The Mist

Director: Frank Darabont
Starring: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, Frances Sternhagen, Nathan Gamble
Running Time: 126 min.
Rating: R

**** (out of ****)

Going into Stephen King’s The Mist everyone was telling me I should brace myself for one of the most shocking movie endings ever. I hate it when people tell me things like that. I hate it because I have this bad habit of running through all the possible twist endings imaginable in my mind as I watch a film so by the time the end actually arrives there’s no chance of it surprising me. It also sets me up for disappointment if it doesn’t meet my unrealistic expectations.

I’ve seen so many movies and so many "shocking" endings in my lifetime that at this point it really takes a lot to blow my socks off. Since The Mist came out on DVD I’ve put off watching it precisely because of that fear of disappointment. I also knew that it combined the two movie plots I absolutely love the most: a nightmare in American suburbia and a Twilight Zone-like scenario. I can usually take being let down, but not by a film like this.

When informed of this brilliant ending my immediate response was that Stephen King must not have written it. King has a special gift in those final pages of making us feel like we completely wasted our time. His endings are so lackluster and anti-climactic it’s plagued even the best attempts to adapt his work. Up until now it seems the only film immune to this curse was Darabont’s own The Shawshank Redemption. An anti-climactic ending was also the one flaw in one of my favorite King adaptations, 1995’s television miniseries The Langoliers. So I knew if this had a great conclusion, it definitely didn’t come from King’s pen. It turns out I was right. The ending of the novella was changed with the author’s blessing, by writer/director Frank Darabont, but I can’t say how. I wouldn’t even think of spoiling this one. And Darabont should be praised for realizing that King can’t write an effective ending to save his life and just doing it for him.

The 2-Disc Special Edition of The Mist allows you to watch the film in black and white. That’s fitting because besides being one of the very best films of 2007, and one of the best horror films of the past decade, it’s the first movie in nearly half a century to effectively recapture the magic of The Twilight Zone television series in feature film form. Rod Serling’s name might look more appropriate in the credits than King’s. And right before those final credits rolled I half expected Serling, with his trademark cigarette in hand, to make an appearance and talk to us about the trip we’d just taken.

If Serling saw this I bet he’d agree that this holds up with the very best of his work. That it points out everything that’s been wrong with the science fiction and horror genres of late. That it isn’t about blood, gore or what some critics like to refer to as "torture porn". It’s about fear and what it does to people. What it tells us about our society and ourselves. Serling was always just holding up a mirror…now Darabont’s the one holding it. This is science fiction operating at its highest level and the rare horror movie that manages to be scary even though it shows us a lot. It also contains one of the most detestable characters I’ve ever seen in a movie and one that inflamed me with passionate hatred. You could say this movie does for horror what The Shawshank Redemption did for drama.

When a freak storm hits a small Maine town leaving an unusual thick mist and a power outage in its wake, movie poster artist David Drayton (Thomas Jane), his five-year old son Billy (Nathan Gamble) and their moody, irritable neighbor Brent Norton (Andre Braugher) travel to the local grocery store to pick up some supplies. They won’t be leaving there anytime soon as a frightened man with a bloody nose (Jeffrey DeMunn) enters screaming "There’s something in the mist!" Everyone in the store, frightened for their lives, begin to behave irrationally and form factions. Some want to risk it and see if they can venture outside. Others want to wait it out in the supermarket and hope for military rescue. The only thing that can unanimously be agreed upon is that they can’t agree on anything.

The dire situation brings out the best in some, but mostly the worst in everyone. Representing the absolute worst is Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden), a religious zealot who wields her faith as an emotional weapon and views this mist as some kind of biblical Armageddon meant to punish the human race. Rounding out the cast of characters is the nerdy looking assistant manager of the store (Toby Jones), who has some surprising tricks up his sleeve, a pretty cashier (Alexa Davalos) a good-hearted teacher (Laurie Holden), a local mechanic (William Sadler) and a sweet old lady (Frances Sternhagen). All of these people are at once both more and less than they seem and their paths cross in shocking ways as the mist, and the terrifying creatures inhabiting it, quickly approaches.

On paper it would seem the decision by Darabont to not only offer an explanation for the mist, but also show in all their terrifying glory the creatures that attack from it, is questionable. It would be if Darabont wasn’t such a master of building suspense and investing us in the story. This isn’t about the mist or what’s in it. It’s about these people and how their fears and prejudices cause an inability to cope with the situation, hindering them from taking the necessary steps to insure their survival. It’s true the CGI may not be the best, but it doesn’t hurt the film one bit and I think I know why. The tentacled monsters and flying insects are scary, but it has nothing to do with how they look. It’s scary because we care. We actually care about what happens to these people.

You could argue they’re just stereotyped clichés spouting off hammy dialogue. After all, I was able to sum up the characters in just a couple of words. But I’d argue that’s exactly what they’re supposed to be in a movie like this and it’s the performers who elevate them to a level far above that. Thomas Jane is the square-jawed hero. The voice of reason. The leader of the group. Whatever you call it it’s the same thing, but what’s surprising is how much emotion he brings to it. This is probably the best performance given in such a thankless role since Gene Hackman in The Poseidon Adventure.

While there are plenty of great onscreen villains let’s be honest and admit you don’t really HATE Anton Chirgurh, Darth Vader or Hannibal Lector. You think they’re kind of cool, and so do I. There’s no coolness factor to Marcia Gay Harden’s Mrs. Carmody and there isn’t a trace of vanity to be found in her portrayal of her. She tears into this with everything she has and if I ran into Harden on the street I hope she has good security detail because I’d have a tough time separating her from the character (the fact that she beat Kate Hudson for the Oscar in 2001 probably doesn’t help either). Even if her character is a stereotype no one can deny it’s a stereotype based on a real person and it hits very close to home.

You know the people. They’re moralistic prigs who use their faith to prop themselves up, oblivious to the fact that religion does entail acting like a moral human being. People like that enrage me but I wasn’t quite sure how much until Harden fully fleshed it out in this role. Skeptics watching the film may doubt such a woman could cause that much friction and dissent, and as much as I hope they’re right, I have a feeling they’re not. Fear does things to people and Darabont understands exactly what. When she was onscreen my thoughts shifted from guessing how this was going to end to just hoping this character meets a slow, painful demise. That’s how powerful Harden’s work here is.

I felt like covering my eyes as The Mist approached its infamous ending. All the possibilities of how another King adaptation could be ruined raced through my head. Even 1408, which also came out this past year and was one of the better cinematic King attempts, had an ending that could at best be described as only serviceable. I’ve criticized 2007’s movie endings for being too bleak and depressing, but that’s not so much the problem. The problem is that they’re bleak and depressing just for the hell of it, and with nothing else for us to latch on to. No ideas or anything to think about when they’re over.

It doesn’t matter whether an ending is necessarily upbeat or downbeat, what matters is that the conclusion to the story is appropriate for the film. Many screenwriters in the past year have forgotten that. This ending gives you a lot to think about and that’s really all I can say without spoiling anything. I may have been prepared for how shocking it was but nothing could have readied me for just how deep and memorable. This one has to bee seen to be believed.

I’ve mentioned The Twilight Zone for good reason. This could almost be considered an adaptation of the classic episode of that series, "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street," in which neighbors’ paranoia in the midst of a crisis turn them against one another. The mist in this film could easily be replaced by a natural disaster, a nuclear attack or any other major life-threatening catastrophe. The general conceit remains the same: Fear brings out the worst in us all. We know who the real monsters are. When this movie’s over you’re left to contemplate such sociological issues as well as questions regarding morality and religion. When was the last time you could contemplate anything at the end of a horror film?

You’ll also be contemplating how any major studio would even dare release a film with this ending. Luckily, Darabont refused to sign the deal unless he got final cut and King has since justifiably praised his interpretation of his novella, especially the controversial ending. That’s a relief, because after hearing what King’s original ending was, this film would have been much worse for wear if Darabont had decided to keep it. And after years of trying, Stephen King finally has movie he can be very proud to put his name on. The Mist earns its place as one of the very best King adaptations ever lensed.