The Mist

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

the_mist_poster Directed by: Frank Darabont

Review by: Fergus McShane

Price: £6.99

1 Star 2 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars 5 Stars (4 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5)

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Stephen King is without doubt one of the most prolifically adapted novelists ever with 108 conversions onto TV and film formats in total. Frank Darabont it must be said then is one of the directors who favours his story-telling style most, previously directing The Woman in the Room (1983), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Green Mile (1999) and now The Mist (2007). Four out of his tally of only six directorial efforts.

King and Darabont simply put are a match made in film heaven! The bleak but ultimately positive outlook on life in these films fits perfectly with both men. Saying that though… if anything The Mist is mainly bleak.

The Mist is an old-style horror in the vein of George Romero and early John Carpenter. It shows a greater emphasis on the breakdown of society under stress, rather than the cheap in-your-face shock tactics of recent horror series. And in doing so sidesteps becoming a forgettable piece of commercial film fodder, providing a look at the horror imbedded in humanity at the same time.

There is a great mixture of characters covering all facets of society, an ever-present growing and looming threat with some monster frights that will have the squeamish viewer running for cover. The phrase “roller-coaster ride of emotions” is bandied about too often in film descriptions, but it fits perfectly here. It is surprising how watching The Mist you can go from feeling the claustrophobia and fear of the situation, to sheer hatred of certain characters within seconds.

On reflection, The Mist is an excellent piece of modern horror that returns to the masters of the genre for inspiration. It may have an emotionally turbulent finale, but be it elation or devastation, what ground-breaking horror doesn’t?

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 1:43 pm and is filed under DVD Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.