ALL SCI-FI

[Bogmeister]

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I watched this in the theater (one of very few films I made the effort to go to that year) because I've been waiting for a film version ever since reading King's novella way back in 1980 or 1981. It was in a collection called Dark Forces and I still remember much of it. It was great.

I then purchased the 2-disc DVD version a week ago, so as one might guess, I thought the film version was pretty good.

The 2nd disc has a B&W version of the film, meant to emulate '50s or '60s sf horror films, whereas the color version sort of copies seventies sf horror (that's the theory, anyway).

Darabont is a deliberate film director (see Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile), not indulging in quick cutting or other flashy movie gimmicks pervading many films during the past couple of decades. These are gimmicks aimed at the young crowd, who get bored quickly (i.e. A.D.D).

I appreciate Darabont's more elegant approach, being a member of a . . . slightly older crowd.



I think he did a fairly faithful, well-executed adaptation of King's story, and I wasn't bored. On the contrary, it was a tense film experience.

I had no complaints regarding the FX; other audience members may be spoiled by the FX of $150m blockbusters.

Darabont did veer away from King's original for the climax; this is where most of the controversy is, with many viewers outraged or disgusted. Darabont did overstep a bit in my opinion, and the conclusion could have been done with a bit more finesse, but I think most of those people who hate the ending are just not accustomed to those kinds of endings in Hollywood movies.

Many people find it shocking, others just see it as unbelievable. I wasn't too bent out of shape over it; after seeing a bunch of strange creatures chewing on various human victims, I could believe just about anything.
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[Bongopete]

I simply LOVED the ending!

I had read a synopsis of this a while back, and caught it on cable but still really enjoyed it. It has some typical King stuff in it, but otherwise a good terse movie.

I don't understand Darabont's thing about black and white, however. The same thing was done to at the very least, the first episode of 'The Walking Dead'.

Changing and showing something shot in color into black and white is not the same thing as shooting it in black and white to begin with. Shadings are not the same, lighting is not the same. I don't know if he is thinking that black and white enhances the suspense or what . . . but it's not going to look like something such as . . . 'Night of the Living Dead'.

[Bud Brewster]

[orzel-w]

This is one of the very few movie adaptations of a Stephen King story I've liked. (I can number the ones I've liked on one hand and have some fingers left over.) I've never read a SK story, so all my evaluations are based solely on the movies themselves. My usual objection to the movies made from SK stories is that they seem like the story was a grab bag of spooky/creepy disjointed elements checked off at random from a laundry list he had jotted down as they occurred to him. This movie stuck to a single premise, and all the plot elements were logically connected to that central theme.
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...or not...

WayneO
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[Brent Gair]

I thought the movie was well done and I enjoyed it.

I was very surprised at some of the reaction to the ending. To me, there was a logic and humanity in the ending based on the facts available to the characters at the time. It was quite a shock to read comments expressing extreme anger about the ending.

[orzel-w]

I'm curious as to how King's version of the story ended. Those expressing outrage over the movie ending, be it a Stephen King story or anybody else's, are customarily fans of the author's writings who have read the original before seeing the movie and feel the screenwriter has desecrated their Holy Scriptures.
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...or not...

WayneO
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[Krel]

I've never seen the movie, or read the story, but my Sister has. She thought that the movie was pretty good until the ending. She felt that the director did it as an F-U to the audience, she much preferred the story's ending, which she felt was creepier.

From what she told me. the ending had them driving off into the fog, following the signal of a radio station.

David.

[orzel-w]

Ah! Found this at IMDb:

[Brent Gair]

[Rocky Jones]

This film was definitely science fiction and I thought it was pretty good. I'd rate it one of the better Stephen King adaptations.

I've got one of those two degrees of separations things with this film. Back in '06 I was in the business of going to live liquidation auctions at a rate of like 2-3 a week in the Dallas/Ft Worth area. At one supermarket auction I attended there was this chain smoking New York-like guy who was beating everybody out the bids on all sorts of grocery store equipment. Finally during a lull I got into a conversation with him and found out he was in charge of buying set decoration and props for a Stephen King film they were shooting over in Shreveport.

He bought most or all the store fixtures you see in the film's grocery at that auction. He had pretty bottomless pockets, so anything he wanted to buy he got. I still managed to get a way with a few goodies, like a big pizza warmer that made me a couple of hundred, but was a bitch to pack for shipping.

[Krel]

[orzel-w]

[Bud Brewster]

[Bud Brewster]

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Thanks again for the reminder, Wayne! Last year in May I said I would watch my download and post a message here, but I never did.

I ran across this thread today and realized that I finally DID watch the movie (from a Dish channel one morning), but I forgot to follow up on the thread.

So, here's the verdict about about The Mist.

Enjoyable, yes. Scary, yes. Interesting all the way until the end, hell yes!

* * * SPOILER ALERT * * *

I didn't care for the ending simply because I'm an old softy who wants to see the good guys win and the brave people come out on top. The folks in the car were minutes away from being rescued (without knowing it) and then they . . . did what they did.

I'm not saying I would have been brave enough NOT to have done the same thing, but I was definitely disappointed when THEY did it.

But that's just me.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]