The Mist—Three for Three?
By Ms. Mod

Frank Darabont has scripted and directed two of the most popular Stephen King film adaptations. His third, THE MIST, will be in theaters everywhere (although I think this term is the equivalent of the One Size Fits Most label) November 21 st.

One of Frank’s hallmarks is that he follows closely, though not exactly, Steve’s original work and “he gets it.” With THE MIST he has accomplished this once again but, as the rumors have been flying, he has taken a risk with a change to the ending of Steve’s novella. More on that later.

The casting includes several faces that followers of Stephen’s movies will recognize as having been in other productions: Thomas Jane, Jeffrey DeMunn, and Frances Sternhagen have all been in previous productions.

Steve told me his instruction to Frank regarding the role of Mrs. Carmody was to make sure that he humanized this character. He didn’t want her to be seen as evil. One problem I did have with the portrayal was that it seemed inconsistent that someone with fundamentalist religious

beliefs would swear. It did humanize her character by providing comic relief, but was one of those details that interrupted the flow for me. Other than that, Marcia Gay Harden did a great job with the role as a woman who is obviously unstable but convinced of her belief that she is doing right.

The supporting cast’s performances, particularly those of Laurie Holden as Amanda Dumfries and Thomas Jane and Nathan Gamble in the roles of David and Billy Drayton, were also convincing. Frances Sternhagen provided the right touch of no-nonsense sensibility combined with dry humor.

The film provided a mixture of humor, tension, and frights and the audience reacted in all the right places. In a departure from the current trend, the special effects emphasis was on live-action monster models and a limited amount of CGI . The monsters were designed by Greg Nicotero and Bernie Wrightson and created by KNB. This choice was lauded by Thomas Jane, who felt that it helped the actors immerse themselves in the terror that would have been experienced in such a situation.

And now to the ending—no, I’m not going to tell you what happens. At least not anything to do with the plot. I will tell you that I felt as though I’d been punched in the gut. I sat in stunned silence through the last few minutes of the movie with my hands clenched around my purse. My recollection is that the audience shared my reaction—it seemed very quiet in the theater but as the credits began to roll, there was no hesitation with the applause. I’ve spent the past couple of days processing it. I suspect I’ll be processing it for a while. And that, too, is a hallmark of Frank’s adaptations. They are not movies you can just watch and forget--they haunt your emotions long after the credits roll. This one is no exception.