A

Yeah... so... Frank Darabont's pissed about something. It's his The Thing, to be sure -- not quite as good as that film (there are some pacing and CGI problems), but the real drama comes from the people in the supermarket, the creatures are only ancillary. And the ending... Jesus Christ... I'm not spoiling anything by this comment, as it doesn't mean close to what you'd think, but --

This film has the blackest ending I've ever seen. It makes The Thing look like it ended with cartoon birds and Porky Pig's "That's all, folks!"

My anticipation for this film just went into high orbit.

What is it with this Thanksgiving weekend and bone chilling endings (No Country and now apparently this)?

I'm excited to see this.

I keep hearing about how grim and unexpected the ending is. I just hope that it's more than guys in hazmat suits torching the survivors, because they've been showing off those guys rather prominently in the marketing (the New York Times has had multiple full page ads for the film that are the poster with these guys photoshopped in in place of the mist). I'll hopefully be seeing it soooon.

Me too. I'm gonna have a busy Christmas break catching up on all of these.

Wow....what a dark ending! This movie had a few pacing problems, but was probably the strongest horror entry of 2007. A-/A

Wow, I did not expect this movie to be that good.

It's fucking intense. Yeah, the CGI could have been a lot better, but it didn't bring the film down. It's creepy throughout, never boring, etc. The lack of a soundtrack throughout the film helped immensely. Marcia Gay Harden's performance truly made me hate her, so yeah, she was really great in this flick.

AND THAT ENDING.

A-

Glad everyone seems to agree with me thus far.

Incredibly creepy and suspenseful, boasting strong performances from Thomas Jane and Marcia Gay Harden and equally strong direction. It runs a little long, but it's still very effective. And the ending is one of the darkest, most haunting movie moments in recent memory. Definitely recommended. One of the year's better horror entries.

A-/B+

Wow! That was pretty much a perfect movie. I actually wasn't bothered by the sometimes dodgy effects, as it gave it more of an old school feel at times. But man, it was such an intense movie. The people felt and acted as if they were really in that situation and the divide that is created leads to a phenomenal scene that got cheers from my crowd. Plenty of "oh shit" moments, with shades of Spielberg's War of the Worlds and a truly jaw dropping finale. Very impressive. Darabont is simply golden with King's material.

A

Marcia gay Harden - AAARGH. Very, very convincing.

Seriously...

The Mist

I'm glad the first post didn't give much away other than saying the end is bleak and left it at that. I spill alot when I post in this forum so thanks for holding back.

I really liked this movie. It jumps right into the action and slowly begins to build up as the film rolls along. I found myself rooting for some characters and not for others. This is the type of film that almost begs the audience to react to it vocally which did occur on more than on occasion. I was beginning to get a bit tired of the religious tone as it felt a wee bit slanted but it was effective. I didn't like a couple times where the film lagged with extended arguing between characters and the main actor's line delivery and his voice just didn't quite fit for me but it was acceptable enough. Lastly, from comments I heard at the end it seemed like the audience enjoyed the flick with some disagreements as well and a few walk outs, maybe 5 or so. I was glued to my seat pretty much throughout.

Grade - A

That happened in my theater as well.

Mine too

I didn't notice until the second viewing that...

Some elements of this film were just brilliant, but some elements REALLY brought it down.

The goods: Marcia Gay Harden was fantastic. The "Lord of the Flies" idea and the mixture of the different conflicting peoples was very well-done. The ending was very unexpected, regardless of whether or not it was the way to go. It relied on psychological scares more than gory ones.

The bads: The acting outside Marcia Gay Harden was...disappointing. Thomas Jane is a fine actor, and for much of the movie he did a fine job, but when his part called for any real emotional outbursts, he seemed simply clueless as to how to approach them. The budget for this film simply did not allow for them to create creepy creatures. They were about equivalent in quality to the dinosaurs of "Jurassic Park," and considering that film was made fourteen years ago, that's hardly a good thing. The ending, which was changed from the Stephen King ending to a more broadly appealing one [aka with more closure], and needed to be switched to make normal moviegoers enjoy the movie, simply didn't work for me.

Now, I know it looks like the bads REALLY outweight the goods, but that's only because they require more explanation as to why I think they didn't work. I think that while Stephen King's original ending (that being that we don't know what happens to the group after they get in the car and leave) was a better one, it had to be changed considering the film had a heft budget and needed mainstream audiences to enjoy it. I loved the way they handled "1408" earlier this year, and maybe it was because it was easier to adapt to screen, but the ending was far more satisfying for me, even if it didn't have the disturbingly strong blow that this did. It's above-average horror, and who wouldn't expect that from Frank Darabont and Stephen King, but considering what the two have accomplished in the past, this is definitely something of a disappointment.

B-

on a side note, I think even with the changed ending this won't hold well. Many audience members laughed throughout, especially at parts where characters screamed and especially when the lower-half of the guy's ripped up body laid on the ground outside the story.

B. I pretty much agree with Billy, in terms of the ending which was desperate ( yes the character was too) but it could have gone in a better direction. Marcia Gay Harden makes this movie though, you hate to love her, and you love to hate her, and the audience also clapped at those parts. The F/X were to crappy to make this even more of a "reality" for the audience though. That and the ending kept me from giving it a B+. that said it is still one of the better horror pictures of the year.

What? How in the world is this ending "more broadly appealing"? Audiences hate downers, and this is infinitely more depressing than what King hints at in the novella.

audiences hate not knowing at all how something ends way more than getting a sad, definitive ending. Darabont wouldn't have changed it if he wasn't thinking this.

Darabont needed an ending -- the novella doesn't have one. Hence, he wrote one. One that's much more relevant to the characters of this movie than "they disappear into the mist. Roll credits."

Saw it earlier today and loved it. It keeps the tense atmosphere of the novel and the ending is like some sort of twisted Twilight Zone ending. Marcia Gay Harden seriously deserves an Oscar nomination (even though it will never happen), as her performance is easily one of the best I've seen in a while. My whole theater applauded when which is only the 2nd movie that my theater has ever applauded (the first being Snakes on a Plane). Actually, the theater audience was pretty awesome. Everyone reacted accordingly throughout the film, which made the experience that much better. IMO, it's definitely between this and 28 Weeks Later in terms of best horror movie of 2007. A

Also, the poster of The Thing at the beginning of the film was an awesome easter egg for horror fans.