For this year’s 31 Nights of Horror Challenge, the Day 31 prompt was Trapped. What better than start the challenge with a good ole’ Stephen King adaptation? We chose The Mist (2007) for obvious trapped reasons
Storyline
The Draytons – David, Steff and their son Billy – live in a small Maine town. One night a ferocious storm hits the area, damaging their house. The storm is accompanied by a strange mist the following morning. David and Billy and their neighbour Brent Norton go into town and find themselves trapped in a grocery store with several other people. There they discover that the mist contains something frightening and intent on killing humans
Our Thoughts on The Mist
I was worried that The Mist would be a lackluster film for me since I was aware how it ended. Knowing where the movie would end up is the kind of thing that could easily sour an experience like this one. However, there were enough surprises along the way that I was still fully engaged by The Mist. I loved how this movie explored the many ways that people deal with a life-threatening situation. It was fascinating to see the different coping mechanisms that people employed to get through what was happening, and how the acceptable norms of society could break down in a matter of hours. Whether this is how things would really play out or not, it’s an interesting theoretical look at a horrifying end of the world scenario. There’s certainly more to this movie than you’d expect if you just read the general premise. I was fully engaged and aside from knowing how it would end, I didn’t know what to expect along the way.
As I was watching I could not help but think how things have changed especially with the explosion of YouTube “experts” touting the importance of Every Day Carry (EDC) and being a “prepare.” If these people in the movie should have done anything before the storm AND the arrival of the Mist, they should have at least checked out these videos on Youtube.
6.5 out of 10
Trivia
Stephen King got the idea for the source novel when he was in a Maine market. When he noticed the front window was made of plate glass, he wondered what would happen if giant insects flew into it.
Frank Darabont agreed to make the film with Dimension only under the condition that no matter what, they wouldn’t change the scripted ending. They agreed.
Despite the setting in Maine, the film was shot entirely in Louisiana and Texas. To Frank Darabont‘s delight, Stephen King could not distinguish it from Maine when watching the film.
