The Mist

What a fantastic movie. Usually before going to see a movie in the theatre I have some idea of what I'm getting into: movie trailers, reviews, all that stuff. I usually know when the movie originally came out too, but not this time. I may recall one or two commercials for The Mist on television at one point but I really couldn't tell you when. The memory is so fuzzy it could have been fifteen years ago.

So Dave and I were looking at movies that were actually playing, and one of the only ones of interest was The Mist. We watched the trailer and I felt like I saw some potential in it, although I wasn't completely sold. I don't care to go see I Am Legend, so we went to see The Mist. I'm not even sure how long it's been out in theatres. Judging by what screen it was playing on (one of the smallest) I would say the movie has either been out for a few weeks already or just isn't doing well at the box-office. Both could be true; both could be false.

So going in with somewhat low expectations usually results in a surprisngly enjoyable movie; many shows end up being half-decent because they just look so terrible going in. But this movie was great. I'm not even sure I was expecting to be frigthened during the movie: indeed, I had no expectations for this flick. And it was great.

First, the main character paints movie posters, and I want one of them, badly. Up on the wall was one for The Thing, and another unrecognizable Clint Eastwood movie. They even poke fun at movie posters that have poor Photoshopped artwork (just two heads put together). Good job Stephen King.

And things get rolling pretty quickly; nice, efficient introductions to characters let you know what type of people they are without much effort. Introduction of the mist itself within what - 15 minutes of the opening? was great. It is quickly established that the mist is bad, there are bad things in it and you had better start freaking out.

And this is great: the whole movie takes place inside the grocery store; you become intimate with the characters and can follow their somewhat rapid decline into insanity on levels you can relate to. The "religious-nut" in the trailer plays a more prominent role than I thought, and now the movie is a commentary on how civilization relies too much on technology and is still full of primal instincts, most notably getting caught up in "the mob" without even realizing it. The most normal people around can go crazy very, very quickly.

So there was that, and there are also the creatures in the mist. Just to confirm, you do get to see what's in the mist, basically. There are creature: you know from the trailer there are bugs, and they were small. But there are bugs, and they become huge. And they are all computer animated. They don't look bad per se, but this isn't top notch CGI work. Will it affect the movie down the road? I hope not. Dave mentioned that if this movie was made twenty years ago it would be a cult classic and I think that sums it up perfectly. This is especially true for the effects: throw in some really awesome, classic creature effects and you're golden.

The pacing of the movie, the slow fades to black throughout, and the characters are all great. Most importantly you can believe these characters for who they are, and why do they what they do. I can't spoil the ending for you but let me say it is disturbing, and perfect. This movie is not pulling punches and we thank everyone involved for not doing so. Now it's time to go read the novel.