We attach ourselves to David and his rational thinking as he tries to do what’s best for all of these people, including his young son Billy. He tries hard to establish order, keep everyone calm, and figure out what’s happening as soon as the mist rolls in. Thomas Jane as David Drayton is a very compelling horror protagonist.

“The familiarity and the perceived notions that all of these people have for each other makes the slow descent into chaos all the more effective and frightening.” Carmody going from the crazy religious nut that no one likes to the monarch for the survivors of the wasteland. The familiarity and the perceived notions that all of these people have for each other makes the slow descent into chaos all the more effective and frightening. Characters we’ve just been introduced to call each other by name like they would every day.Įven when the inciting incident comes, and a man with a horrible nosebleed runs into the supermarket screaming bloody murder, the first thing that happens is that Ollie, the older bag boy, calls the man by name. The small town feels like it has existed before the movie began. Not only the supermarket itself, but where the supermarket is in the world, are incredibly important to how the narrative operates. The setting of the film is one of the most unique things about The Mist. Bringing a classically written story, arguably fit for the stage, to a modern interpretation and delivery. The sudden zooms and consistent handheld camera movements throw the audience off any time they think they have a frame of what’s happening.Īll of that is blended well with the contrast of intentionally corny dialogue and a wide range of characters that all fit a very specific purpose in the narrative. The TV crew brings a visceral and immersive tone with the camerawork. Isolated and trapped along with the characters of the film. The audience is meant to feel as if they’re constantly watching what’s happening over someone’s shoulder. The Mist itself is unlike any Stephen King adaptation that’s come before or after it. “The audience is meant to feel as if they’re constantly watching what’s happening over someone’s shoulder.” His intent was to make a film that felt more raw, even hiring a large amount of the television crew from The Shield to serve as his crew after working with them on an episode. Darabont has said that he had wanted to adapt The Mist since before he had even directed The Shawshank Redemption. After years of writing and development, in January of 2007, his latest project began production.

The mist stephen king review