My only problem was the religious nut took me a little out of the story at times. My wife pointed out (and this is a minor, minor spoiler) that they could have waited a little while at least before THAT end. But man was that a gut-punch. I read a review on AICN that read something like, "Frank Darabont does not like religion. Frank Darabont does not like children. Frank Darabont does not like, etc." I tend to agree.

As his first foray into horror since penning the screenplay to the remake of "The Blob" I would say it was pretty good. At the very least I'd like to see him do another.

And this was VERY reminiscent of "Nightworld". I kept expecting to see a chew wasp and I guess the grasshopper bugitos would be most like them.

I just got back from The Mist. Overall I enjoyed it though it seemed a little sloppy at times (camera work, special effects, acting, etc.) I agree with Maggers that some of the scenes were borderline comical when they shouldn't have been. I don't think I liked the ending (quite different from the novella) but I can't seem to shake it so it must have done something right.

I did cheer when the religious nut... well, I won't spoil it.

Just saw the movie:

1) That ending belonged on a different movie, not the one I sat through.

2) The comical situations are King-est--some of those characters could not possibly exist in the real world, only in King's world. Many of his stories would be better without certain characters.

3) The monsters were nice.

4) Would probably buy the dvd if it had alternate endings or if it reaches the bargain bin.

AC

P.S. "Cloverdale" trailer very interesting. Anyone hear anything about this movie?

P.P.S. Nice review, Mike. Ya took the bery woids outta ma mouf.

My sentiments run rampant through the thread; to isolate them, however:

3--The special effects--especially of the tentacles--were so 1990's. Whatever happened to Darabont's proposal to go "retro" and shoot lots of "old-school" special effects? I seem to remember a trailer showing the tentacles being foam rubber-type props flopping and squirming about--very different than the DEEP RISING things from the movie. That was a little disappointing.

2--I wish there had been more explorations of humanity other than Mrs. Carmody and her psycho-religious group. I wish Amanda and David had had their lovemaking scene (no, not out of a perversion factor, but because in this time of so many unknowns and desperation, they both just needed someone to love--hell, just look at the running theme in the book containing the novella, SKELETON CREW--"do you love?"). And finally, I sorely missed the "Flat Earth Society" references from the novella, which would have made for some good (and much-needed) sarcastic humor and social commentary. It wouldn't have been hard to include...especially in light of my last, and biggest, gripe...

1--Why. Why. WHY did it have to have this tacked-on, downbeat (and wholly unnecessary) ending?? It must have cost a good amount of money to shoot what was entirely unecessary to show, and not to mention (to sound even more repetitive), it was so downbeat! I really strongly disliked that. I don't like being the whiny type who says the ending ruined the whole movie, but since the ending is always the last thing you see, it really rubs off on your overall impression.

For me, it was good...but far from great. Here's to hoping there's a Director's Cut that'll be on the DVD with at least #1 and #3 filmed differently!

I, too, was quite surprised and shocked by the ending. However, like all of Stephen Kings works they don't all transfer well to screen. The book can be left with the ending that King gave it, which was...no ending. In the movie business people want "closure" thus an ending that is an ending is needed (in nearly all cases, though there are exceptions).

My main grip with the ending is:



Spoiler space....
















Why did it seem that as soon as they ran out of gas that they IMMEDIATELY just agreed to be killed. It would have made more sense if they had waited some time, maybe until some spiders came, or some horrid noise was approaching. They at least were in the car, and together, they could have waited some. I'll bet that the DVD will have alternate endings because of this fact alone.

I, too, was quite surprised and shocked by the ending. However, like all of Stephen Kings works they don't all transfer well to screen. The book can be left with the ending that King gave it, which was...no ending. In the movie business people want "closure" thus an ending that is an ending is needed (in nearly all cases, though there are exceptions).

My main grip with the ending is:



Spoiler space....
















Why did it seem that as soon as they ran out of gas that they IMMEDIATELY just agreed to be killed. It would have made more sense if they had waited some time, maybe until some spiders came, or some horrid noise was approaching. They at least were in the car, and together, they could have waited some. I'll bet that the DVD will have alternate endings because of this fact alone.

SPOILERS AHOY




















































I believe they did hear huge rumblings before deciding to off themselves, but ironically the rumblings turned out to be tanks. That's how I remember it.

AC

More spoilers below...





















They did hear the rumblings but they also sat still while a gigantic monstrosity passed right over them. And they made it all the way they did unmolested, it just didn't feel right to me.

More spoilers below...





















They did hear the rumblings but they also sat still while a gigantic monstrosity passed right over them. And they made it all the way they did unmolested, it just didn't feel right to me.

SPOILERS DOWN BELOW

































I assumed the monster was running from the tanks. Not really in the movie. It just seemed that way to me. Either way, terrible ending.

AC

Personally I liked the new ending. It was as dark an ending as you can get, short of actually completely destroying the world. Actually, I'd argue this is much darker than that.

And the reaction in the theatre I saw it in was excellent. Several audible "oh my God" gasps and groans.

I really, really liked THE MIST and plan to buy it on DVD when it comes out. My sister also bought both herself and me the novella after we saw the film, so I am just now reading it. (Listening to the audio book of King's THE WASTE LANDS right now, too.)

I voted it an 8 on a scale of 10 at imdb.com.

The discussion here about its merits or mistakes, as well as the changes to the ending, are exactly what should happen with a film like this.

I thought the monsters were inventive, especially the large one. While the smaller flying ones did make me think of NIGHTWORLD, as it did for others here, I still think they were different from Paul's creatures enough in the context.

When the characters stop to stare at the large one, a thought coalesced within me that had been brewing for some time. More than a thought -- a deep feeling, and it was this: Nothing will ever be the same again. We, as a human race, will have to find a new way to survive and live that is dramatically different from what we currently know.

In that sense, even in the desperation of what they had seen, I retained some sense of hope for some reason. I will address that and how it relates to the ending below. But first, some spoiler space...

HERE THERE BE SPOILERS....BEWARE!!!!

I appreciate the ending in the film with its completely dire perspective and "if only" shock. But I feel I would have done something different if I were in the same circumstances. I would see how many bullets were left and say, "Well, let's do what we can, knowing that we have these four bullets to off ourselves (less one person) if it gets that desperate."

Of course, I have the luxury of evaluating what I would do from the vantage point of a seat of a movie theater. Would I really be that optimistic if I had gone through what they had gone through? Maybe we never know until we get there. I just tend to think that you should try everything you can until there is no option other than death. Regardless, I am sympathetic to the conflict within the characters that led to their choice. I view the film as sending a message of hope, actually, by showing the dire consequences of a wrong choice. The message I take from it is NEVER GIVE UP. You never know what might be right around the corner.

On a different topic, I really liked the fact that the explanation of where the creatures came from was NOT supernatural, just as Andre Braugher's character suspected. It was more frightening to me that it was the natural order in an alternate world that such creatures existed. Just as people can slip between the worlds held together by the nexus of The Dark Tower in King's other work (as I understand the series so far), the military had stumbled upon one of those portals. It was just as likely that Roland or the lobstrocities would have stumbled out. No such luck.