Though “The Mist” provides plenty of action wrought on by mystical nature, “The Mist”‘s plot unraveled by human nature conjures up feelings of sadness, anxiety, even a little humor, and leaves you wondering, “What would you do?”
With all the detailed character sketches, “The Mist” is no doubt a movie long overdue. Finally, people can watch a new movie and feel every feeling possible.
It all begins with David Drayton (Thomas Jane), a husband and a father.
Though he seems tough and confident, his relationships show that he is levelheaded and kind.
After an overnight storm that destroyed his art studio, boat house and his annoying neighbor’s car, Drayton, his son and his neighbor head on over to the local grocery store to grab some supplies.
Though the storm was an inconvenience to all who were in the store, the mist’s mystical killing ingredient causes panic.
As the mist rolls in, and people mysteriously die, the townspeople get terrified.
At first, I thought “The Mist” would be a terrifyingly bad “The Fog Part II,” but Stephen King knew better than to make this movie anything like “The Fog.”
Together with writer and director Frank Darabont, Stephen King put together a masterpiece far surpassing “The Fog.”
They put together every character one would find in a small New England town and put their traits to the test.
Would they clash, or would they band together in order to survive?
There is the outsider neighbor who is stubborn enough to believe that even during a crisis. There are locals who would still pinpoint him as the gullible one.
There is the high school dropout who is dumb; the only thing bringing in the paychecks are his mechanical skills.
There are the two young lovers, the military men, the protective mommy, the cowboy and the biker.
There is the secretly brave geek, the teacher, the old couple who are set in their ways (a good thing) and the religious nut ball, trapped within Puritan ideologies, played by Marcia Gay Harden.
All of these characters play an important role in their survival, or lack thereof.
After many have lost hope, they turn to the religious nut ball for answers and those that remain hopeful have an even bigger obstacle than the mist.
The main battle is over human nature and human emotions.
The battle over what is in the mist is only secondary. This idea sets this movie apart from The Fog, and it sets it apart from mainstream entertainment. This movie is worthwhile to watch.