Customer Reviews

The Mist (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Mist
Directed by Frank Darabont
Starring Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Andre Braugher, Laurie Holden, Toby Jones

Weinstein Company | 2007 | 126 min | Rated R | Sep 16, 2008

Video:
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio:
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles:
English SDH, Spanish

Discs:
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region free

Frank Darabont hasn't directed many movies, but three of them are in my collection. The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile are both adapted from Stephen King stories and so is The Mist. Despite its lower budget, The Mist is another strong entry from Darabont.

The thing I like about Stephen King is that most story elements are based in the real world. We can identify with the type of town and the characters who inhabit it. He usually changes one or two things to transport us into another world. In this instance, the other element is the mist. We learn that
it has leaked through from an entrance to another dimension, along with some of the creatures from that reality.

The exposition is handled well and draws the viewer into the situation. After a brief description of David Drayton's (Jane) home life, he travels into town with his son Billy (Nathan Gamble) and neighbor Brent Norton (Braugher). While the three are shopping in the local supermarket, a man runs in with blood on his face warning that there's something in the mist.

Some of my favorite stories examine what happens when society breaks down. Stephen King seems to enjoy writing about it too. The Stand is one of the best novels dealing with the psychological effects of a catastrophe and The Mist delves into the same territory. Imagine the situation. You're in a store and a mist descends outside. A man runs in injured and shouts a warning. Do you listen, or do you ignore the warning and assume it's a natural phenomenon?

Some people are deeply rooted in routines. They know how much they earn and live one or two paychecks away from disaster. Their routine means that they rarely have to think about anything out of the ordinary. They may excel in one or two known situations, but be completely out of their depth when facing the unknown. That's when we see who the real leaders are. Who will crumble and who will adapt and remain calm under pressure? Will anyone lose touch with reality completely and start behaving in unpredictable ways? Would you steal to feed your family or kill to protect someone? The Mist shows what happens in just such a situation. The results are interesting to say the least.

My favorite character is Ollie (Jones), the assistant manager of the store. He's a great reminder of how people are not always what they seem. Looking like an older version of Radar O'Reilly, he's able to step up and make a difference in a crisis.

Darabont doesn't spend a fortune on special effects, but the result is convincing to me. As the story unfolds, we see a variety of creatures. Some of them are close to creatures we know while others are like nothing we have ever seen.

Another interesting choice from Darabont is the use of sound in the movie. Most entries in this genre would feature music heavily during every action scene. Darabont chooses to just show the events as they happen without trying to influence our mood with music. There are a few muted sound effects for most of the movie, but nothing more. The result is that we are drawn into the situation even more as if we are left alone to think about how we would handle the situation. The one exception is in the last few minutes of the story when The Host of Seraphim (Dead Can Dance) is played during a pivotal scene. Its impact is greatly enhanced due to the absence of music in the remainder of the movie.

Darabont changes King's original ending. It's a brave choice and will annoy a lot of people. King remarked that he wishes he had thought of it. It's a resolution of sorts and it's certainly not typical Hollywood fare.

Video Quality 4/5
The Mist Blu-ray package consists of two discs; one showing the movie in color and the other in black and white. Darabont is known to prefer the black and white version as it adds to the intended feel. While I like both, I slightly prefer the color version. Detail is good in both and there's nothing to complain about. It's not up there with the best the format has to offer, but it's more than adequate.

Audio Quality 4/5
The movie is driven by dialogue and is as much a character study as a monster movie. With no music for the vast majority of the running time, this is not the type of movie to show off your sound system. It handles everything it's supposed to without going over the top.

Special Features 4/5
The commentary track goes into considerable depth and is an excellent addition for those who want to know how everything was done. There are also 15 minutes of deleted scenes, a "making of" feature and a discussion with King and Darabont. There are several other features focusing on certain scenes or special effects. Overall, over two hours, and a good supplemental package that's worth seeing at least once.

The Mist is a fun world to visit for two hours. See it if you are a fan of horror or psychological drama and enjoy a decent Blu-ray presentation.

Overall 4.5/5

Why do I always expect more when I see a movie based on a story from Stephen King? There are approximately 50 movies and miniseries that are based on either novels or short stories written by King, and by my count, there are only three of them that should be considered either very good or classics. (The Shining, The Deadzone, and 1408). And yet, I still watch these movies with an air of excitement, hoping that I can experience the same enjoyment that I feel while reading his book, especially his earlier works. But inevitably, I come away disappointed. Whether this is because his material is not set up to be made into movies, I'm blind to how bad his books are, or movie companies don't find the right talent to develop the stories, I don't know. However, I do know that the Mist gets lost in its own fog of mediocrity.

I had read the short story when I was younger, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Stories dealing with the apocalypse, the end of the world, had always captivated my imagination, and the Mist was no exception. I could picture a world where survivors would be holed up in a supermarket, fighting both the monsters outside and each other inside. A movie that followed the story would not depend on plot twists to keep the audience engaged, but would have to depend on character development and genuine scares. Horror movies that have those characteristics can overcome a lot of other problems. However, this movie did the exact opposite, eschewing character development and genuine scares, for an inane plot twist and monsters that would not scare an 8 year old. The director, Frank Darabont, avoids two of the common pitfalls found in most horror movies today. He doesn't rely on gore to gross out the audience, and the characters are reasonably believable, even if a lot of the dialogue is completely over the top. However, the quality of the CGI work detracts from the movie's ability to immerse the audience. I don't ask for the quality of monster found in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, but please give me something that doesn't scream fake to me. The strength of a movie depends on its ability to immerse the viewer into the world it creates. When I stop watching the movie, and start thinking about how phony the monsters are, the movie has failed. There is an over reliance on CGI work in Hollywood today, and the Mist falls into that trap. If you can't spend a significant amount of money on CGI, you might be better off creating your monsters the old fashioned way.

Sorry but this is one of those run-of-the-mill monsters in the dark or creeps in the fog movies. The monsters are not scarier. The victims are standard group. Some are heroes, some are rats, and some are just monster fillers. If nobody gets out alive, we will be better off.

The miracle is how they can think of new deadly fog things for two hours and seven minutes without getting bored. It's a wonder that somebody can watch for two hours and seven minutes without using the fast-forward button. I suggest that you keep the fast-forward button handy right after the beginning credits. You can push it until the ending credits, and you will have saved two hours and nearly 7 minutes.

Basic story Mist finds town, people hide in store, some people stick nose out, nose does not return.

Both "The Blob" and the "Deadly Mantis." Have more structure, suspense, and social redeeming value.

Ce film est un chef-d'oeuvre de l'épouvante et du suspence. C'est tout simplement le meilleur film de 2007. La réalisation et aussi la distribution sont étonnantes. Ne vous posez pas de question à savoir si ce film est bon: il est fantastique!!! À acheter sans attendre.

Why do I always expect more when I see a movie based on a story from Stephen King? There are approximately 50 movies and miniseries that are based on either novels or short stories written by King and, by my count, there are only three of them that should be considered either very good or classics. (The Shining, The Deadzone, and 1408). And yet, I still watch these movies with an air of excitement, hoping that I can experience the same enjoyment that I feel while reading his book, especially his earlier works. But, inevitably, I come away disappointed. Whether this is because his material is not set up to be made into movies, or I'm blind to how bad his books are, or movie companies don't find the right talent to develop the stories, I don't know. However, I do know that the Mist gets lost in its own fog of mediocrity.

I had read the short story when I was younger and thoroughly enjoyed it. Stories dealing with the apocalypse - the end of the world - have always caught my imagination, and `The Mist' is no exception. I have no trouble picturing a world where survivors are holed up in a supermarket, fighting both the monsters outside and each other inside. A movie that follows this kind of storyline would not necessarily succeed on a twisty plot alone to keep the audience engaged, but might have to call on some genuine moments to keep its attention. Horror movies that can achieve this sense of fear and insecurity can overcome a lot of other deficiences like weak character development. However, this movie did the exact opposite, eschewing character development and genuine scares, for an inane plot twist and monsters that would not scare an eight-year-old(Peter Malcomson).

Adapted from Stephen King's short novel the "The Mist" this movie was alot of fun to watch. The Horror landscape has been littered with many substandard projects recently so this movie comes as breath of fresh air. It's is perhaps the best horror film of the year and I highly recomend it. The special effects are fantastic, this is a scary, action packed and fun filled roller coaster ride of a movie. It's superbly acted by Thomas Jane, Laurie Holden and especially Marcia Gay Harden, who deserves to be nominated for her performance of the psychotic bible punching Mrs. Carmody. If you enjoy the horror genre then you will like this film.

The movie is brilliant from start to finish. The hardest thing people seem to have in dealing with this movie is the choice the main character makes. One reviewer said there is no way the character would have made this choice and thinks the movie fails at that end. But the whole movie is about the internal horrors, not the monsters that are outside.

At the beginning, there are movie posters, The Thing, Labyrinth, Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile....What happens in all these movies is the human element and being faced with difficult choices. The fact that he makes a choice is what makes him a hero. It is an evil twist of fate that happens to him at the end. It is cruel. If you've ever seen the other movies, you know at the beginning this is not going to be pretty and happy. None of those movies are, this is what makes this movie brilliant. There is foreshadowing and allusion that is rare to see in a movie.

This is a remarkable horror story because it is real horror. The kind of horror that gets under your skin.

'The Mist' is one of those horror movies which has a number of fundamental flaws that you realise a few hours after watching it, but moves fast enough that you probably don't notice them while the movie is running. Particularly in the black and white version I found it one of the most effective horror movies of recent years, primarily because I had no clue about how it would end; the setting was so bleak that I simply couldn't see how they could come up with an effective way to tie it all up.

And apparently neither could the writer/director.

The ending goes beyond stupid, beyond predictable, beyond inconsistent with previous characterisation, beyond even laughable, and becomes a simple display of contempt for the audience by the writer/director. I should add that it's not King's ending either, and essentially turns that ending upside down all for the end of a cheap 'shock'. Even M. Night Shyamalan wouldn't sink to this level in the search for a 'twist'.

I could list some of the reasons why the ending is one of the worst in modern cinema, but I'd be here for hours. Suffice it to say that I haven't seen a worse ending in years, and it knocks at least three stars off the rating I'd give the movie.

As for the blu-ray, it looks good and I definitely feel the movie is more effective in black and white because it makes the situation feel even more bleak than it otherwise would be. A couple of effects shots look a bit hokey, but generally there's nothing I'd complain about. But a better picture quality does nothing to improve the ending.

Un très bon film d'horreur ou ce mêle à merveille le délire religieux et une peur pathologique de l'inconnu... de tout temps l'homme a eu une peur incontrôlable de tout ce qu'il ne comprends pas... Mettez y une vieille folle qui se fait passer pour une prophète aider par quelques évènements qui se produisent comme dans la bible... Ajoutez y quelques "monstres" à tout cela qui pourraient facilement passer pour des démons et vous aurez droit à un merveilleux délire collectif qui serait prêt à tous suivent leur sauveuse illuminée jusqu'en enfer...

Heureusement que dans de tel situation il reste toujours des gens qui sont assez fort pour ne pas succomber et prendre soin d'eux et de ceux qui veulent bien les aider... Malheureusement quand le sort ce lie contre vous et vos compagnons il ne semble plus rester grand chose à faire si ce n'est tenter de fuir le plus loin possible dans l'espoir que plus loin, quelque part il y est encore de quoi qui puisse vous aider...

Un film qui m'a littéralement transporté, chose que je ne dis pas souvent dans ce genre de film, pour moi l'horreur est plus souvent qu'autrement un bien faible divertissement mais il faut dire que quand on regarde la liste des collaborateurs du film et celui qui a écrit l'histoire on ne pouvait pas vraiment faire un flop avec le titre sans devoir se forcer...

Someone here stated that The Mist is brilliant and I completely agree. This film is not about monsters and people being gobbled up. There are messages that has one reflecting on human behavior in reaction to incredible and deadly situations. This movie does not lag and gets right into the drama. I would recomend watching it to anyone.