The Mist (2007)

A freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.

Director:

Frank Darabont

Writers:

Frank Darabont (screenplay), Stephen King (novel)

Stars:

Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Thomas Jane	...	David Drayton
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Mrs. Carmody
Laurie Holden	...	Amanda Dunfrey
Andre Braugher	...	Brent Norton
Toby Jones	...	Ollie Weeks
William Sadler	...	Jim
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Dan Miller
Frances Sternhagen	...	Irene Reppler
Nathan Gamble	...	Billy Drayton
Alexa Davalos	...	Sally
Chris Owen	...	Norm
Sam Witwer	...	Private Jessup
Robert C. Treveiler	...	Bud Brown (as Robert Treveiler)
David Jensen	...	Myron
Melissa McBride	...	Woman With Kids at Home

Storyline

Everyone thinks of it as a harmless lightning storm. When Dave Drayton notices a strange mist on the lake, he thinks nothing of it. When he, his son, Billy Drayton, and his neighbor Brent Norton travel to the supermarket, the unthinkable happens. On their way to the market, they see the army, firefighters, and the police heading toward the mist. When he sees this Brent mentions something about "Project Arrowhead", a secret military project that no one knows about. As they are shopping, they see three soldiers walk in, pick up a few things, then head toward the mist. All eighty of the store's shoppers have no clue what is going on until an old man runs in the market with a bloody nose and declares "Something in the mist!" He tells them to close the door. About five seconds after they close the door, the entire store shakes, as though it has been lifted several feet above the ground. When David is asked to check on the generator, he finds the loading dock door being pushed on by ...

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Plot Keywords:

mist | creature | supermarket | tentacle | maine | 

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Taglines:

Stephen King's Legendary Tale of Terror

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, terror and gore, and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stephen King's The Mist

Filming Locations:

Minden, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£157,394 (UK) (4 July 2008)

Gross:

£494,092 (UK) (18 July 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dimension Films, Darkwoods Productions, Weinstein Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color Black and White (alternate DVD version)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In addition to the Gunslinger painting at the beginning of the film, the movie shares another connection with other Stephen King works. The line, "My life for you", spoken by Mrs. Carmody in the film, (although not in the novella), originally appeared in the novel, The Stand, as spoken by Donald Merwin Elbert, (the Trashcan Man), first in his dreams, and then later in person, to Randall Flagg, (the Dark Man or the Walkin' Dude). The line later appeared as dialogue between other villainous characters and subsequent incarnations of Randall Flagg, such as Walter o'Dim in the Dark Tower series novels, and Flagg, in The Eyes of the Dragon.

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Goofs

When David is seen repeatedly beating down on one of the winged creatures in the grocery store with a mop, there is one brief camera shot that clearly shows the end of the mop still attached (it had been removed moments earlier). The next shot shows the mop without the end.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Billy Drayton: Whoa!

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Crazy Credits

The end credits begin as the song at the end of the film fades out. As the end credits roll up the screen, the sounds of military vehicles (helicopters, tanks, APCs, etc.) can be heard over the credits.

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Connections

References The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

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Soundtracks

"The Host of Seraphim"
Written by Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry
Performed by Dead Can Dance
Courtesy of 4AD Ltd.

User Reviews

True Horror

I'll start out by saying that I'm a Stephen King fan and thus I may have some bias. I've watched many Steven King movies but have never given one a rating this high. Most of his horror movies are in the 4-6 range with classics such as The Shawshank Redemption, The Shining, and The Green Mile ranking 8-10 (although two of those aren't technically horror movies). In most modern horror (like the Saw series) there is a greater emphasis on gore than the horror of the human condition and this movie, kudos to the actors, help weave a tale that disgusts you inside and out without the pure reliance on blood spatter (although granted there is a fair amount of that).

Thomas Jane (leading male and well known from The Punisher) has a brilliant and emotional portrayal of his character in a mind-blowing situation that we feel intimately associated with thanks to his acting and great directing. Laurie Holden (of X-Files and Silent Hill fame) has a more subdued performance but plays her role well and for any X-Files nut (such as myself) it's fun to see her in another movie. The cast is chock full of well known actors and some unknowns that really see and express the writer and directors vision. It pays off: They succeed in pulling you into a traumatic situation made worse with a mixture of religious zealotry, military conspiracy, and small-town ignorance that explodes in your face wondering if your humanity is worse off facing The Mist or the human condition.

There is no spoiler here but I will say this about the ending: It's what makes the movie and makes it so much better than most of the crap put out there in horror land. Yes, yes, getting cut in half and having limbs ripped-off is horrible. However it is the decisions we have to make that concern those we love and respect that can really drive one mad. The ending makes you look at yourself and wonder, if given the same situation, what you would have to do with the information you have available. It makes you think hard about your humanity and your soul and about what is right or wrong in any given situation involving our mortality.

I would suggest this movie to anyone that likes horror or science fiction and wants something a little more intense than, say, Army of Darkness (one of my personal favorites for totally different reasons). This movie deals with serious issues we hear about daily. The mist is just a piece of Science Fiction thrown in to bring out the best...and worst in us.

Enjoy!!