The Mist Review
Posted by Rodneyon 24. 11. 2007in Reviews
You can watch our “The Mist” review here:
OR you can read our review here:
Went into “The Mist” with a sense of optimism. Frank Darabont is just one of the best directors out there, the story is a great one, and the previews have all looked pretty slick. So did The Mist deliver?
THE GENERAL IDEA
The Mist starts off with a horrible storm that causes most of the people in town to go to the central supermarket. While people buy supplies a think blanket of mist rolls in. When people try to leave the store and enter the mist, they are rewarded with the sweet embrace of death!
We follow (Thomas Jane) and his son through the movie and tension builds as they try to figure out if staying or leaving he store is the best option. Defenses are breached and otherworldly creatures begin to plunder the supermarket for fresh human meat.
THE GOOD
The beginning of the film is great, we launch very quickly into the story and it sets the mood of impending doom beautifully. Jain does a great job as the lead, and his son (played by Nathan Gamble) was outstanding. The creatures were otherworldly with some semblance to creatures of earth which made them seem plausible. People as a “food source” always creeps the hell out of me!
The end of this movie was awesome. It did not end how I anticipated, but it was perfect for the type of film that this was. I would tell you more, but I do not want to spoil it for those of you that will see it.
The kid who plays the son turns in one of the very best performances by a child actor we’ve ever seen. Not once did he not act like a real child of that age. His was probably the most authentic performance of the whole bunch.
THE BAD
The middle dragged. This movie should of been 90 min, it would of been so much better. Themes were repeated over and over and the tension started to stall. I am not certain why they felt the need to make this movie as long as it was, it would of benefited tremendously if it had additional editing.
There was one religious quack character in the movie that was given way too much screen time. She was overly blatant and the “religious people are crazy” theme was over done and in your face to the point of annoyance. She was not believable as a character, nor was she likable enough to realistically amass a group of followers in any situation. This character was overdone and overused. The movie just got plain old “PREACHY”… except it was anti-religion preachy, but hyper preachy nonetheless, and that got really annoying really fast.
Also at times the effects did not blend in as well as we have seen in other films, but use of rubber tentacles may have been a better choice. Some creatures looked meh, some looked alright – the mist always looked like fog.
OVERALL
For the first 20 min I thought I was going to really like this film. It started strong, dragged in the middle and ended strong, so I still enjoyed myself, but it was just alright. This movie could have been good, if they just trimmed the fat, and did something with the “coo coo lady”. I would reservedly recommend this to fans of suspense/horror films, but for those of you that do not fancy the genre, it may be best to spend your money elsewhere. 6/10
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Rodney who has written 8899 posts on The Movie Blog
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Oh dear, that really breaks my heart. I might still see it because i love these kind of movies where people are hopelessly trapped.
Argh, typical! I had hopes for this one, despite some of the less stellar reviews lately. On a unrelated note, please bring back Routh! Or if you were getting tired about answering questions about the name, just say great movies have a “huge cock”.
i knew it. exactly how I expected.
I actually really really loved the Mist. I agree with your points on the preacher and everything, but I completely disagree with you on the effects. I thought it looked great. The middle wasn’t a breakneck as the beginning and end, but it never really lost me.
I was really looking forward to this site dying. Amateur reviews like this one make me really upset it didn’t happen. Comingsoon is smarter than I thought.
Good review, I might just check it out. A few people I know seem to be liking it.
I love Misty’s positive comment!
6/10 is too low of a score, yeah it does drag a little in the second act. But it definitely makes up for in the third.
And the reason Mrs. Carmody was amassing followers, didn’t have anything to do with being likable, it was because everything she was saying was pretty much coming true.
Her character was just too much mike, if she was a little more toned down it would of been way better.
If 6/10 is too low what would you score it?
Hey Misty,
Go douche your ass with dog piss.
If you want professional reviews, buy the Chicago Sun-Times. xoxo
I’d give it an 8/10. But that’s just me, I had less problems with it, even the tentacle attack effects didn’t take me out of the movie.
Also, favorite shot of the movie was the behemoth walking across the road, it looked beautiful.
I agree – that was rad as hell. The stuff that bothered me really took me out of the film, and that was a huge consideration for me.
If it bothered you less, I can certainly see how you enjoyed it more.
Wow I thought we would be slapping virtual high 5s on this one!
For me the movie rocked all the way through. Yes, the middle sagged a bit, but I was tense all the way through the entire film and never bored. The SFX never bothered me and the entire cast rocked. Even characters with only a few lines were well defined.
I loved the shooting style – gave it a real you are there vibe.
My main knock would be the wailing music near the end – sorry Frank that style has long been mined out.
Finally the ending. Goddam what an ending.! Black man. Very dark. What a gut punch.
The film has a lot of nice litte touches starting with the painting of Roland the Gunslinger from King’s Dark Tower novels.
I have finally found the perfect bookend movie for John Carpenter’s – The Thing.
Too bad that John and Doug are not as enthused about this as I am. Horror fans, Stephin King fans, or Frank Darabont fans; don’t despair. The Mist will give you your fix.
I’d give it a 9 out 10.
It doesn’t seem to have a UK release date yet so i hope you all give it your money. Otherwise, we won’t get to see it till DVD.
I think the character of Ms. Carmody in the film was exactly the same in the book. Darabont just wanted to be true to the novella (except for the much, much better ending). I agree though that Nathan Gamble gave a great performance. It’s not like those fucked up child performances where the kid is even more mature than the adults. I loved it that he acted like a kid and that’s it! Some of the VFX were pretty shit though so I gotta dock points for that. I gotta dock another point for the gay, gay music at the end (I’m sorry Frank but Gladiator was what? 7 years ago?) I’d give the Mist an 8/10 and it’s one of the better “horror” movies this year if you can call it that.
Hey doug, another great review. Though one thing, it’s “would’ve” as in the contraction for “would have” not “would of”. Other than that, good stuff :)
Long live themovieblog!
I’d give it a 9/10 too. 8 at the lowest. 6 just seems really harsh, especially since Beowulf was a 7.5.
Thank you for the grammar information,
I apologize for any offense.
i thought beowulf was a better film.
i enjoyed the mist, but it did have some weaknesses.
i completely agree that it was a touch too long and that the preacher woman was a bit too much.
Great review boys!
I saw it on Friday, and although I do agree the middle was a bit too long, and the Mrs. Carmody character was made WAY too powerful in such a short amount of time, I still dug it.
The special effects were really bad, the actor with the “feminine” eyebrows were distracting, but the actors and the way the film was shot was amazing.
As a horror fan, I noticed this wasn’t a horror movie…yet a dramatic film with horror elements. The ending was a punch in the gut, and throw anybody off who read the novella by Stephen King. I’d give it a solid 7 out of 10
The trailers have been really interesting and from the review you came up with I’m still going to check it out on a “cheap Tuesday”.
I guess I could take a nap around the middle of the movie :p
“this wasn’t a horror movie…yet a dramatic film with horror elements.” Serena that is a perfect encapsulation of Stephen King’s writing.
I just watched it. What the hell were you guys smoking when you watched this?! It’s not a horror flick, but this is a damn good character study about what happens to human beings when the shit hits the fan. I was expecting garbage judging from your review, but wow, I was really impressed. And that ending is a severe kick in the pants, too. WOW. I’m honestly shocked that you guys hated it. I was pleasantly surprised by the thing.
http://www.stalepopcorn.co.uk/movie-reviews-theatrical/movie-review-the-mist/
I’m more with Serena. At first I didn’t even want to go see the film (sorry I passed on Friday Serena, probably wouldn’t have made it time wise anyway!), but enough positive reviews swayed me. I agree with the special effects being sub par (but they are used sparingly) and I agree that the film was heavy handed in its driving its points home. But I did love the middle section. You can’t have a movie be an action/horror film is you want to build fear of the unknown. You have to let the film go slow (or in a negative sense…DRAG). I loved Marcia Gay Harden’s crazy preacher lady and the films anti-evangelical stance (well the crazy evangelical kinds). I would have liked a member of the mindless masses shift away when some of the crazier suggestions were made by the Harden Character, but overall I liked that angle, it made the film work better. Of course the film was meant as a drama first, creature feature/horror film second. But how many wide-release big(ish) budget films would even attempt that ending? In the end I was surprised how much I liked the film (yes it is out same Heavey-Handed Darabont at the wheel, but I think the rest of the elements work well enough to give this one an easy pass. The film doesn’t spare the gore either. Actually it’s pretty impressive what this film is trying to foist on an unsuspecting popcorn-audience. For that I give it praise, and all the moreso for following things thru. I would have preferred a bit more ambiguity, but didn’t expect it due to the screenplay wearing its ideas (and ideals) on its sleeve.
Just got back from seeing this movie…. Awesome!!!
I really enjoyed the movie myself I thought it was really good. The only problem I had with the movie was that the CGI didn’t look all that great. I think Darabont made it look like that on purpos though from what Ive heard but I think it would have been bette if the CGI didn’t look so lame half the time. Other than that I thought the movie was pretty solid but come to think of it I do wish they did a better job at explaining at what The Mist was.
It’s definitely a great ending and that goes a long way toward me forgiving any flaws.
As for the effects, they weren’t a problem for me. There’s nothing wrong with a movie using unstate of the art effects to bring the budget down. Especially with the ridiculous amounts of money they spend on movies these days. I’d like to see more movies use effects like this.
btw…The return of William Sadler was pure gold!! Missed him!
Sadler is always good, not the least of which as DEATH in B&T’s Bogus Journey!
I also thought it was quite good, and the ending though a real downer was extremelt compelling, as was Mark Isham’s score. What, is there a revival of Maximum Overdrive playing somewhere???? Put down the hookah fellas…or th’ Molsons! Horror is horror for a very good reason, its not always tidied up at the end—there are consequences!
I really enjoyed it myself. The whole monster thing was besides the point so I didn’t worry too much about the CGI being imperfect or the insects looking a bit plastic buggy. To me it was all about how people react to crisis and fear and how easily led to extremes we are.
A note on the your perception that the film can be construed as anti-Christian: since real world evangelical Christians lack subtlety in their tactics against Gays, choice, Feminism etc.. I think the portrayal and character were pretty much on target and from my perspective a bit of cultural tit-for-tat.
…Oh and those groups are soooo low-key in their arguments. Please, another Canadian Socialist????? The media raely speak with any evangelicals with any true scholarship on these issues. They always go for the wild-eyed mutant amoemba samples from the theological pool.
I’m a Christian and the woman made me cringe with her stereotypical rants….I would have shot her too (kidding….well, sort of..)!
Tripp,
Waterford, Calif.
i kkinda wanted 2 see this movie cuz i really enjoyed the book. but if this is that bad could someone just e-mail me wat happens in the ending. ya im that lazy but i wanna know. thnx anybody dangdiddly2005@yahoo.com
Hey, does anyone know where I can buy a hookah online ??
I have around 100 dollars i can spend
If you’re like me (and I know I am!…;) you are one of the viewers/fans of the original novella that really disliked Darabonts ‘ending’…but fear not, a Fan Edit is on the way to pay homage to the original novella ending!
Once the film is officially released to DVD, there will soon after be a Fan Edit version available called ‘The Novella Cut’…to see a test version of this new ending, please check out…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKiWkG3397c ….. and email me at kkarstens@cableone.net with your opinions…thanks!…
K
This movie was amazing…Gives you the message ” never give up hope ” I seriously thought this movie was amazing. Although the ending makes me want to punch the wall. But very well made. Plot is just sad. It’d be so awesome if they made a second one. Movie like this I always hope that they will make another explaining more on what had happened. Like maybe more of the scientist side and how they made the window open. And what they did to close it. Or what was the whole govt doing during that time. More on the monster instead of the people this time would be nice.
They should have left the ending alone. In the novella they get to the freeway and hear the giant thumping of the huge creature walking. They never actually see it (really, visibility was like what, 3 feet?), only it’s footprint. This is where the story ends and how it should have been. The Mist is about the unknown and it is into the unknown that the story ultimately leads. King gives you no indication to what becomes of the survivors or just how far the mist extends of it it will ever recede or whether it will blanket the whole planet. Kind of liked the painting they threw in there of what seemed to be of Roland from “Dark Tower”, maybe we’re getting a hint to a possible future production???
Greetings Again!
Looks like good ‘ol ‘YouTube’ yanked my clip…so I set up a full page on ‘The Novella Cut’ fanedit of ‘The Mist’…check it out, along with new clips, reviews and in depth detail on the edits to be made in order to reflect the original book ending…http://www.karcreat.com/MistNovellaCut.html
Enjoy, book fans!…;)
K
Movie was great however the ending pissed me off. Before the
last five minutes i would have given the movie an A+ after the end it failed for me. This is the kind of movie i would want my money back from. It makes me want to take a gun to Frank Darabont head and blow it off. One thing is for sure the next time i see his name on a movie im putting it back. The best thing about this movie was went they finally shot that bitch before she sacrified the boy. Though the whole point was mute when Frank had the kid and the other three survivors heads blown off 2 minutes before rescue came. Frank is a sadistic bastard who ruined a perfectly good movie by killing off the main characters except for the father in the end. Never again will I watch one of his movies. NEVER AGAIN. NEVER.
Well what can I say, went to see The Mist last night after reading & hearing all the hype – what started as a great evening ended with this laughable joke of a film. The story line was flimsy to say the least & the special effets seemed to lend a whole new meaning to the term low budget. The first 20 minutes are barely passable but the remaining 90 are like watching paint dry, at one point I even questioned was this some kind of poor low grade Horror Movie, but alas NO. It was just that bad … Very very disappointing !!!
Excellent film. The review is VERY unfair.
I`m not much of a horror fan and my m8s had to go on at me to finally see this, but when I did I was hooked. A great study not on just what it`s like to be trapped with something horrible outside, but on the Human being under extremely stressful condiitions and what he`s prepared to do when in it. Being a caroonist art illustrater and Father seemed to hit the spot even more! One for my DVD collection.
9\10!