Over the years, I have become disillusioned with Stephen King. Not that I think he is a poor writer, or that I am better than him. On the contrary, I think he is an excellent writer; one whom I aspire to be like one day. However, I think he has become the institution. He has become big business, so to speak. Once, his novels of horror were truly frightening and innovative. They were crisp and fresh and unique. While they have stayed unique, they have lost their freshness, somewhat. I speak of the novels he wrote when I tuned out, i.e., It, Needful Things, The Tommyknockers, et al. Good stories? I hated It and I could not get into Tommyknockers, but I loved Needful Things. Problem? They are - to coin a phrase - Gi-normous! I mean, honestly, do you need 1000 pages to tell the story? Have you ever heard of a trilogy? Break it up a little, man, will ya? I'll buy the books.
Of course, Stephen King being the icon that he is, he's going to take some shots, just because. I just made the suggestion that he break up some of his bigger novels; well, that was the major complaint when his Green Mile series came out. Some people had a huge issue with him breaking up the book and selling it to the public in installments. They claimed that he was bilking them out of their money, squeezing their wallets dry, so to speak. I am sure that he knows, of all of us, that you can't make everyone happy.
I am sure that even he is not happy. Especially when it comes to the film adaptions of his books. For the most part, they are awful! Sure, The Shining rocks; both of them. And I loved The Dead Zone and Christine, but some (most) of the films based on his novels suck. They veer from the story so much that you think that Hollywood is just using the title (i.e., Lawnmower Man; remember that piece of crap? Woof!)
The Mist, however, is Stephen King's redemption. An outstanding piece of horror that starts out slow and methodical. It peppers the viewer with little bits and pieces before dropping the whole bowl of evil chili on them. The atmosphere is very good and the effects are great (the monsters look grand), but the real stars are the characters. As I always say, the characters are what drive the movie. The Mist had some of the best characters that I have seen in a long time. They were quirky and real, and you loved them and you hated them and you were sad when they died. Kudos to the actors for bringing them to life, kudos to the director for undoubtedly nudging the actors in the right way, and kudos to Stephen King for creating those characters in the first place!
And right when you think that The Mist could turn sucky, it does the amazing: it stupefies you with the unexpected, and shocks itself into legitimacy. Shocks the viewer into accepting its legitimacy. The theatre was very quiet when the credits rolled, and it was not because people hated the movie; it was because they were stunned.
Great horror.
Kids movie? Absolutely not. Gore, violence, foul language, scares, wicked spiders and nightmarish creatures.
Date movie? Well, my date loved it, but she loves horror. If your date is not a huge horror fan, then skip it.
I give The Mist eight out of eight tentacles!
