Saw this last night at the AMC on 19th Street, and it is one scary flick - one of the best King adaptations I've ever seen. (And I'm talking about the ones like "Misery" and "Shawshank Redemption" - not "Firestarter.") Frank Darabont directed, and the guy knows what he's doing when it comes to this material.
Some terrific actors turn in very human performances in a nightmarish film - Toby Jones, Thomas Jane, Jeffrey DeMunn, Andre Braugher. Marcia Gay Harden is fantastic as a religious fanatic who finds in catastrophe the time of her life. For the first time ever, she gets to be right.
As scary as the monsters in "The Mist" are, it's the scenes of what people do to each other that are truly chilling. I may be reading this into it, but it seemed to me to be an allegory of red state/blue state America - a place where religious zealots use death and disaster to grab power, all the while screaming that they're being victimized because others don't believe as they do.
Plus, how could you not love a movie where Frances Sternhagen clocks Marcia Gay Harden in the head with a can of peas, shouting "Shut up, you old buzzard!"
3 comments:
I totally agree. I think this movie is underrated. Really sharp and freaked me out. And DARK.
The scene where they all turn on the soldier kid is one of the scariest things I've seen in a long time.
The movie seems to have really gotten missed (GET IT?? 'MIST?') but I bet it'll catch on once it comes out on DVD.
I really loved it and found it very disturbing. Especially the ending.
I'm a huge fan of his writing and am currently breezing through his 6th book of the "Dark Tower" Series.
I feel like he's an underrated writer because he's so prolific.
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