The Mist (film)

The Mist

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Frank Darabont
Produced by
  • Frank Darabont
  • Martin Shafer
  • Liz Glotzer
Screenplay by Frank Darabont
Based on The Mist
by Stephen King
Starring
Music by Mark Isham
Cinematography Rohn Schmidt
Edited by Hunter M. Via
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • November 21, 2007 (2007-11-21)
Running time
 126 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $18 million[1]
Box office $57.3 million[2]

The Mist (also known as Stephen King's The Mist) is a 2007 American science fiction horror film based on the 1980 novella of the same name by Stephen King. The film was written and directed by Frank Darabont, who had previously adapted King's works The Shawshank Redemption (1994 film based on King's 1982 novella) and The Green Mile (1999 film based on King's 1996 novel). Darabont had been interested in adapting The Mist for the big screen since the 1980s. The film features an ensemble cast including Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Samuel Witwer, Toby Jones, and future The Walking Dead actors Jeffrey DeMunn, Juan Gabriel Pareja, Laurie Holden, and Melissa McBride.

Filming for The Mist began in Shreveport, Louisiana, in February, 2007. The film was commercially released in the United States and Canada on November 21, 2007; it performed well at the box office and received generally positive reviews. Darabont has since revealed that he had "always had it in mind to shoot The Mist in black and white", a decision inspired by such iconic films as Night of the Living Dead (1968) and the "pre-color" work of Ray Harryhausen. While the film's cinematic release was in color, the director has described the black and white print (released on Blu-ray in 2008) as his "preferred version."[3]

The director revised the ending of the film to be darker than the novella's ending, a change to which King was amenable. Darabont also sought unique creature designs to differentiate them from his creatures in past films.

Although a monster movie, the central theme explores what ordinary people will be driven to do under extraordinary circumstances. The plot revolves around members of the small town of Bridgton, Maine who, after a severe thunderstorm causes the power to go out the night before, meet in a supermarket to pick up supplies. While they struggle to survive an unnatural mist which envelops the town and conceals vicious, otherworldly monsters, extreme tensions rise among the survivors.

Plot

After a violent thunderstorm, David Drayton (Thomas Jane) leaves his wife Stephanie (Kelly Collins Lintz), and with their neighbor Brent Norton (Andre Braugher) goes into town to buy supplies for repairs. David brings his eight-year-old son Billy (Nathan Gamble) and Norton to a grocery store, where the patrons notice unusual police and military activity. Moments after a panicked and injured man, Dan (Jeffrey DeMunn), runs in warning of danger, a thick mist envelopes the store, accompanied by earthquake-like tremors and the town's tornado siren. A man disregards the warnings and is attacked while running to his car.

A mentally unstable religious woman, Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden), decides that this is the beginning of Armageddon. A shaken woman (Melissa McBride), against objections from the others, leaves the store to go home to her children and disappears. While investigating the store's generator, a bag-boy named Norm (Chris Owen) volunteers to go outside, but is snatched and pulled into the mist by a tentacle connected to an unseen monster.

Refusing to believe David, Norton heads outside with a small group to seek help, only to be attacked and killed, prompting the rest of the survivors to barricade the shop-front windows. That night, enormous insects land on the windows and pterodactyl-like animals attack them, breaking the glass and allowing the creatures to begin fighting inside the store. One of the insects lands on Mrs. Carmody, but doesn't sting her because she keeps still during her prayer. As a result, she starts preaching more and quickly gains followers among the distraught survivors.

A trip to the neighboring pharmacy to gather medical supplies goes horribly wrong and two people are killed by giant spiders. Mrs. Carmody's faction now contains most of the survivors. Two soldiers commit suicide, and a third, Private Jessup (Samuel Witwer), reveals that the local military base was filled with rumors about the Arrowhead Project, the government's attempt to look into other dimensions, and that the scientists responsible for the experiment may have inadvertently opened a doorway into a dimension containing the creatures that are now invading the town. Mrs. Carmody convinces her followers to blame Jessup and he is stabbed and ejected from the store, quickly falling prey to a large praying mantis-like creature.

David and eight others secretly gather supplies to flee, but are stopped by Mrs. Carmody, who steals the supplies and orders her followers to murder Billy and Amanda Dumfries (Laurie Holden). As the crowd advances, however, store assistant manager Ollie (Toby Jones) shoots and kills Mrs. Carmody with Amanda's gun, then orders the former's followers to back off at gunpoint. Horrified at their leader's death and returning to their senses, they reluctantly comply and David's group leaves, but only David, Billy, Dan, Amanda, and Irene (Frances Sternhagen) make it to the car, as Ollie is eaten by the praying mantis-like creature, two others are attacked by the giant spiders, and one runs back to the market and is allowed back in.

Driving through the mist, David finds his house destroyed and his wife dead. Devastated, he drives the group south, passing destroyed vehicles and seeing a gigantic six-legged, tentacled beast. When they run out of gas, the group decides there is no point in going on. David shoots the others (with their assent, except for his son who is not old enough to understand) rather than have them endure horrifying deaths, but is left with no bullet to use on himself. He leaves the car and waits to be killed, but the mist suddenly recedes, revealing that the U.S. Army has arrived, rescued other survivors, and restored order. Among the survivors is the woman who left the store at the phenomenon's onset, who is completely unscathed and accompanied by her two children. David breaks down with the realization that they were only moments from being rescued and had likely been driving away from help the entire time.

Cast

Production

Development

Director Frank Darabont first read Stephen King's 1980 novella The Mist in the Dark Forces anthology,[4] and originally expressed interest in directing a film adaptation for his directing debut. He instead filmed The Shawshank Redemption, also based on another King novella.[5] In October 1994, after completing The Shawshank Redemption, Darabont reiterated his interest in filming The Mist.[6] Darabont did not immediately follow through, instead directing the 1999 film adaptation of Stephen King's The Green Mile.[7] Darabont eventually set up a first look deal for The Mist with Paramount Pictures, having been entrusted feature film rights by Stephen King.[5] By December 2004, Darabont said that he had begun writing an adapted screenplay for The Mist,[8] and by October 2006, the project moved from Paramount to Dimension Films, with Darabont attached to direct and actor Thomas Jane in negotiations to join the cast.[5]

Writing

"The story is less about the monsters outside than about the monsters inside, the people you're stuck with, your friends and neighbors breaking under the strain."
— Darabont on The Mist[9]

Director Darabont chose to film The Mist after filming the "straighter dramas" The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile because he "wanted to make a very direct, muscular kind of film." Darabont conceived of a new ending in translating the novella for the big screen. Author King praised Darabont's new ending, describing it as one that would be unsettling for studios. King said, "The ending is such a jolt—wham! It's frightening. But people who go to see a horror movie don't necessarily want to be sent out with a Pollyanna ending."[10]

Darabont described The Mist as quaint in its elements of monsters and fear of the unknown compared to the contemporary popularity of films with torture porn. The director saw The Mist as a throwback to Paddy Chayefsky and William Shakespeare, explaining, "It's people at each other." He highlighted the element of fear in the film in how it compelled people to behave differently. Darabont said, "How primitive do people get? It's Lord of the Flies that happens to have some cool monsters in it."[4] He also drew parallels to The Twilight Zone episode "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" and the 1944 film Lifeboat.[1]

In the novella, the character David Drayton - who is married - has a sexual encounter with Amanda Dumfries, who is also married. Darabont did not want to attempt conveying on screen the protagonist being involved in an extramarital affair. The characters in the film, portrayed by Thomas Jane and Laurie Holden respectively, instead share a more emotional relationship. Jane explained, "We kind of form a little family, sort of surrogate family where my son and I’m a father and she becomes the mother to the son. We become a little unit as we’re trying to get through this nightmare together." Holden compared the nightmare to what refugees experienced at the Louisiana Superdome during Hurricane Katrina.[11]

While the origin of the mist in the movie is never explained in great detail, Frank Darabont did write an opening scene in a draft dated 5 August 2005, in which the thunderstorm causes a malfunction at the Arrowhead Project's lab that allows the portal to another dimension to stay open too long. The scene was never filmed.

Filming

In December 2006, Jane finalized negotiations with the studio to join the cast.[12] In January 2007, actors Andre Braugher and Laurie Holden joined Jane for the cast of The Mist.[13] Production began the following February at StageWorks of Louisiana, a sound stage and movie production facility in Shreveport, Louisiana.[14] Marcia Gay Harden and Toby Jones joined the cast later in the month.[15]

William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, and Brian Libby, each of whom appeared in Darabont's previous Stephen King adaptations The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, were cast in supporting roles. Sadler had previously played Jane's role, David Drayton, in a 1986 audiobook version of The Mist. Darabont wanted to cast King in the supporting role that eventually went to Brian Libby, an offer that King turned down because he did not want to travel to film the part.[16]

Darabont sought to pursue "a more fluid, ragged documentary kind of direction" with The Mist,[11] so he contacted the camera crew from the TV series The Shield, after having directed one episode, to use their style in the film.[17] Darabont attempted to film The Mist digitally but found that it "wound up looking too beautiful". The director chose to film with 400 ASA from Fujifilm, which gave footage a grainy effect.[1]

In the opening shot, David is drawing in his room. The drawing is based on Stephen King's Dark Tower series, and was painted by movie poster designer Drew Struzan. Darabont also included re-productions of Struzan's posters and illustrations for The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, John Carpenter's The Thing, and Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. Struzan would go on to produce a poster for The Mist, but this image was not used in the film's marketing campaign.[18]

Darabont collaborated with the production designer to create a mix of eras to avoid appearing as a period piece but also not looking so contemporary. Cell phones were used by characters in The Mist, but the military police in the film did not dress in modern attire. While an MP also drove an old Jeep instead of a Humvee, other cars seen in the film are modern models.[1] The city police cars in the beginning of the film are a 1987 Chevrolet Caprice and a 1988 Ford LTD Crown Victoria, cars that were standard police vehicles in the late 1980s but have not been used in force since the late 1990s.

Over a hundred extras from Shreveport, Louisiana were included in The Mist. Unlike conventional application of extras in the background of a film, sixty of the hundred extras were interwoven with the film's ensemble cast.[19] Additional elements giving the film a local flavor include the prominence of local Louisiana brands such as Zapp's potato chips. Exterior shots of the house at the beginning were in Shreveport. Exterior shots of the supermarket were in Vivian, Louisiana. Also, if looked closely at, the shields on the side of the passing firetrucks early in the film identify them as part of the Caddo Parish fire department. This is possibly a mistake as the film is allegedly set in Maine.

Music

Darabont chose to use music to minimal effect in The Mist in order to capture the "heavier feel" of the darker ending he had written to replace the one from the novella. The director explained, "Sometimes movie music feels false. I've always felt that silent can be scarier than loud, a whisper more frightening than a bang, and we wanted to create a balance. We kept music to a minimum to keep that vérité, documentary feel." Darabont chose to overlay the song "The Host of Seraphim" by the band Dead Can Dance, a spiritual piece characterized by wailing and chanting. As a fan of Dead Can Dance, Darabont thought that the song played "as a requiem mass for the human race."[20] The original score was composed by Academy Award-nominated composer Mark Isham.

Effects

Darabont hired artists Jordu Schell[21] and Bernie Wrightson to assist in designing the creatures for the film.[17] Greg Nicotero worked on the film's creature design and make-up effects, while Everett Burrell served as the visual effects supervisor. Nicotero initially sketched out ideas for creature design when Darabont originally expressed interest in filming The Mist in the 1980s. When the project was greenlit, Nicotero, Burrell, and Darabont collaborated about the creature design at round-table meetings at CaféFX.[11] The studio for visual effects had been recommended to Darabont by Guillermo del Toro after Darabont asked the director who created the visual effects for Pan's Labyrinth.

Due to the creatures' being described in only a few sentences in the novella, Darabont sought to conceive of new designs. The challenge was creating designs that felt unique. Nicotero, who was versed in film history and genre history, reviewed past creature designs to avoid having similar designs.[1] When the designs were completed, Nicotero and Burrell educated the cast on the appearance of the creatures by showing puppets and the function of their eyes and mouths. The puppet demonstrations served as reference points for the cast, who had to respond to motion capture dots during filming.[11]

Release

The Mist was screened at the film festival ShowEast on October 18, 2007, at which director Frank Darabont received the Kodak Award for Excellence in Filmmaking for his previous works The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.[22]

Critical reception

The film has received positive reviews from critics. On the film review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, The Mist received a 73% approval rating, based on 140 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10, indicating generally favorable reviews.[23] On the website Metacritic, the film has received a metascore of 58 out of 100 based on 29 reviews.[24]

James Berardinelli wrote of the film, "The Mist is what a horror film should be - dark, tense, and punctuated by just enough gore to keep the viewer's flinch reflex intact. ... Finally, after a long list of failures, someone has done justice in bringing one of King's horror stories to the screen. Though definitely not the feel-good movie of the season, this is a must-see for anyone who loves the genre and doesn't demand "torture porn" from horror."[25] Roger Ebert was negative, however, writing: "If you have seen ads or trailers suggesting that horrible things pounce on people, and they make you think you want to see this movie, you will be correct. It is a competently made Horrible Things Pouncing on People Movie. If you think Frank Darabont has equaled the Shawshank and Green Mile track record, you will be sadly mistaken."[26]

Bloody Disgusting ranked the film #4 on their list of the 'Top 20 Horror Films of the Decade', with the article saying "The scary stuff works extremely well, but what really drives this one home is Darabont’s focus on the divide that forms between two factions of the townspeople – the paranoid, Bible-thumping types and the more rational-minded, decidedly left-wing members of the populace. This allegorical microcosm of Bush Jr.-era America is spot on, and elevates an already-excellent film to even greater heights."[27]

The film was later nominated for three Saturn Awards; Best Horror Film, Best Director, and a win for Best Supporting Actress for Harden.

Box office

The film was commercially released in the United States and Canada on November 21, 2007.[28] Over the opening weekend in the United States and Canada, The Mist grossed $8,931,973. As of August 9, 2009, the film grossed $25,593,755 in the United States and Canada and $27,560,960 in other territories for a worldwide total of $57,289,103.[2]

Home media

The Mist was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 25, 2008. The single-disc includes an audio commentary by writer/director Frank Darabont, eight deleted scenes with optional commentary, and "A Conversation With Stephen King and Frank Darabont" featurette.

The two-disc edition includes the exclusive black and white presentation of the film, as well as the color version, and five featurettes ("When Darkness Came: The Making of The Mist", "Taming the Beast: Shooting Scene 35", "Monsters Among Us: A Look at the Creature FX", "The Horror of It All: The Visual FX of The Mist", and "Drew Struzan: Appreciation of an Artist").

TV series

In November 2013, Bob Weinstein revealed that he and Darabont were developing a 10-part television series based on the film.[29][30] In February 2016, Spike picked up the pilot.[31] In April 2016, Spike ordered the series.[32] Emmy-winning director Adam Bernstein will direct the pilot that will premiere in the summer of 2017.[33]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Edward Douglas (2007-11-16). "An Exclusive Interview with Mr. Frank Darabont!". ShockTillYouDrop.com. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  2. 1 2 "The Mist (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
  3. ↑ Darabont, Frank Darabont (2008). "Director's Introduction". The Mist.
  4. 1 2 Stax (2007-07-28). "SDCC 07: Chatting in The Mist". IGN. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
  5. 1 2 3 Michael Fleming (2006-10-18). "'Mist' envelops Dimension". Variety. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  6. ↑ Patrick Z. McGavin (1994-10-04). "LONG LIVE THE KING". Chicago Tribune.
  7. ↑ "The Green Mile (1999)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  8. ↑ "Frank Darabont on Adapting The Mist". ComingSoon.net. 2004-05-15. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  9. ↑ Kent, Alexandyr (2007-03-23). "'A bad day at the market'". The Times.
  10. ↑ Breznican, Anthony (2007-06-20). "Stephen King adapts to Hollywood". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Rebecca Murray (2007-08-15). "Behind the Scenes of The Mist Based on a Stephen King Story". About.com. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
  12. ↑ "The Punisher Enters The Mist". IGN. 2006-12-06. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  13. ↑ Borys Kit (2007-01-26). "Braugher, Holden float to 'Mist'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2007-02-17. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  14. ↑ Alexandyr Kent (2007-01-19). "'The Mist' creeping into Shreveport". The Times.
  15. ↑ Michael Fleming (2007-02-21). "Actors will emerge from King's 'Mist'". Variety. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  16. ↑ http://www.movieweb.com/news/97/24397.php
  17. 1 2 Edward Douglas (2007-07-27). "Comic-Con '07: Two Clips From The Mist!". ShockTillYouDrop.com. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
  18. ↑ Drew Struzan, Poster for "The Mist" (2007) http://www.drewstruzan.com/illustrated/documents/img/gl0812090739458973.jpg
  19. ↑ Alexandyr Kent (2007-11-18). "The core of a horror flick: 'The Mist' features dozens of local extras". The Times. Archived from the original on January 12, 2008. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  20. ↑ David Frese (2007-11-17). "Frank Darabont dares to alter a Stephen King classic: 'The Mist'". Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on 2007-11-21. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  21. ↑ "The Most Realistic Grand Moff Tarkin Bust Ever Made". At Tha Movies. 2014-01-27. Retrieved 2014-01-27.
  22. ↑ Carl DiOrio (2007-10-16). "ShowEast to close high on Darabont". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2007-10-18. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  23. ↑ "Stephen King's The Mist". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  24. ↑ "Mist, The (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  25. ↑ "Review: Mist, The". reelviews.net.
  26. ↑ Roger Ebert (20 November 2007). "The Mist". suntimes.com.
  27. ↑ "00's Retrospect: Bloody Disgusting's Top 20 Films of the Decade...Part 4". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
  28. ↑ "The Mist (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  29. ↑ Cieply, Michael (November 24, 2013). "The Weinstein Company, Seeking Hits, Shifts to TV". The New York Times. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  30. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (16 September 2015). "'The Mist' TV Series Emerges From Dimension & Scribe Christian Torpe". Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  31. ↑ Trumbore, Dave (February 25, 2013). "Stephen King's 'The Mist' TV Series Gets Pilot Order at Spike". Collider. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  32. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (April 14, 2016). "'The Mist' Stephen King TV Adaptation Gets Series Order At Spike". Deadline.
  33. ↑ Petski, Denise (May 6, 2016). "Adam Bernstein To Direct 'The Mist' On Spike". Deadline.

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