by Perry Cox

Created on: January 06, 2009

In a small town an unwitting group of shoppers are trapped in a Supermarket as an unusual Mist descends. When one of the townspeople runs in bloody and claiming there is "something in the mist" people start to panic. Unfortunately, things are about to get a lot worse as the shops inhabitants start to get picked off one by one. Can they survive whatever is out there and each other?

"The Mist" is possibly my favourite Stephen King short story. It is a brilliant slice of fear and paranoia as characters form factions and start to fight amongst themselves. Fortunately, the film adaptation is at least as good and remains largely faithful to King's vision. Director and frequent King collaborator Frank Darabont co-wrote the screenplay with King and this has resulted in easily the best King horror since "Carrie".

This is no big budget Hollywood blockbuster and views more like a well made TV special than a movie but it is none the worse for it. Okay the dodgy CGI is all a bit daft but this is a films that seems to revel in it's modest budget and is not scared of throwing one ridiculous B-movie monster after the other at you. Despite the fact the effects are all ridiculous; including The Mist itself which looks like it has escaped from a dodgy episode of Top of the Pops, this is a film that does manage to scare although not because of the monsters in the mist.

This film scares thanks to an intense feeling of claustrophobia throughout that puts you on edge. The building tensions within the increasingly cramped Supermarket seems far scarier particularly as the shoppers and staff turn on each other. The scary reaction of the human inhabitants as they either deny the evidence in front of them or proclaim judgment day is upon them is both convincing and disturbing. The need for us to find someone to blame and explain the unexplainable is explored in some depth here as they as a battle between religion, science and good old pragmatism ensues. Some convincing performances from a relatively unknown cast help enormously with this.

Marcia Gay Harden perhaps is the best example of this as she absolutely steals the show with her portrayal of the increasingly insane religious zealot Mrs Carmody. Her portrayal of a lonely existence that seems to revel in the oncoming misery and death is inspired. Similarly inspired is child actor Nathan Gamble as Billy Drayton who plays his part as terrified as any child could be. Bizarrely the weakest performance is probably by King's acting stalwart

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