Mist, The (2007)

3 out of 4

Starring: Thomas Jane, Laurie Holden, Marcia Gay Harden, Andre Braugher, William Sadler, Toby Jones, Nathan Gamble

Director: Frank Darabont

Time: 127 mins

Viewed: Loews Monmouth Mall, Eatontown, New Jersey

A small town in Maine is visited by a freak storm and is soon enshrouded in dense fog, forcing a bunch of locals to hole themselves up in a supermarket. Eventually, all hell breaks loose, both inside and out. Muscleman Jane is the notional hero, while Harden irks and invites contempt as the religious zealot who convinces many it is the wrath of God. Director Darabont's third adaptation of a Stephen King story (following The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile) is more of a pure horror film, with appropriate (but not excessive) bloody moments and a growing sense of dread and paranoia. Not as exciting as it could be, given the premise, but I'm a sucker for claustrophobic thrillers (classic example, Die Hard), and the atmosphere is well developed. By the end, I wasn't too sure what was more haunting or scary: the mist itself (and what's in there), fanaticism (and the consequential turning of humans against each other), or the harrowing ending (I'll say no more).

(c) Joe Wong (24 November 2007)