WayneLigon
Adventurer
Having seen the subsequent trailers, I think I will go see it. Tomorrow, in fact.
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[Trailer] The Mist
- Thread starter Krug
- Start date
Simplicity
Explorer
I always thought The Mist was one of King's better stories. Not sure that it'll be a good movie though.
Darkwolf71
First Post
Not a horrible movie. It stayed fairly close to the story, with most of the right people dying at the right time and in the right way. There are some changes of course, but not a lot.
The biggest change is at the end of the movie. The novella leaves things pretty vague as to what happens to the survivors but in some kind of attempt to wrap things up for the movie there is a decidedly dark and rather sick twist followed by an ironic reveal that just left a bad aftertaste. (Although, apparently King liked the new ending and gave it a seal of approval.)
The biggest change is at the end of the movie. The novella leaves things pretty vague as to what happens to the survivors but in some kind of attempt to wrap things up for the movie there is a decidedly dark and rather sick twist followed by an ironic reveal that just left a bad aftertaste. (Although, apparently King liked the new ending and gave it a seal of approval.)
Kahuna Burger
First Post
Spoil please?Darkwolf71 said:
iirc, the novella ending is vague but hopeful - the POV character has heard a snippet of a radio broadcast indicating that there are at least other islands of hope out there (and a city to head for). I rather liked it, personally - it implied continuing adventures with a purpose, neither a happy ending nor a completely "dark" one.Darkwolf71
First Post
Ok.Kahuna Burger said:Spoil please?
[SBLOCK=Spoiler]In the movie, just after the six legged behemoth passes the car, they run out of gas. The main character uses the gun and remaining four bullets to kill his four passengers, including his son... He then steps out to face certain death-by-monster but, within seconds the mist lifts and military vehicles begin to drive by with refugees.
It could have been a great ending, but the timing was ridiculous.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Steps out of SUV, screams in remorse... tanks and trucks begin to roll by. :\
Had he gotten out of the SUV and stumbled through the mist for even an implied 15 or 20 minutes, it would have been much easier to swallow.[/SBLOCK]
Kahuna Burger
First Post
wow... that's really, really lame.... Note to self - if I get a chance to see this film, walk out at the right time and pretend the movie is over....Darkwolf71 said:Ok.
[SBLOCK=Spoiler]In the movie, just after the six legged behemoth passes the car, they run out of gas. The main character uses the gun and remaining four bullets to kill his four passengers, including his son... He then steps out to face certain death-by-monster but, within seconds the mist lifts and military vehicles begin to drive by with refugees.
It could have been a great ending, but the timing was ridiculous.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Steps out of SUV, screams in remorse... tanks and trucks begin to roll by. :\
Had he gotten out of the SUV and stumbled through the mist for even an implied 15 or 20 minutes, it would have been much easier to swallow.[/SBLOCK]
WayneLigon
Adventurer
I went to see it today. I am still divided about how I feel about the ending. On one hand, it kinda ruins the story. On the other hand, it makes it an even more effective horror movie. On the whole, as a big fan of the original story, I liked the movie. It's certainly quite a few cuts above most of the work derived from a King story.
The movie is a very quiet one, as well. Almost no music at all, except for I think something at the beginning and a choral at the end. Very effective; the cinematagraphy you see with that doesn't follow the standard pattern, either; there are no exaggerated natural sounds, such as long periods of heavy breathing or such. It gives the film a very realistic quality without devolving into shakey-cam you-are-there antics.
The movie follows the story very well from what I remember, and the things they added are good things. There is more interaction and more character development. People act very naturally and give explanations for their actions, or the explanation is very natural from what you've seen before. Even crazy Jesus-freak Mrs Carmody (and Lord help whoever poor Mr Carmody must have been) has a depth and a rational basis for her actions. She devolves into true madness as the film progresses but even so she never comes across as a black and white character.
You can guess most of the action from the trailers but they don't give away a great deal of the details. The creature effects are top notch, and people's reactions to them very nicely done. From what I remember, most of the action in the story happens in the movie; the parts where the people in the grocery start to turn on each other are, if they not in the story, are presented in a strong and beleivable fashion.
Now, as to the changes I know took place.
1.
2. The ending.
One might think you should stay past the credits, but no, you don't. Again, one of the few credit sequences I've ever seen with no music.
The movie is a very quiet one, as well. Almost no music at all, except for I think something at the beginning and a choral at the end. Very effective; the cinematagraphy you see with that doesn't follow the standard pattern, either; there are no exaggerated natural sounds, such as long periods of heavy breathing or such. It gives the film a very realistic quality without devolving into shakey-cam you-are-there antics.
The movie follows the story very well from what I remember, and the things they added are good things. There is more interaction and more character development. People act very naturally and give explanations for their actions, or the explanation is very natural from what you've seen before. Even crazy Jesus-freak Mrs Carmody (and Lord help whoever poor Mr Carmody must have been) has a depth and a rational basis for her actions. She devolves into true madness as the film progresses but even so she never comes across as a black and white character.
You can guess most of the action from the trailers but they don't give away a great deal of the details. The creature effects are top notch, and people's reactions to them very nicely done. From what I remember, most of the action in the story happens in the movie; the parts where the people in the grocery start to turn on each other are, if they not in the story, are presented in a strong and beleivable fashion.
Now, as to the changes I know took place.
1.
I'm not sure in the story if they come right out and say that the research at the Army base is the cause, but here they do. They were trying to open a window to look at other dimensions, but that window must have turned into a doorway.
2. The ending.
OK, in the story, David and at least his kid make it out of the grocery and they drive off into the Mist. A titanic creature passes above them without even noticing them, strongly hinting that the Mist is all over by now and the time of Mankind is at an end.
In the movie, we see the titanic creature - very effective - and David keeps driving.
They go by his house and see the body of his wife hoisted up against the trees, coccooned by the acid-spider-things.
There is him, his son, Amanda, and two much older shoppers, Irene and I think Dan. They run out of gas and they can hear the things out in the Mist getting closer. David has a gun, but with only four bullets for the five of them. He says he'll figure something out.
David shoots Amanda and his son, then the older people. He sits and screams for a time, then goes out into the Mist to let the things take him. He faces back down the road, screaming hysterically for the thing making the sound to come get him. A tank rolls out of the mist, and soldiers; a convoy begins to roll past, and behind them you can see the Mist thinning out and dissipating. David slumps to his knees, screaming incoherently. He's killed his son and the others for nothing - they've been driving away from help all this time; if he'd waited just five minutes, they all would have been rescued.
The camera pans up to the long line of army vehicles and the convoy of survivors; to the sides of the road, they are taking flamethrowers and guns to the monsters, killing them quickly and efficiently. Gunships hover in the air. End credits.
In the movie, we see the titanic creature - very effective - and David keeps driving.
They go by his house and see the body of his wife hoisted up against the trees, coccooned by the acid-spider-things.
There is him, his son, Amanda, and two much older shoppers, Irene and I think Dan. They run out of gas and they can hear the things out in the Mist getting closer. David has a gun, but with only four bullets for the five of them. He says he'll figure something out.
David shoots Amanda and his son, then the older people. He sits and screams for a time, then goes out into the Mist to let the things take him. He faces back down the road, screaming hysterically for the thing making the sound to come get him. A tank rolls out of the mist, and soldiers; a convoy begins to roll past, and behind them you can see the Mist thinning out and dissipating. David slumps to his knees, screaming incoherently. He's killed his son and the others for nothing - they've been driving away from help all this time; if he'd waited just five minutes, they all would have been rescued.
The camera pans up to the long line of army vehicles and the convoy of survivors; to the sides of the road, they are taking flamethrowers and guns to the monsters, killing them quickly and efficiently. Gunships hover in the air. End credits.
One might think you should stay past the credits, but no, you don't. Again, one of the few credit sequences I've ever seen with no music.
Kahuna Burger
First Post
WayneLigon said:
I guess it depends on what you want out of a horror film... I guess I was always more a fan of the action/horror genre - the Terminator and Alien feel, or maybe a bit of Silence of the Lambs. Terror, jump scares, a feeling of hopelessness at the halfway point perhaps, but a point to the struggle at the end.
[sblock]They heavily theorize about it in close to those exact words. In the story there are two army guys in the store when the mist hits and they kill themselves, it is implied because they know everything is totally FUBARed.[/sblock]
well, now I know I'm not seeing this.
thank you for the details.Augh! the nail in the coffin!
(credit watcher here.)
Kahuna Burger said:
Having seen it, I don't think it was lame. I thought it was effective, and well written and acted.
My wife, who also liked it, characterized it as "A foreign art film that had thown up on an episode of the Twilight Zone, but in a good way".
Mind you, neither one of us is fond of blood and guts, nor of folks running around trying to evade the monster du jour. This movie was less about inflicting adrenaline in the audience than it was about displaying the effects of fear on the characters.
Darkwolf71
First Post
Keep in mind, that comment, as well as my post that it is in reply to are directed at the ending of the movie. Not the film as a whole. I enjoyed The Mist. Quite a lot, actually.Umbran said:
The ending was just rushed.
