who can resist that face... or that ass...
The Mist, on the other hand, is actually a good movie. it's based off of a stephen king novella by the same name in the Skeleton Crew collection, and both mediums are definitely worth your time. in this story, king does what he's best at, taking a fairly creepy situation, throwing in a pinch of the supernatural, and using that as a basis for peering into the depths of humanity. that's what The Mist is really about: humanity. we get a bunch of different types of people stuck in close quarters with a REALLY shitty situation, and we see just who they are after you strip away all of society's pressures and instructions. king strips people down to their bare personalities, and this is more shocking than anything hidden in the mist. some people shine under pressure; some people freeze up; some people look to someone, anyone, to lead them; and some people just go batshit insane. it's this mix of people that makes this movie great.
oh, and frank darabont. thank god there is ONE guy out there who can make a good movie out of a stephen king story. darabont did Shawshank Redemption (EVERYONE loves this movie) and The Green Mile (also good). darabont also changed the ending to The Mist from what it is in the novel, and he would only make the movie if his ending stayed in. when he showed it to king, king loved it. that should give you a bit of a clue as to how awesome it is. and that's all i'll say about the ending... back to the rest of the movie...
what's the actual plot of this thing? long story short, a really bad storm hits a small town, and a bunch of the townsfolk go to the local safeway-type store to get supplies. then a dude comes running in screaming that something grabbed a guy in the mist, they close the doors, and this incredibly thick mist comes sweeping in. i live in san francisco, land of perpetual fog, and we ain't got nothin on this mist. it's like god decided to cheech and chong the place... so all of these people are trapped in the store, wondering what the hell's going on. is that guy nuts, should they leave, should they stay, what to do... what to do... well, i'm not going to tell you. you just need to see it for yourself, and take my word for it, you won't be disappointed...
on to the characters. thomas jane (of 2004 Punisher fame) is the main guy, and he does a good job of being reasonable under extreme pressure. plus he hits a giant flying lizard thing with a flaming mop, and how cool is that. a woman who looks like amy smart's older, less-attractive sister is one of the main female roles, and she does well enough looking like she's always on the verge of tears. ollie the bagboy is pretty sweet, mostly for the line "the human species is fundamentally insane." well-put, ollie. there is also a really cool old lady, the sherminator from American Pie fame (and i use that term loosely), and more decent supporting cast.
the best character in the movie, hands down, is marcia gay harden as mother carmody. she is scarier than anything else in the movie, and you're just hoping she dies the entire time. mother carmody is an uber-religious bag of crazy, and she thrives on the stress of the situation. the creatures in the mist are horrible, demonic, and creepy, but they don't hold a candle to this woman once she gets going. remember carrie's mom in Carrie? remember just how crazy she was when she tried to kill her daughter and her "dirty pillows" for going to the prom ("they're all gonna laugh at you!!!")? yeah, she ain't nothin compared to mother carmody. if ever there was a reason to hate religion, this bitch is it...
not pictured: sanity
as i said, this movie revolves around the interactions between people thrown together in an other-worldly situation, and the consequences of those interactions. and that bitch right up there is the cause of a whole mess of trouble. the part was written amazingly well, and harden does an insanely good job of making you hate her. i mean really, it gets to a point where you're thinking, "ok, it's either stay here with a woman who's nuttier than a payday bar, or brave the deadly, horrible, twisted creatures in the mist that will almost certainly kill me in a particularly gruesome and painful manner. just give me a broom handle with a knife duct-taped to it and let's do this shit. bring on the mist!"
"shit, forgot the knife..."
good job, frank darabont and company. thank you for renewing my hatred of evangelical religion. oh, and for renewing my fear of spiders. holy fuck were those things evil...
The Mist: most depressing/awesome ending ever. EVER.
that is a pretty good looking collie. perky ears, nice mouth...
ReplyDeleteMan i was so depressed after watching this movie that i think i just went back to bed for the rest of the day. Stupid Mist. And that woman was a huge bitch, i don't know why they didn't deal with her earlier, like tape her mouth shut.
ReplyDeletewhat? no mention about how the movie cause me to dream/hallucinate a spider in my room? only could have been worse if they were flying cockroaches.
ReplyDeletehaha, of course Roy mentions the dog, not the movie. I HATED the Mist! That ending ruined everything. I wish they would have thrown the stupid bitch out to the spiders! But after reading your review I suppose I like it more...i didn't take the whole "depths of humanity" from it after it was over, I was to enraged, now that I have time to think about it, you're right, it’s not all bad.
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