The Mist

Went to watch The Mist with Gayle last week, and I have a lot of mixed feelings about the movie. The storyline is classic Stephen King, which leaves you wondering what's coming, and dreading it, yet unable to contain yourself from reading (or in this case, watching) more. I found it riveting, though the ending does leave the viewer with an 'Oh crap..' kind of feeling. I wouldn't mind watching it again though. The religious bitch reminds me of someone back in Miri. LOL. *hush*

The movie opens with a big storm off a lake. Painter David Drayton (Thomas Jane, The Punisher) and his wife, Stephanie, watch the storm arrive and they bunk down in their basement. The next morning, a mysterious mist hovers over the lake. Upon seeing his boat house destroyed by his neighbor's tree, he has a chat with his lawyer neighbor Brent Norton and they decide to go to town and get some supplies. David's son, Billy, tags along. While driving along, they see military and police personnel rushing to the direction of the lake. Then they reach the supermarket and this is where the 'fun' begins.

While chatting with patrons, everyone at the supermarket hear screams outside. The mysterious mist now envelops the town, and they see Dan Miller running to the store all bloody. Upon entering, he urges everyone to lock down the store and tells of how his friend was 'snatched' by a mysterious creature. Everyone, understandably horrified, bunks down in the supermarket. Suddenly, an earthquake hits. Soon after, a mother, unable to bear the idea of her two young children at home alone, ventures out, and finds no one at the store is willing to help her out.

As the day goes on, a deeply religious woman (bitch), Mrs Carmody, suspects that Armageddon is coming. David goes to the back of the supermarket to look for a blanket, and hears funny sounds coming from the shipping door. He goes back and get some other guys to check it out, and they doubt David's sanity. Norm, a bagging boy, offers to check out what's blocking the generator vent outside (read: trying to show some balls). When the door opens, a thick mist reduces visibility to zero. Norm is grabbed by huge clawed tentacles and in the ensuing battle, Norm is dragged off and the creature loses a tentacle. As David and Ollie, the assistant store manager, try to convince the patrons, Brent doubts them and accuses them of playing on others' fears. Brent and some others venture out of the store and are never seen again. The others then tie a clothesline around a biker's waist, as he attempts to retrieve a shotgun. As they reel in the line, only the bottom half of the man is recovered.

That night, huge locusts-like insects gather at the store's huge plate glass windows, which have been reinforced with duct tape and bags of pet food. Large flying creatures pluck these insects off, and as they hit the plate glass, the glass starts breaking. Eventually, the store is breached and the patrons are forced to defend themselves. They do so with makeshift torches. The girl bagger gets stung by an insect and dies, while another is badly burned. The store does not have medicine and some will have to go to a nearby pharmacy. David and some people, including Ollie stage an expedition to the pharmacy. They retrieve supplies, at the cost of three men dead.

Seeing the failed expedition, Mrs Carmody preaches and preaches and eventually, her group grows larger. A mechanic, Jim, who was with David earlier at the backroom incident where Norm died, becomes one of the most vocal followers. Anyway, David confronts one of three off-duty soldiers and demands that they explain. Unfortunately, two of the soldiers commit suicide, and the remaining one is forced to tell about the Arrowhead Project, a project by the military to explore other dimensions. Apparently, this one went wrong. No shit partner. Mrs Carmody and her crazy bunch of monkeys lynch the poor boy, with the butcher stabbing him in the gut three times. Mrs Carmody claims that God wants blood sacrifice, and David's tiny group is powerless to help. The soldier is thrown out of the store and he is killed by the creature.

David's group is now seriously freaking out. They gather supplies at the check out aisle and prepare to make a run for David's car. They are discovered by Mrs Carmody and she accuses them of stealing. Her now large group surrounds David's group. Mrs Carmody then demands that David's son Billy be sacrificed. Like David would allow that. In the fight, Ollie shoots Mrs Carmody dead (good riddance, bitch) and the stunned group lets David's group pass. In the rush to the parking lot, several of them are killed, and Ollie's gun drops on David's car, and he retrieves it. The long and lonely drive begins.

They first drive to David's house, where he sees his wife is dead. They then drive on and on.. In the car are Amanda, a woman who looked after Billy in the store, Billy, an old lady named Irene, Dan, and David. Eventually, they run out of gas. The mist is still thick, and they all silently agree that there is no point in moving on. David checks Ollie's gun and finds it still has 4 bullets. There are 5 people in the car. David shoots Amanda, Irene, Dan, and his own son Billy. He screams in his car, and urges the creature to take him. He gets out of the car and hears a rumble behind him. The creature? Nope. It's a tank, and the army has successfully contained the mist. Oh shit Dave. He sees truckloads of survivors, among them the mother who ventured out alone. Army personnel are everywhere, containing the mist with flamethrowers. As everyone in the cinema realizes this, groans and cries are heard. Tough luck man. You killed four people needlessly.

Oh shit Dave. You should have waited two minutes.

8/10

Jay~