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

Frank Darabont agreed to make the film with Dimension only under the condition that no matter what, they wouldn't change the scripted ending. They agreed.

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Goofs

In the scene where Norm is being dragged by the alien under the stockroom door, initially, there is no visible blood trail behind him. Yet a few scenes later when Ollie goes to stop the generator, there is a thick trail-mark of blood "supposedly" left by Norm on the floor by the ax.

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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 Sesame Street (1969)

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Soundtracks

"The Vicious Blues"
from Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
Written by Mark Isham
Courtesy of Miramax Film Corp.
Under license from the Disney Music Group / New Line Productions, Inc. / Alan Rudolph and The Estate of Robert B. Altman

User Reviews

One of the best horror films I've seen in a long, long time

On first impressions The Mist doesn't remotely seem like the kind of film anyone should be excited about. The Mist, what? A bit like The Fog, then. Stephen King's The Mist, oh, that makes it even worse. Directed by Frank Darabont, since when did he direct horror films? Okay, so he scripted Nightmare on Elm Street 3 and The Blob, not bad films, but not classics in any sense. Starring Thomas Jane, has anyone seen The Punisher. And, to cap it all, The Mist died a quick death at the US box office. It'll probably go straight to DVD in the UK.

The only reason I bought and watched the film was on a recommendation from a friend. He pleaded: "You have to see this film. You won't believe how good it is." So I put his judgement to the test.

And thank God. This is a great horror film. From the opening scene, Darabont sets a tone that's creepy, sinister and beautifully judged. The script is realistic, the character are believable and the direction... Darabont has almost reinvented himself. The Mist is dark, scary and even funny (intentionally). You care about the characters, the scary scenes are scary, and the whole film is carried off with an efficiency, a lack of pretension and a strong idea of what makes a good, if not great, horror film.

And the ending... how dark can you get? I can understand why this didn't do well at the box office. But neither did Shawshank Redemption...