Anybody else watch "THE MIST" movie? Excellent!!!

[Poppinsme]

I just watched this movie and was blown over how much it followed Stephen King's novella.

I read "The Mist" back in 1979-1980 when it came out in a horror anthology. Its, I feel, one of Kings best, superior on every level. True horror classic.
King wrote this in what I call his "early best" years.

So was a little hesitant about watching this as I have seen SO MANY horrible movies made of his work.
This movie surprised me .

Thomas Jane (David Drayton) as the lead was really excellent and Marcia Gay Harden (Mrs. Carmody) was outstanding. They got it right. The rest of the cast was just as good. No special effects that dominated, characters that were fleshed out, really nice. Very , very, good.

Bravo!

 

[Brocktoon]

I loved the movie, but I had a feeling it was going to be done well. Frank Darabont wrote/produced/directed the flick. Darabont also wrote/directed The Green Mile and Shawshank Redemption, so he has a pretty good track record with King's work, and understands that the characters are way more important than the monsters.

Keep an eye out over the next year or so ... Darabont just signed a development deal with the cable channel AMC to develop Robert Kirkman's comic book series 'The Walking Dead' into a TV series. The Walking Dead basically follows the idea of your standard Zombie flicks like Night and Dawn of the Dead, but it's written so darn well. Just like 'The Mist', the zombies aren't nearly as scary or dangerous as the human surviors and the extremes they'll go to stay alive. Much of the focus is on the human characters with a zombie apocalypse as the back drop.

With Darabont on to write and direct the series, it has potential classic status ...

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

The movie was great, but the ending made me very angry. They crossed a line with that ending that I can never accept.

King is the best at character development, but his novels have become more and more disgusting. He lives and writes in a world in which good is mocked and evil is celebrated...

 

[Shyvioletisme]

The movie was great, but the ending made me very angry. They crossed a line with that ending that I can never accept.

King is the best at character development, but his novels have become more and more disgusting. He lives and writes in a world in which good is mocked and evil is celebrated...

I don't think that's what he's doing at all in his novels. And I feel like everything shouldn't end with the good guys winning and everyone living and everything turning out happy in all books/movies. That makes things so boring. You need the desolate version of life sometimes.
a suggestion that perhaps you shouldn't be reading horror novels a lot of horror novels as a lot of times things don't always turn out good in the end.

I thought the movie was good, except for Thomas Jane...I thought he did such a poor job acting that it actually detracted from the movie quite often. Especially any time he had to "cry out" it was so cheesy and poorly done and I feel like a better actor really could have done better things in that role, but the rest of the movie was really well done. Very poignant.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

a suggestion that perhaps you shouldn't be reading horror novels then...

Really? I read many horror novels. Most authors give good a fighting chance, and most even allow good to prevail. King started out that way. At one time, he was the best - ever. He is now disgusting...

 

[WelovMickey!]

Can you tell me if it came out on video or t.v. I would like to see it. Can I get it at Blockbuster?

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Can you tell me if it came out on video or t.v. I would like to see it. Can I get it at Blockbuster?

It is now on cable (Showtime). I watched it again two days ago, but turned it off before the end. It is worth watching, but the ending is painful...

 

[GoodFairies]

I watched it last week when it premiered. It was quite true to the novella, except for the end of course. I despise Marcia Gay Harden and so it was hard to watch the movie for me especially considering the role she played.
Oddly I would have liked the end if that's how the novella had ended. But it was just so harsh compared to the novella ending, which (spoiler) at least has a tiny message of hope.

I would say the movie was ok. Not great, not horrible, definitely watchable if you like character studies.

 

[Brocktoon]

Can you tell me if it came out on video or t.v. I would like to see it. Can I get it at Blockbuster?

It'll probably be on standard cable TV within the next year, but they may have to edit it some for content as it's pretty intense. You shouldn't have a problem finding it at Blockbuster, and I'd reccomend renting it.

As for the ending ... like Shyvioletisme, I thought it was done well. When you're sort of backed into a winless situtation you just have to chose the best of the bad options out. Yes it is a brutal ending, but I think it fits the story and theme well.

I actually didn't think Thomas Jane was too bad. I think Darabont wanted to go with a less known actor so that a big 'name' wouldn't distract the audience from focusing on the character.

I also like the little nod to The Dark Tower in Thomas Jane's painting at the beginning of the flick!

EDIT: I've heard King actually liked Darabont's ending better than the original, and wished he would of thought of it

 

[NikitaZee]

The movie was great, but the ending made me very angry. They crossed a line with that ending that I can never accept.

I didn't see the movie, but my husband did. He said the same thing - the ending made him angry, and he was upset about it for the rest of the night.

 

[Gina]

I am a huge horror genre fan -- LOVE Stephen King -- but that is the one movie in all my 40-something years that I wish I had never, ever, EVER seen. "Things you can't un-see", indeed. I hate even being able to recall it in my memory. I wish I could have a mind-wipe just of that movie ending.

 

[Poppinsme]

So many, many dice and slice movies now. Ugh!

Thats why it was nice to see a movie with character development.
The ending was changed from the book which was too bad. And it is a very tragic ending, the movie. Very believable.

After living through Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures, civilization CAN collapse in 24 hrs., I know.

I enjoyed the movie. Not bad for horror.

 

[Free4Life11]

I liked the movie but absolutely hated the ending. I thought is was just plain sick and was very upsetting.

 

[Aisling]

I didn't see the movie, but my husband did. He said the same thing - the ending made him angry, and he was upset about it for the rest of the night.

That's what made this an excellent movie, in my opinion, that King and the producers weren't afraid to stick with the horror/suspense genre and be true to the book. It was an ending that makes you think. "What would I have done in that situation?" It was a profound ending, disturbing, but profound.

I was disappointed that in King's movie Cujo, the child lived, but in the book, he died. I don't like seeing children die in books/films, but everything doesn't have a happy ending, and often those unsettling endings are what makes the movie striking.

I do understand the opposing opinions, though.

 

[2BigKIdz]

That's what made this an excellent movie, in my opinion, that King and the producers weren't afraid to stick with the horror/suspense genre and be true to the book. It was an ending that makes you think. "What would I have done in that situation?" It was a profound ending, disturbing, but profound.

I was disappointed that in King's movie Cujo, the child lived, but in the book, he died. I don't like seeing children die in books/films, but everything doesn't have a happy ending, and often those unsettling endings are what makes the movie striking.

I do understand the opposing opinions, though.

I agree. I hated the ending, it was so tragic but it is often those types of endings that make the movie memorable. Life does not always have a rosy ending and all movies shouldn't either, even though we want them too.

I thought the movie was well done. It has been so long since I read The Mist, since the book first came out, that I don't recall how it ended. If someone would mind posting that here I would really appreciate it. I was hoping someone would shut Mrs. Carmody up in the first 5 minutes of her appearance!

I was once a huge Stephen King fan, bought his hardbacks as soon as they were available. I'm not sure what happened to him, but the only book of his I have enjoyed in many years was Bag of Bones. I don't even attempt to read his stuff any more. I did read his son Joe Hill's book Heart Shaped Box, parts of it were really creepy and believe he has potential.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

I liked the movie but absolutely hated the ending. I thought is was just plain sick and was very upsetting.

I've seen the movie twice now, in just a few days. The ending is upsetting, but it is believable. I have to say, I put myself in his shoes, and I think given a choice, I would have done what he did.

 

[Jennasis]

Criminy...Dh and both thought the entire movie was lame...perhaps even lame-o. The ending wasn't sick or disgusting, IMO. It was shocking, but I would have"bought" it more had there been no (spoiler) arrival of the army ten seconds too late to save the people in the car. Just contrived.

 

[Stevania]

LOVE Stephen King and his sick, disgusting and twisted tales.....woo hoo!

 

[denisem]

EDIT: I've heard King actually liked Darabont's ending better than the original, and wished he would of thought of it

According to IMDB, true. Supposedly, Darabont refused to make it without HIS ending, and SK concurred. DH recorded it last week thinking I'd enjoy it...but then kept saying "I dunno...you might hate me for the ending".

Actually, no. I was shocked at the ending, but it made me think. Sometimes I find that preferable to everything tied up in a tidy package.

Spoiler: Thomas Jane promised his son he wouldn't let the monsters get him. Considering a many-storied monster just crossed their path, what they'd been through and were defenseless...I think he kept his word to his son.

Jennasis, I DO think the ending would have been stronger if they'd done a bit of "time-passage" cuts before the Army arrived...

 

[AshleyW]

I enjoyed most of the movie, but I had read the novella beforehand so I was very disappointed with the ending. I've heard that Stephen King absolutely LOVED Frank Darabont's ending though, and wished he would have thought of it for the novella.. I'm glad he didn't.