Humans. We're meant to be the good guys, right? When other worldly beasties attack it's humanity's plight and fight for survival that is ultimately the heroic tale. Or are we really the monsters, paying for a multitude of sins as nature strikes back, unable to put our prejudices and superstitions to one side to fight against our attackers. So many siege movies have dealt with this idea and Frank Darabont's The Mist balances itself on the fence between the two sides of the argument.
As set ups go The Mist's is pretty much textbook stuff. Frightful storm, mysterious mist, group of survivors trapped in a supermarket as monsters lay siege to the place. The setting is key though as it allows for a rich cross section of society to be among the group of survivors. There's the everyman and his kid, the successful lawyer, the religious nut, black, white, male, female, young, old, stupid and clever. Oh and there's the too intelligent for their own good.
It's an inevitability that the survivors divide really isn't it? It's what humans do. The situation in the supermarket is a microcosm of the world, and in particular America, today. As such we have the skeptical and the foolhardy/dumb who either don't believe or think it's a good idea to venture outside. The decision to head to the pharmacy next door to get drugs for a man as good as dead is the ultimate in stupidity and stubbornness. Thankfully it also provides an incredible set-piece that'll have anyone scared of arachnids running from the room.
These actions could be attributed to fear. With things becoming oppressively terrifying we tend to act desperately. And when people are at their most desperate they turn to anyone who claims to have answers. In the case of The Mist this comes in the form of Mrs. Carmody, the aforementioned religious nut. Spouting what appear to be prescient passages from the Book of Revelations she quickly garners supporters. Before long this cult are just as much a threat as the things outside. In following the word of the Bible (or at least Mrs. Carmody's interpretation of it) they become arguably more monstrous than the creatures outside.
It's not the most subtle of social comment, and indeed the writing is a tad heavy handed at times. But it is effective. And that's because The Mist just works. It's gripping and at times utterly horrifying and as such you forgive Darabont's clunkier moments. The CGI isn't great either. The burden of a low budget. Thankfully there are only a few scenes where the monsters aren't submerged in mist. The suspicion is that if Darabont had been allowed to make the thing in black and white as he wished they wouldn't look quite as bad. It's a shame really as after so much effort has went into crafting a realistic horror they tend to jar and take you out of it slightly.
Thankfully the performances suck you back in, after all it's the humans not the nasties that really matter. Credit in particular goes to Marcia Gay Harden's (is she bad in anything?) manic fervour as Mrs. Carmody, Toby Young and youngster Nathan Gamble, a horror kid that doesn't grate. Sadly Thomas Jayne isn't quite in their league. He's not awful but he's nothing more than a likable, average actor, meaning that he copes for the most part, but emotional scenes are a bit too much for him.
With The Mist Frank Darabont has crafted an intelligent and gripping state of the nation address horror, in the mould of Night Of The Living Dead, bleak ending and all. Darabont's first full length Stephen King horror adaptation suggests that the genre has missed him until now. He proves a dab hand, able to command scares and bend the genre rules. In these days of redundant, bludgeoning horror films The Mist is a vital piece of filmmaking. Make sure you're a good guy and go see it.
