THE MIST
Before Mike Flanagan came along, director Frank Darabont was the go-to person to adapt the writing of Stephen King. His work with both THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and THE GREEN MILE is legendary, but for me, THE MIST is his crowning jewel. Released in 2007, THE MIST saw Darabont switch from King dramas to horror as he told the story of a pocket of society trapped inside a grocery store with nightmarish creatures lurking within the mist outside. Like many horror films before it, THE MIST perfectly captures the idea that man is the true monster to fear with expiation-loving Mrs Carmody being one of the all-time greatest on-screen villains.
What everyone remembers best about THE MIST though is its ending. King is renowned for flubbing the end of his stories and the novella of THE MIST is no exception. In those pages, the story ends with David Drayton, played here by Tom Jane, still on the road, but Darabont wasn’t happy with this and instead gave the world one of the bleakest final scenes in movie history, regardless of genre. Main character David Drayton and a small cluster of people that have fled the market sit in a car, out of fuel. With monsters circling them in the mist, the group decide to use their gun to kill themselves. However, there are not enough bullets for everyone and so David opts to find another way before shooting the other residents of the car, whose occupants include his young son, Billy. Whilst in the maelstrom of grief after executing everyone, the mist suddenly begins to clear and the army walk through, wasting any remaining beasts. It is one heck of a gut-punch ending that expertly subverts Hollywood conventions and leaves even the most hardened horror fan shell-shocked.
THE MIST became an instant annual rewatch for me, and so each year, once the clocks go back, the now traditional THE MIST, mulled wine, and homemade pizza night happens. Despite having seen it so many times, that ending still lands with the same heavy impact, with the rest of the film - Mrs. Carmody in particular - becoming more recognisably realistic with each passing viewing.
Kat Hughes