In the hands of a lesser filmmaker than Frank Darabont and processed through the mind of a typical studio screenwriter for hire, a Hollywood film adaptation of Stephen King's novella THE MIST could easily have become your run-of-the-mill monster movie: creatures from another dimension devour people trapped in a mall (presumably the monsters pick them off one by one, after the typical formula employed in countless generic horror films). But the most captivating thing in King's story is not really the plot about the monsters attacking and the "breach" into another dimension (although I love that idea): it's how the human characters react to it and what happens between them.
In staying faithful to the source material, Darabont uses the microcosm consisting of the people trapped in a small town supermarket to explore the dynamics and power shifts that happen very quickly within a society when a powerful outside threat appears. Just like King's excellent novella, the film is a hard hitting allegory for how easily even seemingly "civilized" countries become susceptible to the hateful, crazy messages of demagogues when they are faced with a serious crisis. And it not only manages to perfectly capture the subtext and political undercurrent of the novel, Darabont's film also gives the audience a true sense of the Lovecraftian horror King unleashed on the page (the creatures look fittingly otherworldly, misbegotten and truly frightening).
As it is, THE MIST isn't just one of the most faithful King adaptations to date, it's one of the best horror films of the new millennium.
P.S. (for new IMDb users): In case you don't know whether to trust this review or not, because you have no idea what my tastes in film are, just click on my username - gogoschka-1 - and you'll see a list what my 50 favorite movies are.
In staying faithful to the source material, Darabont uses the microcosm consisting of the people trapped in a small town supermarket to explore the dynamics and power shifts that happen very quickly within a society when a powerful outside threat appears. Just like King's excellent novella, the film is a hard hitting allegory for how easily even seemingly "civilized" countries become susceptible to the hateful, crazy messages of demagogues when they are faced with a serious crisis. And it not only manages to perfectly capture the subtext and political undercurrent of the novel, Darabont's film also gives the audience a true sense of the Lovecraftian horror King unleashed on the page (the creatures look fittingly otherworldly, misbegotten and truly frightening).
As it is, THE MIST isn't just one of the most faithful King adaptations to date, it's one of the best horror films of the new millennium.
P.S. (for new IMDb users): In case you don't know whether to trust this review or not, because you have no idea what my tastes in film are, just click on my username - gogoschka-1 - and you'll see a list what my 50 favorite movies are.