The Mist (2007)

When I realized I wanted to make films, I knew that they would more than likely have to be low-budget. So, ever since then I've had a certain affinity for low-budget flicks. I started by watching the renowned, genre redefining film, Halloween, directed by John Carpenter. I followed that up by watching Carpenter's The Fog... which is still a guilty pleasure for me. When I first watched The Fog I kept saying to myself "what a brilliant idea... fog as the bad guy... how low-budget can you get! And it's creepy!"

So, the idea for The Mist immediately intrigued me... a group of town folk end up getting caught in a grocery store by a heavy mist. When someone tries to leave... well, bad things happen.

Based on the story by Stephen King and written and directed by Frank Darabont, I expected great things. The King/Darabont collaboration had worked exceptionally well with The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption, so I wouldn't think there would be any letdown with The Mist.

Though not as heartfelt as Green Mile and Shawshank, The Mist can be equally as effective within its own genre story-telling.

The film is an ensemble piece and stars Thomas Jane (Punisher, 61), Marcia Gay Harden (Mystic River), Lauren Holden (The Majestic) and one of my favorite actors, Andre Braugher (Homicide: Life on the Streets). The story deals with the effects of fear on a group of people and how the breakdown of civilization can so quickly occur as mans survival-of-the-fittest instinct kicks in. Along with it is what is waiting in the mist... and it ain't pretty.



Darabont, who is one of the most talented writers in Hollywood, does a wonderful job of making the breakdown of civilized behavior not only intriguing, but painful to watch unfold. The escalation of fear is exponential and the eventual outcome is frightening.



With The Fog and The Mist now having successfully explored the "evil in a cloud" theme, I wonder what Hollywood will come up with next... They'll have to be creative... how about The Cold Front? The Damp and Hovering Weather System? The Vaporized, Yet Low-Moving Collection of Air-Bound Moisture?

As for this current incarnation, The Mist is spooky and suspenseful, thought provoking and, at times, devastating.