The Mist

     Words can't begin to describe the excitement when I first heard about the movie version of Stephen King's short story, "The Mist".  I have been a huge fan of the story since 1984 when I first read it- I always felt it would make an excellent movie. If you have never experienced "The Mist" in short-story form, I think you should, run, don't walk to your nearest bookstore and pick up a copy of SKELETON CREW.  It's a fantastic read... Roughly twenty-five years later I finally got my wish.  And I have to say, they almost perfectly captured the essence of the powerful short story it was based on.  If you've read it you can plainly see that "The Mist" couldn't really be much better than it is- which is pretty good.  A couple of slightly hokey CGI effects beside, it's a slick, scary monster mash.

     A freak thunderstorm has enveloped a small Maine town in an unearthly mist.  A small group of people find themselves trapped in a grocery store and soon realize there are things moving about outside in the mist.  Vicious, blood-thirsty things. Terror ensues.  As tensions grow, it's soon discovered the Arrowhead Project- a mysterious nearby military base, is involved.  Marcia Gay Harden chews up more scenery than the monsters themselves as religious fanatic Mrs. Carmody, who is convinced it's all God's revenge on the sins of humanity.  She's hellbent on human sacrifice to save them from Hell's doom.  Which is really what the movie is about- what ordinary people can and will do and become under extra-ordinary circumstances, and the dark side of human nature lurking inside us all.  Yes, I just made that up.

      The controversial ending put off many viewers, while others (myself included) hailed it as ballsy and refreshing.  The director, Frank Darabont, of "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Green Mile" seems to be a huge Stephen King fan, as "The Mist" is his third King adaption.  In my opinion, King's short story is one of his most imaginative and scary creations he's ever conjured up, and the movie adaption is pretty darn close to it.  I'm a sucker for a good monster movie anyway, and this one was right up my alley.  Plus, could Thomas Jane be any hotter?  Woof...