The Mist

[trekgeezer]

I saw it on Friday and thought it was a well done movie. I describe the ending as very Twilight Zone like.  Thomas Jane did a good job especially with the ending.

[Kooshmeister]

And Damn I wish what happened up at the mountain had more development. Yes, its a mystery, but maybe they could have made an end-rider after the credits.

If you're referring to Project Arrowhead, the experiment that caused the whole problem in the first place, well, the movie was supposed to begin with a very Island of Terror-ish scene of the Arrowhead scientists starting the experiment, whereupon it would then cut to David (Thomas Jane's character) at home and the storm, etc., leaving us to assume that something went very, very wrong with said experiment once the mist starts appearing.

However, the scene was cut (I don't think it was even filmed) for being "too much like the Outer Limits" or something. Which ticks me off, personally, because as described it sounded a lot like the beginning of Island of Terror and Dr. Phillips' doomed oncology experiment....

[Scott]

I saw it on Friday and thought it was a well done movie. I describe the ending as very Twilight Zone like.  Thomas Jane did a good job especially with the ending.

I saw it opening night. Had a fair crowd for a 7:40 showing. The CGI is bad, but you won't mind, the idea has been done before, but somehow they make a great film out of this one. It has classic dialogue that many will enjoy, you'll laugh so hard at the small town hicks, and you'll cheer as the cult lady is dealt with, and you'll love the visit to the pharmacy without a doubt. The whole audience was really into this film. The ending is tragic beyond what most would expect. This is not a Hollywood ending. All the characters were good. Worth a trip to the theater. I will give it 8 out of 10 Stars. 

[Killer Bees]

I also heard that they messed with the ambiguous ending and gave the story some resolution.  I don't know how that will play out.  I just hope it not along the lines of "The group heads out into the mist and then the Army comes in and saves the day.  The End".

I hope they cleaned up the CGI from the trailers.  It was okay but I've seen better...

I'm going to see this movie in the theater regardless of the reviews (I always try to see King adaptations in the theater...hell, I must be the only person who actually liked Secret Window).

You're not the only one Oldskool.  I loved Secret Window.  I didn't realise it was an adaptation until I was about a quarter way through and realised.  The book/story was different, but it still stood on on it's own.

I enjoyed them both on their own merits.

[AndyC]

Just saw the DVD of this and really liked it. The CGI was not all that bad, and quite good in places. Didn't mind the religious elements, since it was more a commentary on human nature than on God (and how could Stephen King not have put a raving religious woman in a situation like that?) The story was pure King all around.

I'm actually glad they didn't have the scene of the Arrowhead experiment. Would have taken away too much of the initial mystery. There were just enough hints to give you a vague idea what must have happened, but no way of knowing for sure until it was explained.

The CGI had it's good and bad moments, but the monsters were very effective. I will have to go back and have another look at that big Lovecraftian beast. That thing was cool.

The ending I'm still thinking about. Certainly put me in mind of a good Twilight Zone episode. Wasn't sure I liked it at first, because it was so disturbing, but I can honestly say I've not had a movie convey such a sense of absolute horror. And yet it was not gory or gratuitious, just tragically ironic. I actually wanted somebody to kill the poor guy just to end his suffering.

What makes the story really work, I think, is that it succeeds in painting the audience into a corner as much as the characters. We don't know any more than they do. As the possibiliies for beating the situation are exhausted, the outcome gets less predictable. You wonder how anyone can escape or how these things can ever be stopped, and you start to feel the hopelessness of the characters. Great stuff.

[Pilgermann]

I wouldn't mind picking up the 2-disc set.  The second disc has a black and white version of the film which I think is a cool little bonus.

[AndyC]

That's the version I got. It has some good documentaries on the making of the movie, and particularly on how they combined CGI with traditional methods to make the monsters. We see quite a lot of the creative process. Apparently it was something Darabont had wanted to do since the 80s. The guy is one of us, and you gotta love his enthusiasm for making a good creature feature.

[Oldskool138]

The guy is one of us, and you gotta love his enthusiasm for making a good creature feature.

After I watched the Making of stuff, Darabont earned a bunch of street cred with me.  I hope he does The Dark Tower...I don't think anyone else could.

[Torgo]

The guy is one of us, and you gotta love his enthusiasm for making a good creature feature.

I have to agree with you on the part of Darabont being one of us.

But I really thought that he screwed the pooch on his adaptation of The Mist, which is my favorite thing that Stephen King has ever done.

I think that he tried to stay too faithful to the source material and ended up choking the life out of his film version of it.

[Killer Bees]

I also heard that they messed with the ambiguous ending and gave the story some resolution.  I don't know how that will play out.  I just hope it not along the lines of "The group heads out into the mist and then the Army comes in and saves the day.  The End".

I hope they cleaned up the CGI from the trailers.  It was okay but I've seen better...

I'm going to see this movie in the theater regardless of the reviews (I always try to see King adaptations in the theater...hell, I must be the only person who actually liked Secret Window).

You're not the only one Oldskool.  I loved Secret Window. While I was watching, it felt really familiar, then I realised I'd read the King novel years ago.

Johnny Depp did a brilliant job.  Looking forward to seeing The Mist as well.

[indianasmith]

I finally got to see this one tonight.  What a piece of work!!  Even though I was familiar with the story and had read some spoilers about the end of the movie, the sheer brute force of it still caught me by surprise.  It was an amazing piece of work!  That lumbering Lovecraftian monstrosity at the end . .  .  I'll be dreaming about that beastie tonight.

[Justy]

Concerning Project Arrowhead... It would have been nice if they made something special for the DVD release. Perhaps add a special mini movie showing what happened at Project Arrowhead. Like the news reports made the Dawn of the Dead (the newer one) DVD release.

In retrospect I agree that it would have taken away from the movie. But as a fan of the story itself, I would have liked to see that initial scientific F-up put to film.

[MeltingCandle]

 

I am such a pathetic viewer with a typical taste for simple films. I was looking forward for a "The Sign" (Mel Gibson)  movie-pattern or cut- with intense scenes tailed with satisfying moral or message. But with this movie, one might desire to spit a lot. I am very sorry- just what I've said I'm an ordinary viewer, not necessary looking for a happily-ever-after      story but searching  a weight on the story that's worth carrying in our memory for a movie experience! Just one in a million opinion.

[JaseSF]

I watched this recently and quite enjoyed it for the most part. The downer ending doesn't seem to quite work as well as it should have though. Not sure why that is but it just doesn't seem to quite have the impact it's going for although I agree with "The Twilight Zone" comparison. Really the film is largely IMO The Crawling Eye Meets Night of the Living Dead with a bit of the T Zone thrown in for good measure. Doesn't always work but it was entertaining for the most part. I particularly loved the cinematography of the film and the way everything looked after they actually get out of the store.

WARNING: Possible SPOILERS!!! for THE CRAWLING EYE and THE MIST - Personally I would have preferred it to have ended the way the Crawling Eye should have...with the monsters winning, which is the sole element about that classic film I don't care for...

[Sirius Knott]

This movie sucked beyond compare. I can't believe that ANYone liked this horrible, lame acted, poorly scripted, goat's unwashed butt sucking film!

It sucked.

It was the ending. It was the wooden acting. It was the unrealistic reactions [read: poorly written plot points] of the characters. "Let's fight 'em off with fire torches!" [enter gas grill explosions we could see coming a mile away] Or how about the crazy lady demanding the boy for "expiation" when she reaaaaally hated the lead [boy's father] but especially the leading lady.

Oh, and the ending. When the kid said he didn't want the monsters to get him, I'm sure he didn't mean, "Hey, I'd rather you just popped a cap in me instead, dad." No, he wanted to live. The "twist" made no sense, since dad had invested so much in keeping his kid alive. They weren't out of options. [Yes, walking was still possible, though not preferable. Nor had they sat there for days or anything. They weren't starving to mdeath. The car stopped and everyone just decided, OK, that's enough for me.]

The ending was pure horror alright. I couldn't believe that someone had decided to subject the audience to such a put-on farce of an ending. You ruin the ending, you ruin the film. Period.

It sucked.

--Sirius Knott