The Mist sounds suspiciously like a new name for yet another remake of John Carpenter’s classic, The Fog. In fact, it is a very simple title for a complex and intriguing horror tale that’s more about humanity than a bunch of monsters.
The film is based on a Stephen King novella in which the worst electrical storm on record has a small coastal Maine town assessing the damage to homes and businesses. As a result of the storm, everything is out – power, phones, and radios: the place is cut off from the rest of the world. The storm has also left behind an ominous mist that quickly shrouds the town, trapping those inside its only grocery store when it looks like bloodthirsty, inhuman monsters are lurking outside.

As panic and confusion set in inside the grocery store, three distinct groups emerge: 1) those that want to find a safe means to escape, led by family man David Drayton (Thomas Jane); 2) those that choose not to believe anything evil is in the mist, led by David’s neighbour, Brent Norton (Andre Braugher); and 3) those that embrace the chaos, believing the world is coming to an end, led by the religious zealot Mrs Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden).
With the emergence of these groups, The Mist becomes an enlightening study of religion, class, and human nature in the face of tragedy. People once friends and neighbours become enemies because of the group they have chosen. David and a maintenance crew clash over how to fix the store’s rooftop backup generator.

Later, Brent and David clash when a bloodied David tries to describe the abominable creature with sharp tentacles that attacked the crew. Brent believes David fabricated the story as retaliation for a lawsuit Brent filed against him several months back. All the while, Mrs Carmody gains support amongst the scared with her doomsday preaching and calls for expiation and human sacrifice of those she believes are at fault.

Initially a safe haven from the threat outside, the grocery store becomes perilous. Writer-director Frank Darabont does a tremendous job building and sustaining the suspense both inside and outside the store. The monsters lurk quietly in the mist, never totally visible until Darabont thrusts an attack upon us at the most unanticipated moment. After the immediate threat from the mist has subsided, and before the next threat arrives, Darabont turns up the tension within the store with a battle over complex societal issues and the right approach to dealing with the situation.

In The Mist, the monsters are only a small part of the larger supporting cast. The most frightening character of all may be Harden, whose self-righteous, apocalyptic cries for atonement are more piercing and menacing than the mist’s savage flesh-eating beasts.

David Levine