Forced Fed Films: "The Mist" (2007)

Yes, you guys got it right. It is an all Stephen King Thursday. And I am ashamed to admit this but this is my first Stephen King movie. But luckily Jim recommended a good one for me, "The Mist". Kind of excited knowing that Mr. King is one of the top horror story writer. But enough about how anxious I am, lets find out what I thought.


So the story goes like this. After a heavy rainstorm that wrecked the front window of David's house, he takes his son and his neighbour, whose car was destroyed in the storm, to the local shop. This is where all hell breaks loose, a thick mist covers the city. After suspecting the mist is some sort of poisonous gas, no one leaves the shop. Little do they know the monsters that lurk outside. Added to that mess, there is a religious nut case converting the weak spirited to believing the words that come out of her mouth. David needs to save his son, get out of the political mess in the store and survive the monsters that wait outside. Not your regular trip to the shop, is it?

David is a bad ass with an axe.

I want to start off by saying this movie is a great movie that is covered with a terrible b-movie feel to it. First of all the graphics are atrocious. I can understand that the budget was low for this movie, but I can almost not forgive the terrible CGI. Secondly, besides the main actors, the supporting cast show are as good as the 'amazing' graphics. It's sad that the movie is so negatively effected by this. Because as minor as these complaints are, they were enough to ruin a great movie to a good movie.

But don't you worry, there is plenty of enjoyment to be had with "The Mist". First of all, the underlying story of the entire movie was intense. Just the conspiracy of the mist was great. All the monsters, character interactions and apocalypse scenario was all well done. But what did I expect from a movie based on a book? Overall, the movie was well written and just loved every part of it.

Now the best part, it was definitely the characters. The main characters of David, Ollie, Amanda, Dan and Irene are fantastic. They work so well as a team and the chemistry between them was fantastic. But even they weren't the best part character. That award goes to the religious crazy woman, who shouts of lines from the bible signifying the end of the world. Mrs. Carmody seems harmless in the beginning but as she gains some power over the people and they trust her words, she seems more dangerous than the actual monsters. She made me very angry while watching this movie and it's rare for a movie to get me so made over a character. So kudos to her.

Mrs. Carmody has a lethal mouth!

But that's not all about Mrs. Carmody, she spits lines from the bible, they are in direct relevance to the situation around the group. Because of this, you can take her words two ways. That this is all a coincidence and that she is saying lines from the bible to fit in the situation or that her words are actually the answers. Especially at the end of the movie, with the final twist. I could go on hours talking about what really happened and what it all means.

In conclusion, I really liked the movie. For the reason that it's so involving, sadly it still felt too much like a b-movie. The graphics are annoying and disturbs the mood. It sort of felt like I was watching a British soap-opera like "Corination Street", or like the first time watching a 120hz TV. But all that can be easily ignored because the story is deep and gets you deeply embedded into the atmosphere.