The Mist (film)

The Mist

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Frank Darabont
Produced by Frank Darabont
Martin Shafer
Liz Glotzer
Screenplay by Frank Darabont
Based on The Mist by
Stephen King
Starring Thomas Jane
Marcia Gay Harden
Laurie Holden
Andre Braugher
Toby Jones
Cinematography Rohn Schmidt
Editing by Hunter M. Via
Studio Dimension Films
Darkwoods Productions
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
The Weinstein Company
Release date(s) November 21, 2007 (2007-11-21)
Running time 126 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $18 million[1]
Box office $57,293,715[2]

The Mist (also known as Stephen King's The Mist) is a 2007 American science-fiction horror film based on the 1980 novella of the same name by Stephen King. The film is written and directed by Frank Darabont, who had previously adapted Stephen King's works The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Darabont had been interested in adapting The Mist for the big screen since the 1980s. The film features an ensemble cast including Thomas Jane, Jeffrey DeMunn, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Samuel Witwer, Toby Jones, Nathan Gamble, Andre Braugher, and Frances Sternhagen.

Darabont began filming The Mist in Shreveport, Louisiana in February 2007. The director revised the ending of the film to be darker than the novella's ending, a change to which Stephen King was amenable. Unique creature designs were also sought to differ from creatures in past films. The Mist was commercially released in the United States and Canada on November 21, 2007. The Mist performed well at the box office and received generally positive reviews.

Although a monster movie, the central theme is what ordinary people will be driven to do under extraordinary circumstances. The plot revolves around members of the small town of Bridgton, Maine, who after a severe thunderstorm that causes the power to go out the night before meet in a supermarket to pick up supplies. While they struggle to survive an unnatural mist which envelops the town and conceals vicious, otherworldly monsters, extreme tensions rise among the survivors.

Contents

Plot

The morning after a violent thunderstorm, David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his wife Stephanie (Kelly Collins Lintz) witness an unusual mist outside their lakeside home. Concerned with cleaning up in the aftermath of the storm, David, his neighbor Brent Norton (Andre Braugher), and David's eight-year-old son, Billy (Nathan Gamble), go to the local grocery store to buy supplies to fix the storm damage. Like the rest of the community, the store lost its power. With increasing police activity in the streets, Dan Miller (Jeffrey DeMunn) runs into the store with a bloody nose warning of something dangerous in the oncoming mist. After the mist covers the parking lot and they hear the scream of a man who ventures outside, the store patrons decide to seal themselves inside. The building is soon shaken by violent tremors, visibility reduces to nothing, and the customers grow more and more nervous about the fate of the screaming man; a siege mentality takes hold of them.

Unstable religious fanatic Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden) suspects this is the beginning of Armageddon. A woman, visibly shaken, exclaims that she has two young children at home and must get back to them. She implores other for help, but eventually leaves alone. Later, mechanics Myron (David Jensen) and Jim (William Sadler), bag-boy Norm (Chris Owen), and assistant manager Ollie Weeks (Toby Jones) investigate a noise in the loading bay. Norm is killed by a monster after he ventures outside to fix a generator. Once confirmed that the danger is only outside, everyone works to block the front of the store. David and Ollie fail to convince Norton and other skeptical patrons going outside is too dangerous. One man agrees to retrieve a shotgun from Cornell's (Buck Taylor) car, but is killed in the process.

New creatures appear that night; enormous flying insects are attracted by the store's lights and pterodactyl-like animals which pluck them off of the full-length windows, eventually breaking one and allowing the insects in. As a result Sally is stung by an insect, suffocating her, and Tom Smalley is killed by the pterodactyl creature. In the ensuing attack, Joe Eagleton is badly burned in an attempt to set the insects on fire. During the attack. an insect lands on Mrs. Carmody, but flies away instead of giving her a fatal sting. Viewing this as validation of her beliefs, Carmody quickly gains followers among the distraught people, believing that the world is ending and a human sacrifice is needed to save them from the wrath of God. David and a group of volunteers try to retrieve medical supplies for the severely burned Joe from the pharmacy next door, but are attacked by spider-like creatures. The spiders kill Mike Hatlen and Joe's brother, Bobby. The others discover an army MP encased in webbing, along with other patrons; he tries to warn them but his body suddenly bursts open and baby spiders begin feeding on the dead volunteers as David and the rest flee. Because of the failed expedition, Carmody's following grows stronger.

When the group discover that two of the soldiers from the Arrowhead Project hung themselves, the remaining soldier, Private Jessup (Samuel Witwer), reveals that the project - rumored to be an attempt to look into other dimensions - was the likely origin of the mist, and that the monsters were extra-dimensional beings that used the mist to begin ravaging the town, and possibly, the entire world. At Carmody's command, Jessup becomes a human sacrifice and is stabbed three times before he is thrown outside. Jessup pleads to be let in, but he is killed.

The next morning, while they are preparing to leave the store, David and his group are intercepted by Mrs. Carmody, who decides that David's whole group should be sacrificed as well. Ollie shoots Mrs. Carmody, stopping her followers in their tracks. Mrs. Carmody's death causes her ardent followers to realize what they were doing and they sheepishly allow David's group to leave. Ollie makes it to the car safely, but is then picked up and killed by a mantis-like creature. Myron trips on the way out, slowing him, Cornell, and Bud Brown behind. Shortly thereafter, Myron is then killed, while Bud Brown and Cornell run away frightened. Cornell is eventually chased and killed by the spiders, and Bud Brown gets scared and runs back to the store, where he is welcomed. Amanda, David, Billy, Dan, and Irene (Frances Sternhagen) make it safely to the car, but see no sign of the others. Before they leave, David grabs Ollie's dropped gun and they drive off, while Mrs. Carmody's stunned ex-followers watch in shock.

Driving through the mist, David returns home to find it destroyed and his wife Stephanie dead. Heartbroken, he drives the group south, witnessing the destruction left in the wake of the mist. As David continues to drive on, the group encounters a giant beast towering hundreds of feet tall. Eventually, they run out of gas and pull over to the side of the road, disheartened that they hadn't seen any other survivors. While Billy is sleeping, the four adults discuss their fate, deciding that there is no point in going any further. With four bullets left in the gun and five people in the car, David shoots Amanda, Dan, Irene, and his son, Billy, to spare them violent death by the creatures. Distraught and determined to die, David exits the vehicle, ready to be attacked by whatever is in the mist. A loud approaching noise turns out to be a self-propelled artillery vehicle, followed by a squad of soldiers equipped with NBC suits and flamethrowers. As the mist clears, several trucks, filled with soldiers and survivors, pass David. Among the survivors is the woman from the supermarket that no one would help, and her two young children. Realizing that they were that close to rescue and that he killed his own son, a distraught David falls to his knees, screaming, while two soldiers look on in confusion.

Cast

Production

Development

Director Frank Darabont first read Stephen King's 1980 novella The Mist in the Dark Forces anthology,[3] and originally expressed interest in directing a film adaptation for his directing debut. He instead filmed The Shawshank Redemption, also based on another King novella.[4] In October 1994, after completing The Shawshank Redemption, Darabont reiterated his interest in filming The Mist.[5] Darabont did not immediately follow through, instead directing the 1999 film adaptation of Stephen King's The Green Mile.[6] Darabont eventually set up a first look deal for The Mist with Paramount Pictures, having been entrusted feature film rights by Stephen King.[4] By December 2004, Darabont said that he had begun writing an adapted screenplay for The Mist,[7] and by October 2006, the project moved from Paramount to Dimension Films, with Darabont attached to direct and actor Thomas Jane in negotiations to join the cast.[4]

Writing

"The story is less about the monsters outside than about the monsters inside, the people you're stuck with, your friends and neighbors breaking under the strain."
— Darabont on The Mist[8]

Director Frank Darabont chose to film The Mist after filming the "straighter dramas" The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile because he "wanted to make a very direct, muscular kind of film." Darabont conceived of a new ending in translating the novella for the big screen. Author Stephen King praised Darabont's new ending, describing it as one that would be unsettling for studios. King said, "The ending is such a jolt—wham! It's frightening. But people who go to see a horror movie don't necessarily want to be sent out with a Pollyanna ending."[9]

Darabont described The Mist as quaint in its elements of monsters and fear of the unknown compared to the contemporary popularity of films with torture porn. The director saw The Mist as a throwback to Paddy Chayefsky and William Shakespeare, explaining, "It's people at each other." He highlighted the element of fear in the film in how it compelled people to behave differently. Darabont said, "How primitive do people get? It's Lord of the Flies that happens to have some cool monsters in it."[3] He also drew parallels to The Twilight Zone episode "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" and the 1944 film Lifeboat.[1]

In the novella, the character David Drayton - who is married - has a sexual encounter with Amanda Dumfries, who is also married. Darabont did not want to attempt conveying on screen the protagonist being involved in an extramarital affair. The characters in the film, portrayed by Thomas Jane and Laurie Holden respectively, instead share a more emotional relationship. Jane explained, "We kind of form a little family, sort of surrogate family where my son and I’m a father and she becomes the mother to the son. We become a little unit as we’re trying to get through this nightmare together." Holden compared the nightmare to what refugees experienced at the Louisiana Superdome during Hurricane Katrina.[10]

While the origin of the mist is never explained in great details in the movie, Frank Darabont did write an opening scene in a draft dated 5 August 2005, in which the thunderstorm causes a malfunction at the Arrowhead Project's lab that allows the portal to another dimension to stay open too long. The scene was never filmed.

Filming

In December 2006, Jane finalized negotiations with the studio to join the cast.[11] In January 2007, actors Andre Braugher and Laurie Holden joined Jane for the cast of The Mist.[12] Production began the following February at StageWorks of Louisiana, a sound stage and movie production facility in Shreveport, Louisiana.[13] Marcia Gay Harden and Toby Jones joined the cast later in the month.[14] William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, and Brian Libby, each of whom appeared in Darabont's previous Stephen King adaptations The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, were cast in supporting roles. Sadler had previously played Thomas Jane's role, David Drayton, in a 1986 audio book version of The Mist. Darabont wanted to cast King in the supporting role that eventually went to Brian Libby, an offer King turned down.[15]

Darabont sought to pursue "a more fluid, ragged documentary kind of direction" with The Mist,[10] so he contacted the camera crew from the TV series The Shield, after having directed one episode, to use their style in the film.[16] Darabont attempted to film The Mist digitally but found that it "wound up looking too beautiful". The director chose to film with 400 ASA from Fujifilm, which gave footage a grainy effect.[1]

In the opening shot, David is drawing in his room. The drawing is based on Stephen King's Dark Tower series, and the drawing was actually painted by famous movie poster designer Drew Struzan. Darabont also put in re-productions of his posters and illustrations for John Carpenter's The Thing, Pan's Labyrinth, The Shawshank Redemption, and The Green Mile, paying a tribute to him.

Darabont collaborated with the production designer to create a mix of eras to avoid appearing as a period piece but also not looking so contemporary. Cell phones were used by characters in The Mist, but the military police in the film did not dress in modern attire. While an MP also drove an old Jeep instead of a Humvee, other cars seen in the film are modern models.[1] The city police cars in the beginning of the movie are a 1987 Chevrolet Caprice and a 1988 Ford LTD Crown Victoria, cars that were standard police vehicles in the late 1980s but have not been used in force since the late 1990s.

Over a hundred extras from Shreveport, Louisiana were included in The Mist. Unlike conventional application of extras in the background of a film, sixty of the hundred extras were interwoven with the film's ensemble cast.[17] Additional elements giving the film a local flavor include the prominence of local Louisiana brands such as Zapp's potato chips. Exterior shots of the house at the beginning were in Shreveport. Exterior shots of the supermarket were in Vivian, Louisiana. Also, if looked closely at, the shields on the side of the passing firetrucks early in the movie identify them as part of the Caddo Parish fire department. This is possibly a mistake as the film is allegedly set in Maine.

Music

Darabont chose to use music to minimal effect in The Mist in order to capture the "heavier feel" of the darker ending that he had written to replace the one from the novella. The director explained, "Sometimes movie music feels false. I’ve always felt that silent can be scarier than loud, a whisper more frightening than a bang, and we wanted to create a balance. We kept music to a minimum to keep that vérité, documentary feel." Darabont chose to overlay the song "The Host of Seraphim" by the band Dead Can Dance, a spiritual piece characterized by wailing and chanting. As a fan of Dead Can Dance, Darabont thought that the song played "as a requiem mass for the human race."[18] The original score was composed by Academy Award-nominated composer Mark Isham.

Effects

Frank Darabont hired artists Jordu Schell[19] and Bernie Wrightson to assist in designing the creatures for the film.[16] Greg Nicotero worked on the film's creature design and make-up effects, while Everett Burrell served as the visual effects supervisor. Nicotero initially sketched out ideas for creature design when Darabont originally expressed interest in filming The Mist in the 1980s. When the project was greenlit, Nicotero, Burrell, and Darabont collaborated about the creature design at roundtable meetings at CaféFX.[10] The studio for visual effects had been recommended to Darabont by Guillermo del Toro after Darabont asked the director who created the visual effects for Pan's Labyrinth. Due to the creatures being described in only a few sentences in the novella, Darabont sought to conceive of new designs. The challenge was to try and create the designs in such a way that they felt unique. Nicotero, who was versed in film history and genre history, reviewed past creature designs to avoid having similar designs.[1] When the designs were completed, Nicotero and Burrell educated the cast on the appearance of the creatures by showing puppets and the function of their eyes and mouths. The presentation of the puppets served as reference points for the cast, who had to respond to motion capture dots during filming.[10]

Release

The Mist was screened at the film festival ShowEast on October 18, 2007, at which director Frank Darabont received the Kodak Award for Excellence in Filmmaking for his previous works The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.[20]

Critical reception

On the film review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, The Mist received a 73% approval rating, based on 139 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10.[21] It received a 59% approval rating from the 29 "Cream of the Crop" reviews.[22] On the website Metacritic, the film has received a metascore of 58 out of 100 based on 29 reviews.[23]

James Berardinelli wrote of the film, "The Mist is what a horror film should be - dark, tense, and punctuated by just enough gore to keep the viewer's flinch reflex intact. ... Finally, after a long list of failures, someone has done justice in bringing one of King's horror stories to the screen. Though definitely not the feel-good movie of the season, this is a must-see for anyone who loves the genre and doesn't demand "torture porn" from horror."[24] Roger Ebert was less positive, however, writing: "If you have seen ads or trailers suggesting that horrible things pounce on people, and they make you think you want to see this movie, you will be correct. It is a competently made Horrible Things Pouncing on People Movie. If you think Frank Darabont has equaled the Shawshank and Green Mile track record, you will be sadly mistaken."[25]

Bloody Disgusting ranked the film #4 on their list of the 'Top 20 Horror Films of the Decade', with the article saying "The scary stuff works extremely well, but what really drives this one home is Darabont’s focus on the divide that forms between two factions of the townspeople – the paranoid, Bible-thumping types and the more rational-minded, decidedly left-wing members of the populace. This allegorical microcosm of Bush Jr.-era America is spot on, and elevates an already-excellent film to even greater heights."[26]

Box office

The film was commercially released in the United States and Canada on November 21, 2007.[27] Over the opening weekend in the United States and Canada, The Mist grossed $8,931,973. As of August 9, 2009, the film has grossed $25,593,755 in the United States and Canada and $27,560,960 in other territories for a worldwide total of $57,289,103.[2]

Home release

The Mist was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 25, 2008. The single-disc includes an audio commentary by writer/director Frank Darabont, eight deleted scenes with optional commentary, and "A Conversation With Stephen King and Frank Darabont" featurette.

The two-disc edition includes an exclusive black-and-white presentation of the film (as well as the color version), and five featurettes ("When Darkness Came: The Making of The Mist", "Taming the Beast: Shooting Scene 35", "Monsters Among Us: A Look at the Creature FX", "The Horror of It All: The Visual FX of The Mist", and "Drew Struzan: Appreciation of an Artist").

A well received (7.8 of a possible 10 rating from the FanEdit.org site) Fan edit of the film exists, which adheres a bit more closely to the novella. The cut includes a different ending to the film, based on the book finale, and several deleted scenes. It can be obtained by individuals who have purchased the DVD of the film. More info at http://www.karcreat.com/MistNovellaCut

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Edward Douglas (2007-11-16). "An Exclusive Interview with Mr. Frank Darabont!". ShockTillYouDrop.com. http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=3609. Retrieved 2007-11-20. 
  2. ^ a b "The Mist (2007)". Box Office Mojo. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mist.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-05. 
  3. ^ a b Stax (2007-07-28). "SDCC 07: Chatting in The Mist". IGN. http://movies.ign.com/articles/808/808923p1.html. Retrieved 2007-11-19. 
  4. ^ a b c Michael Fleming (2006-10-18). "'Mist' envelops Dimension". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117952204.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved 2007-05-17. 
  5. ^ Patrick Z. McGavin (1994-10-04). "LONG LIVE THE KING". Chicago Tribune. 
  6. ^ "The Green Mile (1999)". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120689/. Retrieved 2007-05-17. 
  7. ^ "Frank Darabont on Adapting The Mist". ComingSoon.net. 2004-05-15. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php?id=7617. Retrieved 2007-05-17. 
  8. ^ Alexandyr Kent (2007-03-23). "'A bad day at the market'". The Times. 
  9. ^ Anthony Breznican (2007-06-20). "Stephen King adapts to Hollywood". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2007-06-20-stephen-king-movies_N.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-19. 
  10. ^ a b c d Rebecca Murray (2007-08-15). "Behind the Scenes of The Mist Based on a Stephen King Story". About.com. http://movies.about.com/od/themist/a/themist081507.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-19. 
  11. ^ "The Punisher Enters The Mist". IGN. 2006-12-06. http://movies.ign.com/articles/749/749742p1.html. Retrieved 2007-05-17. 
  12. ^ Borys Kit (2007-01-26). "Braugher, Holden float to 'Mist'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2007-02-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20070217054105/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003538158. Retrieved 2007-05-17. 
  13. ^ Alexandyr Kent (2007-01-19). "'The Mist' creeping into Shreveport". The Times. 
  14. ^ Michael Fleming (2007-02-21). "Actors will emerge from King's 'Mist'". Variety. http://www.ev.variety.com/article/VR1117959912.html?categoryid=2431&cs=1. Retrieved 2007-05-17. 
  15. ^ [1]
  16. ^ a b Edward Douglas (2007-07-27). "Comic-Con '07: Two Clips From The Mist!". ShockTillYouDrop.com. http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/comicconnews.php?id=903. Retrieved 2007-07-30. 
  17. ^ Alexandyr Kent (2007-11-18). "The core of a horror flick: 'The Mist' features dozens of local extras". The Times. http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071118/LIVING/711150360/1004/LIVING. Retrieved 2007-11-20. 
  18. ^ David Frese (2007-11-17). "Frank Darabont dares to alter a Stephen King classic: ‘The Mist’". Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on 2007-11-21. http://web.archive.org/web/20071121023627/http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/story/362931.html. Retrieved 2007-11-20. 
  19. ^ "Jordu Schell: Avatar Lead Characters Designer". Avatar Movie Zone. http://www.surrealaward.com/avatar/bioschellj.shtml. Retrieved 2010-04-20. 
  20. ^ Carl DiOrio (2007-10-16). "ShowEast to close high on Darabont". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2007-10-18. http://web.archive.org/web/20071018025813/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i0c86abe9c72f2e6ecf7edcca50e3a30e. Retrieved 2007-11-20. 
  21. ^ "Stephen King's The Mist". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mist/. Retrieved 2010-01-26. 
  22. ^ "Stephen King's The Mist (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mist/?critic=creamcrop. Retrieved 2010-01-26. 
  23. ^ "Mist, The (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/mist2007. Retrieved 2010-01-26. 
  24. ^ Mist, The - A Film Review by James Berardinelli
  25. ^ The Mist :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews
  26. ^ "00's Retrospect: Bloody Disgusting's Top 20 Films of the Decade...Part 4". Bloody Disgusting. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/18447. Retrieved 2010-01-03. 
  27. ^ "The Mist (2007)". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mist.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-20. 

External links

Films directed by Frank Darabont
Novels

Carrie (1974) · 'Salem's Lot (1975) · The Shining (1977) · The Stand (1978) · The Dead Zone (1979) · Firestarter (1980) · Cujo (1981) · Christine (1983) · Pet Sematary (1983) · Cycle of the Werewolf (1983) · The Talisman (1984; with Peter Straub) · It (1986) · The Eyes of the Dragon (1987) · Misery (1987) · The Tommyknockers (1987) · The Dark Half (1989) · Needful Things (1991) · Gerald's Game (1992) · Dolores Claiborne (1992) · Insomnia (1994) · Rose Madder (1995) · The Green Mile (1996) · Desperation (1996) · Bag of Bones (1998) · The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999) · Dreamcatcher (2001) · Black House (2001; with Peter Straub) · From a Buick 8 (2002) · The Colorado Kid (2005) · Cell (2006) · Lisey's Story (2006) · Duma Key (2008) · Under the Dome (2009) · Blockade Billy (2010) · 11/22/63 (2011) · Dr. Sleep (TBA)
The Dark Tower
series
Richard Bachman
novels

Rage (1977) · The Long Walk (1979) · Roadwork (1981) · The Running Man (1982) · Thinner (1984) · The Bachman Books (1985) · The Regulators (1996) · Blaze (2007)
Short fiction
collections
Non-fiction

Danse Macabre (1981) · Nightmares in the Sky (1988) · On Writing (2000) · Secret Windows (2000) · Faithful (2004; with Stewart O'Nan)
E-books

Riding the Bullet (2000) · The Plant (2000; unfinished) · Ur (2009) · Mile 81 (2011)
Screenplays

Creepshow (1982) · Cat's Eye (1985) · Silver Bullet (1985) · Maximum Overdrive (1986; also director) · Pet Sematary (1989) · Sleepwalkers (1992) · Cell (2012)
Teleplays

Sorry, Right Number (1988) · Golden Years (1991) · The Stand (1994) · The Shining (1997) · "Chinga" (1998; with Chris Carter) · Storm of the Century (1999) · Rose Red (2002) · Kingdom Hospital (2004) · Desperation (2006)
Collaborations
with musicians
Graphic novels

Creepshow (1982) · The Dark Tower (2007) · The Stand (2008) · The Talisman (2009) · American Vampire (2010) · N. (2010) · Road Rage (2012)
Related articles
Book:Stephen King
Films
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Carrie
Creepshow
Firestarter
Pet Sematary
The Lawnmower Man
The Mangler
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Salem's Lot
Sometimes They Come Back
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