Stephen King’s The Mist Review
“Dark and mysterious, but guaranteed to stay with you long afterwards”
B+
Having formulated a successful reputation with ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ and ‘The Green Mile,’ director Frank Darabont is no stranger to adaptations, and when it comes to bringing the work of acclaimed author Stephen King to life, Darabont certainly knows what he’s doing. Since the 80s, Darabont had been hoping to take King’s bestselling novella ‘The Mist’ to the big screen, but he was just waiting for the right time in which technology would provide good assistance. By creating unique designs for the deadly creatures and slightly altering the written ending (a darker change which was green lit by King), Darabont has crafted what may be one of the darkest, yet mysteriously satisfying films of the year.
In the aftermath of a violent thunderstorm, artist David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and a small town community quickly come under attack from deadly creatures prowling in a thick and unnatural mist. While local rumors point to an experiment known as “The Arrowhead Project” conducted at a nearby top-secret military base, suspicions as to the origin of the deadly vapor are secondary to the community’s chance for survival. Retreating to a local supermarket, Drayton and the survivors must face-off against each other before taking a violent stand against an enemy they can’t even see.
It is usually difficult to really point out any good performing in a horror film, but I must say, for an actor whose face pops up on rare occasions, Thomas Jane really puts a plus in his resume with his performance in ‘The Mist;’ a plus he really could use following two universally panned projects (The Punisher, and Deep Blue Sea).
Long timing is generally a no no for modern horror films, but aside from plenty of spooky jumps and gory attacks filling in a solid two hour frame, Frank Darabont really pushed this project to the edge with some visual effects that are about as unique and eye-popping as the unearthly creatures of ‘Pan’s Labrynth.’ Even when they are meant to scare you as they come from seemingly nowhere in the mist, one can’t help but notice the true artsy look of some of these prowling monsters.
It would be hard to say at this point just how ‘The Mist’ levels compared to other horror flicks this year (the toughest competition coming from Rob Zombie’s ‘Halloween’), but for any Stephen King fan, it is certainly a treat as always to see one of the horror mastermind’s stories brought to life. General horror audiences may find it a little dark and mysterious to see a film surrounded in mist with even more controversy filling many of the early holes. But no one hoping to get white-knuckles will see this film as just another cheap route to some thrills; and if not jumpy enough, it is certainly a visual show of excitement to say the least.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Nov 30 2007. Filed under Features.
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