"People
are basically good, decent. My god, we're a civilised society."
"Sure,
as long as the machines are workin' and you can dial 911, but you take those
things away, you throw people in the dark, you scare the shit out of them, no more rules,
you'll see how primitive they get."
"You
scare people badly enough, you can get 'em to do anything. They'll turn to
whoever promises a solution, or whatever."
"As
a species, we're fundamentally insane. Put more than two of us in a room, we
pick sides and start dreaming up reasons to kill one another. Why do you think
we invented politics and religion?"
And thus is summed up The
Mist in 109 words. What happens when a few dozen terrified Americans are
crammed together in a supermarket and hemmed in by a thick, otherworldly mist
that brings death to all who step into it? They turn on each other, in
horrible, inhuman ways.
When a powerful storm hits the small town of Bridgton,
Maine, David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his son Billy (Nathan Gamble) head into
town to pick up some supplies and materials to repair the storm damage to their
house. David's wife Stephanie (Kelly Lintz) stays at home but he gives a lift
to their neighbour, Brent (Andre Braugher). A lawyer from New York with a
holiday home in the town, Brent has previously sued the Draytons over a
property dispute, which he lost. This, combined with his intransigence in the
face of David's politeness and his belief that the townspeople see him as an
out-of-towner who doesn't belong means the two have an uneasy relationship at
best. At the supermarket, they shop and run into fellow townspeople, among them
Amanda (Laurie Holden), a teacher and friend of the family; Ollie (Toby Jones),
the shop's assistant manager; Dan (Jeffrey DeMunn), a friend of David's; Irene (Frances
Sternhagen), an elderly retired teacher; Jim (William Sadler), a mechanic; Sally
(Alexa Davalos), Billy's babysitter and an assistant at the shop; and Mrs.
Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden), an infamous and softly-spoken townswoman whose
fanatical right-wing Christian views make Rick Santorum look like a godless
socialist.
As they shop, the mist, which had been rolling down from the
hills, sweeps into the town and engulfs it, swallowing up the supermarket and
everything in sight of it. As the townspeople gawp out of the shop's large
front windows at the impenetrable mist, people run in from the car park and
when Dan bursts in with a bleeding nose and tales of something in the mist
attacking people, panic sets in. Some decide to run for it, trying to make it
to their cars before whatever is in the mist can get to them. They don't make
it, their screams carrying back to the large majority who remained inside. Trapped
and terrified, rifts begin to appear between the townspeople. David quickly
realises the enormity of what they're facing but Brent and some of the others refuse
to believe what's really outside, even when it's right in front of them. But,
most insidious of all is Mrs. Carmody. She begins her sermons of hate and
no-one listens to her, but when the things outside break through the windows
and panic sets in, more and more people listen to her. She spews forth messages
about the end of the world and judgement for those who refuse to repent. Slowly
and surely, she and her followers become just as dangerous as the creatures
that lurk outside in the mist.
What makes this film really special isn't just the
otherworldly monsters but the human monsters, whether they begin that way or
are scared and bullied into doing the horrific deeds they go on to commit. With
the townspeople splitting between the rational, logical group led by David and
the fundamentalist, fire and brimstone group led by Mrs. Carmody, the real
divide that exists in America is sharply illustrated. Clearly the film is made
from the point of view of the former and David and his friends are the
protagonists but given a few tweaks here and there, it's easy to see how one
could present Mrs. Carmody as a dedicated, devoted Christian woman just trying
to do what she knows to be right. Fortunately, Marcia Gay Harden plays her
perfectly. She's understated enough to be creepy and passionate enough to be
persuasive, without ever crossing the line into parody. In fact, the performances
are superb all round. Many of the actors are regular collaborators with director
Frank Darabont so he knows exactly how to get the best out of them.
With the human monsters so effectively portrayed, and given
that the film is only five years old, it's disappointing to note that the CGI
for the creatures is slightly unconvincing. It's not so much the case for the
larger creatures, but for the smaller and more numerous creatures, it's
sometimes no better than average. Furthermore, the designs are surprisingly unimaginative.
Fortunately, the mist often shrouds the creatures so it doesn't detract too
much from their impact, but it is the only downside to this otherwise fine feature.
All in all though, it's still a very good film. The
performances are terrific, the characters are believable and the ending is
absolutely superb. Not only is it a great monster movie but as a mini-essay on the dangers of irrationality and religious
fundamentalism, it simply can't be beaten.
8 out of 10.
