkwoods Productions

Trivia:

Stephen King says that he was genuinely frightened by this adaption of his novel; Frank Darabont described that as the happiest moment of his career.

Goofs:

Continuity: When David is seen repeatedly beating down on one of the winged creatures in the grocery store with a mop, there is one brief camera shot that clearly shows the end of the mop still attached (it had been removed moments earlier). The next shot shows the mop without the end.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Billy Drayton: Whoa!

Movie Connections:

References The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Soundtrack:

The Vicious Blues

Classic Horror in a Post Modern age

Let me take a breath... Never have I had such a visceral physical reaction to a film... ever. Not even with Elem Klimov's Come and See. In the last fifteen minutes I was nearly physically paralyzed, and then started shaking, realizing how numb my body was... and I am dead serious. Frank Darabont's adaptation of Stephen King's novella goes heads above a 50s/60s monster movie homage. This is grade "A" chilling, terrifying, unsettling and utterly hopeless cinema in line with the most cynical and depressing classics from the 70s. The Mist itself and the monsters it brings are just the appetizer here. As all good horror should be, this explores the ultimate enemy, ourselves. In short one of the most beautiful, thrilling and terrible times I've had at the movies.

To elaborate, it isn't a pitch perfect film... Some of the CGI at the beginning is weak, and there are a few lines that can't escape the genre, but other than that this is a home run in every department - The performances (especially from Toby Jones and Marcia Gay Harden), the ingenious hand held camera, which is never used as a gimmick. The sound design, the lack of an underscore... This lends to the great atmosphere and tension Darabont builds. I'm sure you can guess by now this isn't schmaltzy, sentimental Darabont here; this is an angry, maniacal man that rears his head and shouts, "Everything is lost!" and then shoots you in the gut. Any fan of Stephen King, The Twilight Zone or Ray Bradbury, will greedily devour this with a great big grin on their face, then feel very sick but so damn happy and then throw up. Best film of the year yet.