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"The Mist" : My 3rd Favorite Horror Movie

It's time to break into the top 3, Bidites! Last time on the countdown, we explored the immortal horror clasc The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original, of course). My next choice is based on a novella by Stephen King and deserves to become just as much of a clasc. Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present my 3rd favorite horror movie of all time:The Mist

As Dreamcatcher and a handful of other stinkers have proven, when Stephen King movies are bad, they are very, very

bad. Luckily, we have The Mist to show us exactly how to do a movie based on King's work the right way, and to remind the genre at large that there is an entire reservoir of inspiration for future films that exists in the form of horror fiction. Sadly, this rich source of inspiration remains largely untapped, so I always take special notice whenever a horror movie based on a novel (or novella, as the case may be) is actually made. When it comes to horror novelists whose books have made the leap to the screen, Stephen King is pretty much the dominant force. To be brutally honest, the suckfests that some of those adaptations became may be part of the reason that contemporary adult horror novels are not turned into movies more often. Such works often bring with them more depth of character and clarity of vion than many scripts that began from scratch, but they also bring complications and a duty to honor the source material that not just any director or screenwriter has the chops for.

Bacally, the right director and screenwriter is absolutely essential, perhaps especially for a Stephen King movie. If the same person can both direct and skillfully adapt the material for the screen, even better. That's what Frank Darabont (of Walking Dead fame) did for The Mist, and he did so with astonishing mastery of both crafts. Darabont juggles a large ensemble cast in a high concept production replete with weighty commentary on the nature of humanity, crazed action sequences and staggering special effects. There are at least 12 characters with important parts in The Mist and assorted background characters to boot. The number of strong performances necessary to make this movie successful is daunting, but Darabont elicited every ngle compelling turn he needed from his talented and diverse cast.

Thomas Jane plays David Drayton, a mostly good natured artist and father who earns his living by painting covers for books and promotional posters for films. After a powerful storm damages their home and property and knocks out their electricity, David and his young son, Billy (Nathan Gamble) head to their local grocery store to buy the necessary repair supplies and emergency rations. Good guy that he is, David also ends up giving a ride to his prickly and litigious neighbor, Brent Norton (Andre Braugher), whose car has been demolished by a falling tree. The three of them head to their local grocery store but before they can get what they need and get out, fellow redent Dan Miller (Jeffrey DeMunn) comes scrambling through the doors in terror, screaming that there is "something in the mist" which has been steadily rolling into town nce the storm. Not knowing what's going on in the world beyond, David, Billy, Brent and Dan are forced to remain inde the store, along with dozens of other shoppers and employees. Included in this group are new teacher Amanda Dunfrey (Laurie Holden), her aged fellow teacher Irene Reppler (Frances Sternhagen), store clerks Olly (Toby Jones), Sally (Alexa Davalos) and Norm (Chris Owen), army Private Jessup (Sam Witwer), the ultra-religious Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden), auto workers Jim (William Sadler) and Myron (David Jensen), and a host of others. Melissa McBride also has a small but powerful role as a woman who chooses to venture out of the relative safety of the store because she has two small kids waiting for her at home. McBride would go on to work with Darabont again as a cast member of The Walking Dead, as would Laurie Holden and Jeffrey DeMunn. A testament, perhaps, to the trust and respect the director instills in the actors who work with him.

Although the zes of their roles vary, none of the characters above come across as throwaways. They all have distinctive, believable personalities which enrich the theme of the film and many have a surprise or two in store for us. Thomas Jane gives everyman David just enough bite and resolve beneath his easygoing exterior to turn him into a leader instead of a pushover. He may have a long fuse, but it gets conderably shorter when the stupidity displayed by the adults around him results in the death of one of the youths in the store. Although Laurie Holden's character in The Mist is milar to her Walking Dead role in that both Amanda and Andrea find themselves dealing with world-changing supernatural tuations, that's pretty much where the milarities end. Amanda is far less cynical and hard-edged than Andrea is, believing that "people are bacally decent" even as the group dynamic in the store grows more and more irrational and dangerous. Frances Sternhagen is fun to watch as she makes Irene Reppler into a tough, no-nonsense old lady who says and does pretty much whatever the hell she feels like. Toby Jones is so unobtruve as Olly that it's all the more shocking later in the film, when he takes violent, decive action, doing something that should have been done earlier, but which no one else seemed to have the stones to do. Andre Braugher is a mixed bag of pride and suspicion as Brent, who seems almost to think that the whole tuation the town finds itself in has somehow been set up just to make him look foolish.

Even with all of these memorable performances, though, Marcia Gay Harden still manages to steal the show as the zealous Mrs. Carmody. The Mist makes a pointed case that human beings are far scarier than the most fearsome of monsters, and it is Mrs. Carmody who really drives that point home, ung the mysterious events going on outde to convince an ever growing flock of believers that the apocalypse is occurring. Ultimately, she even convinces many that their only hope of survival is to sacrifice their fellow human beings to an angry and vengeful God. In Harden's care, Mrs. Carmody is a fully realized, militant fundamentalist who is more than opportunistic enough to exploit a cris in order to gain power and influence. Her character inflicts mental and spiritual damage on those unfortunate enough to be shut in with her, whipping many of them into a frenzy and expong the hypocrisy that so often lies at the heart of the piously religious. Though she wants people to believe she is but a humble servant of God, there is not a shred of humility within Mrs. Carmody's entire being. Rather, she is downright arrogant, instantly jumping to the concluon that she is somehow more pure than everyone else and that God can count on her alone to tell them what to do. I grew to absolutely despise Mrs. Carmody by the end of the film, even as my admiration grew for the brilliant actress portraying her.

While it's the human dimenons in this film that bring about the deepest and most lasting scares, the monsters lurking within the mist do not disappoint either. They come stomping, flying and skittering into our world in various terrifying forms. Whether they attack with tentacles, stingers, fangs or webbing laced with acid, it's clear that any of these invading beasties is capable of replacing humankind as the dominant species on the planet. A long list of people contributed to the special effects that brought these unique creations to the screen and they did a truly impresve job. Whenever I watch The Mist, I end up debating with myself about which of the several species of monsters it features is my favorite. Right now, I'm leaning toward the giant, four legged behemoth lumbering about toward the end of the film. This guy is so big you can't even see all of him, as his upper portions are obscured by the mist. The thick pillars of his legs are enough to hint at his ze and destructive capacity, however, not to mention his echoing roar and the way the ground shakes with his every step. The handful of survivors who are still somewhat rational and not overcome with violent religious fervor eventually choose the mist over the other people in the store, venturing outde in hopes of making it to a vehicle and reaching the outer limits of whatever phenomenon is occurring. The film soon takes on a hushed tone (after the group is set upon by nightmarish creatures en route to the car, naturally) as these few, haggard survivors point their headlights and their optimism straight ahead, driving interminably as they seek any gn of an end to the mist. The new world the ethereal stuff replaces our own with is as beautiful as it is deadly and the near lence of this sequence suggests a respect for that duality which the viewer can feel as intensely as the characters. I will not breathe a word about what happens to bring The Mist to its stunner of a concluon except to say that is, in my opinion, one of the absolute best endings of all time and that it takes what was already a great film and elevates it to the level of an authentic work of art.

In fact, if I had to pick a ngle word to describe The Mist, that word would be "authentic". It's honest and inghtful in everything it does, forgoing easy outs and mplistic heroism in exchange for a probing look at humanity as it truly tends to be in moments of cris and confuon. This movie is fraught with flawed characters making hard choices that lead inevitably to their brutal concluons. The powerful ending may seem a little too hopeless for some viewers, but for me, it perfectly cemented the indictment of humanity that the rest of the film was building to. I wouldn't change a thing about this film and I'll always be impressed by its brave refusal to sugarcoat its message.Only two more installments to go, so stay tuned!

Ahhhh dney!!! One of my favorites and so glad to see it make your top 3! We are going to list all your movies once you are done for the ultimate countdown.

The ending to "The Mist" is amazing! Stephen King once said that if he would have thought of it he would have ended the book that way.

Great review!

I concur with BooMan. Your list has been pretty spot on thus far and I can hardly believe that your number 1 choice is almost here. Thanks for taking all the time and effort that you put forth into writing these awesome reviews. Any idea what your going to come up with once this list is complete?

Wow, thanks for the support, BooMan and Bnizzle! This countdown has been a blast to write and has given me an excuse to re-watch my favorites and the fact that people seem to be digging it is definitely the icing on the cake. I'm really stoked that

you're going to collect all the installments in one list when it's finished.I have lots of ideas about what to do for future articles. One thing I've definitely wanted to do is post at least a few more novel reviews, nce books don't get as much love as they used to with all the competing forms of more technologically advanced media. There are tons of great, scary reads out there that many people may have never heard of.