Frank Darabont and Stephen King have a definite rapport with onscreen pairings, similar to Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, they just work well. So much so that King, who is said to be difficult to please when it comes to film adaptations of his work, thoroughly enjoyed the devastatingly bleak ending that The Mist delivers. Darabont's interpretation, while the CGI looks comparatively dated, hits all the right notes when it comes to human struggle, survival and desperation. Touching on familiar tones like xenophobia, religious extremism and suicide in a world that has lost control without any explanation as to how or why before the body count starts racking up.
Using familiar faces to those who have seen the Darabont-produced The Walking Dead, and an excellent star-making turn with Thomas Jane, the delivery of this tale of survival in enclosed spaces is perilous and harrowing to endure. But that's what makes it a powerful watch. David Drayton (Thomas Jane) is a successful graphic artist who lives with his wife and son in familiar King-territory Maine. A violent thunderstorm uproots a large tree in the garden and the boathouse. Drayton, who is on previously unfriendly terms with his neighbour, Brent (Andre Braugher), set aside their differences as a means to help each other out by taking a trip to the local store now that Brent's car is completely destroyed.
Things takes a supernatural turn, a spreading mist has set upon the lake outside the neighbours' homes up from the mountainside. A military convoy passes and the local radio stations are unavailable. Nevertheless they make it to the mini-mall and things take a turn for the worse. A bloodied and panicked man (Walking Dead's Jeffrey DeMunn) runs into the store warning of something in the mist as it begins to envelop the store. Everyone wears an understandable look of shock and confusion as the dense blanket increases their fears. Human nature is tested when a young mother (Walking Dead's Melissa McBride) pleads with the crowd for someone to accompany her home to get her young children. No one does and she disappears into the mist never to be seen again.
The divides between beliefs and what is good for the cause of the survivors begin to show. Drayton, a young bagboy called Norm, store worker Ollie and two mechanics venture into the store room to power on the generator. A violent struggle ensues as Norm is injured and then ultimately devoured by a tentacled creature in the mist. The acting in here by Thomas Jane strikes a powerful chord when he floors one of the mechanics for not taking action, not believing him and letting a young boy die. "We didn't push him," one of the mechanics argues. "He was just a boy, he's meant to be stupid. What's your excuse?" Drayton coldly responds.
Many facets of emotion are covered and many opinions are tossed around too. There are those who don't believe there are monsters in the mist and those who do. Those who feel they need to search for rescue and those who believe rescue will come to them. The dualities made clear, human togetherness is not as simple as it could be. Then there's the religious extremist Mrs Carmedy (played fantastically to resound a sense of hatefulness by Marcia Gay Harden). She delivers the film's turn as voice of God, starting as a joke shared amongst the group and then eventually as an evangelical saviour. Mrs Carmody's lines are full of spite to her fellow man, or rather those who do not take her side. "The time I need a friend like you, I'll just shit one out," she spits at Walking Dead's Laurie Holden.
The creature design here is memorable and they all look like they belong in the same world. The huge flies and spiders all feel as though they are in the same genus with spines, bug eyes and defence mechanisms abound. Some of the larger more gargantuan creatures' shapes are seen but you are never treated to the full palette of grossness they may be made up of. A scene later in the film of a colossal four-legged creature covered in claws and tentacles stomping past is staggeringly beautiful as it lows through the forest. A terrifying mantis creature stalks the car park with pincers the size of a small car for example. A lot of the tension and fear comes from the reactions of the characters when they see these otherworldly monsters. It's interesting to watch as well; we think initially the survivors are being attacked, when in fact it is only when the giant flies are taunted or feel threatened do they do so. The pterodactyl-like four-winged beasts are simply hunting these smaller prey but when confronted with a small child, see a more manageable snack.
Members of the army are trapped inside the mini-mall too and after a botched rescue attempt of the nearby pharmacy, complete with a truly disgusting birthing of hatchling spiders, they are hounded for answers as to where these creatures have come from. We gain some closure and influences ring true of the Philadelphia and Montauk Experiments. The group begins to fall apart and, in desperation, most fall prey to Mrs Carmody's preachings when the death and suicide counts begin to rack up. David and several of the survivors eventually escape the mall and set off on the road to escape the mist. It's in these final scenes we gain an insight into the horror that has happened outside - traffic jams have been laid to waste, overturned and covered in acidic spider webs; road signs have fallen to one side; youngsters have even been lost to the creatures outside. Mark Isham's soundtrack builds up to a soaring crescendo filled with the duality of hope and loss of it. A gut-wrenching decision takes place and I won't spoil it but Thomas Jane's acting skills' superiority really ring as he screams his lungs out in anguish, distress and anger. Frank Darabont has done a superb job with previous King adaptations and it's easy to see why he continues to do so, and I'm excited to see what he picks up next. Fingers crossed it's The Dark Tower series...
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