THE MIST - Review

If you are looking for another light Stephen King and Frank Darabont collaboration (SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, GREEN MILE), think again. THE MIST is a dark and intense nightmare of a film that left me both emotionally drained, and utterly depressed. I should be the first to applaud Darabont for creating a film that asks such tough questions about human nature, and how fear drives us to do both unthinkable and unimaginable things to each other in times of immense intensity. Also, like other great film thrillers the film shows us that evil exists in both the threat, in this case a mysterious mist that threatens a town on the eastern seaboard, and those that are being threatened, in this case a group of townspeople trapped in a grocery story by the mist.
One of the films major faults comes in its inability to sustain the terror it presents. At first the mist is this ominous natural occurrence which people walk into, and either don't come back, or come back in pieces. It is the thought of what could be in the mist that is both horrific and terrifying. But it is when you start seeing the things lurking in the mist that you begin to lose interest. The film forgets that the human imagination can be the greatest terror of all. By revealing the thing, the terror is unfortunately reduced to cheapened CGI tricks, along with monsters and a plot that becomes more absurd then nightmarish, and main characters that become riddled with cliches and stereotypes.
In the end the films take on humanity becomes one of such cynicism that what could have been a fascinating morality tale turns into complete and utter hopelessness.

GRADE: B-

RECOMMENDATION: This film contains some horrific scenes of violence and some language. Also, if you are looking for a nightmare with a pleasant ending, I would recommend JAWS.