The Mist
Bottom Line: Enjoyable for those who watch horror movies solely for blood and gore.
Directed by: Frank Darabont
Starring: Alexa Davalos, Andre Braugher, Frances Sternhagen, Jeffrey DeMunn, Laurie Holden, Marcia Gay Harden, Nathan Gamble, Toby Jones, Thomas Jane, William Sadler
When we look at some of the most prominent figures surrounding the horror genre, it seems film and television have countless possiblilities. To name just a few, Bela Lugosi, Wes Craven, John Carpenter, and–much more recently–Oren Peli. In written fiction, there aren’t very many notable personalities. It’s limited to Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, Ann Rice, and Stephen King. Of those four, King stands out as my favorite. He is–or, rather, was–a prolific author you could count on for a great book that most of the time turns into a just as spectacular film. Brian de Palma’s CARRIE and Stanley Kubrick’s THE SHINING are as equally important to the horror genre as their source novels, for example. Writer-director Frank Darabont has proved himself a fan of King’s work. He’s the filmmaker responsible for THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and THE GREEN MILE. Each of those was an adaptation of King’s non-horror work, a rarity, but they nevertheless turned out spectacularly. They’re the kind of films that we remember much more than their source material. With those credits and exuberant knowledge of how to successfully adapt and even improve on the author’s work, one would think THE MIST would be somewhat decent. The Mist was a mediocre novella to begin with, with an engaging premise marred by poor writing. To adapt it was a tedious idea, but appallingly, the film works out as little more than derivative B-horror.
