Page 5 • The Mist • Non-Gaming • Film • Eurogamer.net

Darren 16 Feb 2009 14:55:15 9,637 posts
Seen 2 hours ago
Registered 17 years ago

squarejawhero wrote:
Actually that's really not quite how it worked... Darabont had in mind the ending for a while and offered the idea to King to see if he'd like it, who loved it, and refused to make the film on a higher budget if the ending was tampered with. He settled with a lower budget and the ending he thought appropriate. Darabont has had a long relationship with King and a real love of the man's work.

The shock argument only really works if it came out of the blue, as you said, it didn't. It's even hinted at in the short story. The negative ending ties in deliberately with the theme that fear is the biggest monster, driving people to the edge, moreso than the creatures who only do what comes naturally. It directly ties in with Carmody's predictions, too, that sacrifice would appease the wrath - even though the link is tenuous, the sudden arrival of the military so soon afterwards is meant to put her words as a sharp possibility. The main characters worked on logic - but what if they were wrong?

I personally think The Mist is the finest modern horror film to come out of the States in a long time.

I concur completely.

I loved the movie when I watched it a couple of months ago on BD. I was genuinely shocked and moved by the ending. It was a horrible ending but a very effective one because The Mist *is* supposed to be a horror movie. The entire movie was moody and depressing and that carried right through to the final scene very well.

It showed how easily people can succumb to despair, even the rational, sane ones, when they're isolated and cut off from the rest of the world for days on end, not knowing how far the mist had spread. Paranoia and mass hysteria are powerful things in enclosed spaces and no-one really knows how anyone would react in those kind of extreme circumstances. The movie certainly did a fantastic job of showing the hopelessness for those people in the store so the ending felt natural, given what we'd seen.

What I didn't like was that it didn't show very well how long they'd been driving at the end. We saw road signs but not being American I've no idea how far it was they drove. And they ran out of gas but they would surely have passed numerous other cars en route and could easily have made a run for one of those. I always presumed that maybe drove for a day at least before they ran out of gas. But really whether they'd driven for a week or a few hours, it would still have had the same outcome. The horror for those survivors was that salvation and hope were just tantalisingly out of reach but they just didn't know...

Scimarad 16 Feb 2009 16:33:24 9,964 posts
Seen 21 hours ago
Registered 18 years ago

I think you hit the nail on the head there. The idea of the ending wasn't that bad but it was very clumsily done and gave the false impression that they drove for 10 minutes, ran out of fuel and went "Oh, well. That's that..." BANG!

I still prefered the novella's 'the whole world is fucked' inference...

deem 16 Feb 2009 16:44:51 31,667 posts
Seen 8 months ago
Registered 18 years ago

For some reason, my memories of this are great, even though I slated it.

:/

Scimarad 16 Feb 2009 16:48:38 9,964 posts
Seen 21 hours ago
Registered 18 years ago

That worked out okay, then. Just avoid watching it again!

Deleted user 16 February 2009 16:58:57

Jim Bob wrote:
Watched this tonight and the execution of a child by his father in what is meant to be an entertaiment product is just plain wrong. Both my wife and I were disguted.

This from the guy who posted a thread asking for ways to commit suicide.

Ares 16 Feb 2009 18:19:04 1,818 posts
Seen 11 years ago
Registered 16 years ago

Jim Bob wrote:
Watched this tonight and the execution of a child by his father in what is meant to be an entertaiment product is just plain wrong. Both my wife and I were disguted.

What? I was totally riveted! The film worked hard enough to convince me that it wasn't a cheap stunt either.

Deleted user 16 February 2009 19:23:20

ecureuil wrote:
I laughed hard at the ending. It really failed at trying to be shocking, and actually ended up being funny as a result.

You must be awesomely funny at funerals.

phAge 16 Feb 2009 19:35:40 25,487 posts
Seen 3 weeks ago
Registered 18 years ago

ecureuil wrote:
I laughed hard at the ending. It really failed at trying to be shocking, and actually ended up being funny as a result.

I didn't laugh but, like Scimarad, I didn't think it was done as well as it could (should) have been. Offing your kid is - I imagine, not having any myself - an act of supreme desperation, yet in the movie it seemed like he just couldn't be arsed to think of a way out and so decided to put a cap in everyone's ass..

Still, thought the lack of a happy end was pretty great in itself.

northside 16 Feb 2009 19:53:25 655 posts
Seen 7 months ago
Registered 14 years ago

I much prefer bleak endings to horror movies, but The Mist just didn't do it for me. I was also laughing at the end because it was so OTT. Eveything about it was horribly contrived - running out of gas (presumably they didn't come across any other cars), having only 4 bullets left when there are *gasp* 5 of them in the car, the mass suicide despite not being in any immediate danger, the army rolling in 30 seconds later, the abandoned woman from the mall being there....

Good movie up until the last ten minutes, IMO.

Scimarad 16 Feb 2009 19:57:30 9,964 posts
Seen 21 hours ago
Registered 18 years ago

The thing that gets me about it the most is Stephen King saying he liked it. WTF was all that about? Stick by your own ending, Mr King.

deem 24 Feb 2009 22:49:16 31,667 posts
Seen 8 months ago
Registered 18 years ago

Scimarad wrote:
That worked out okay, then. Just avoid watching it again!

Couldn't resist it.

I'm only 8 and a half minutes in, and I FUCKING LOVE IT.

I take it all back.

Is it ok to change your mind completely about these things?

It's a bordering on a fucking classic!

/confused

pistol 22 Oct 2009 09:19:53 13,018 posts
Seen 8 years ago
Registered 19 years ago

Bit late to the party on this one and watched it last night. Not sure what to make of it tbh as I felt there were plenty of areas to criticise, but for some reason it's still good.

Tonka 22 Oct 2009 09:23:30 31,979 posts
Seen 1 hour ago
Registered 18 years ago

I loved it. My kind of film though. Yes, the ending is a bit wank but I think the Descent has an even worse one.

Deleted user 22 October 2009 09:26:27

Which version of the Descent did you see?

Jmek 22 Oct 2009 09:40:10 1,588 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 15 years ago

I really do think The Mist is one of the best horror films in recent years. Hell, probably the decade. I'm a huge fan of the original storry, but I actualy preferred Darabont's ending to King's.

Most horror films are terrible. Especially in this age of sanitised 70's remakes and bad slasher flicks. The Mist on the other hand is pure class. Well directed and acted, shame about the CGI though.

Cloudane 22 Oct 2009 11:02:31 1,974 posts
Seen 8 years ago
Registered 16 years ago

Scimarad wrote:
The thing that gets me about it the most is Stephen King saying he liked it. WTF was all that about? Stick by your own ending, Mr King.

I am not a big Stephen King fan although I have seen the film so how was the ending of the film different to the book?

It couldn't have been more shocking to the closing scene of the film though!

Tonka 22 Oct 2009 11:21:45 31,979 posts
Seen 1 hour ago
Registered 18 years ago

squarejawhero wrote:
Which version of the Descent did you see?

I didn't know there were different endings. I saw the one with the tired, clich�d OMG it was all a dream I'm trapped in the underground in some wierd cave on a wall HELP!!! ending. Hated it. Made me lower my score to a seven when I was polled at the door.

Inquisitor Moderator 21 Nov 2009 03:11:32 14,558 posts
Seen 3 days ago
Registered 16 years ago

Just finished watching this. Found it hard to fathom at times, it was both depressingly brilliant and hilariously bad at times. The bug attack highlighted this the most for me. It was pure slapstick, people setting themselves on fire and comical Benny Hill chase scenes, yet during that scene is a horrible bug bite that was both disgusting and emotional.

I loved the creature designs towards the end, the fantasy elements of the film were brilliant. I'd have been happy for the car drive to have gone on much longer and taken in much more of the flora and fauna of this new world as well as had a better look at the devastation it'd caused.

The ending itself was shocking but rushed and, like the rest of the film I came a little too close to finding humour in a situation so bleak there should have been none.

With the mist, creatures lurking within and almost post apocalyptic environment it had a very Silent Hill feel and, like that series the atmosphere was superb. I really enjoyed it overall, a few incredibly daring scenes that maybe didn't work out as well as they should but a great film.

Deleted user 21 November 2009 07:57:35

Tonka wrote:

squarejawhero wrote:
Which version of the Descent did you see?
I didn't know there were different endings. I saw the one with the tired, clich�d OMG it was all a dream I'm trapped in the underground in some wierd cave on a wall HELP!!! ending. Hated it. Made me lower my score to a seven when I was polled at the door.

Eh?

Do you mean the ending where, having been pursued through the caves and seen most of her friends brutally killed by underground trolls, she passes out and hallucinates escaping, only to reawaken to realise she's still trapped underground after all? That's a brilliant ending, far far better than the alternative ending that set up the completely redundant sequel, in which she does genuinely escape.

SirScratchalot 21 Nov 2009 08:04:07 7,921 posts
Seen 1 year ago
Registered 16 years ago

Scimarad wrote:
The thing that gets me about it the most is Stephen King saying he liked it. WTF was all that about? Stick by your own ending, Mr King.

While there's been a lt of water under the bridge, I'd just like to state that mr King can not write an ending to save his life. He has a grand total of zero novella not spoiled by their endings.

The Stand.... dear lord.... the stand...
/Shakes head...

Deleted user 21 November 2009 09:14:15

MrED209 wrote:

Tonka wrote:

squarejawhero wrote:
Which version of the Descent did you see?
I didn't know there were different endings. I saw the one with the tired, clich�d OMG it was all a dream I'm trapped in the underground in some wierd cave on a wall HELP!!! ending. Hated it. Made me lower my score to a seven when I was polled at the door.
Eh?

Do you mean the ending where, having been pursued through the caves and seen most of her friends brutally killed by underground trolls, she passes out and hallucinates escaping, only to reawaken to realise she's still trapped underground after all? That's a brilliant ending, far far better than the alternative ending that set up the completely redundant sequel, in which she does genuinely escape.

I don't think she realises at all. By this point she's completely lost it.

I'll pretend there is no sequel.

Aretak 21 Nov 2009 09:22:47 10,391 posts
Seen 3 years ago
Registered 19 years ago

Christ... I didn't realise they'd made a sequel to The Descent. That must be the most unnecessary sequel ever.

smoothpete 21 Nov 2009 09:28:06 37,743 posts
Seen 6 hours ago
Registered 17 years ago

SirScratchalot wrote:
The Stand.... dear lord.... the stand...
/Shakes head...

Is that the hand of god nuke one?

Daymare 21 Nov 2009 09:30:54 323 posts
Seen 11 years ago
Registered 15 years ago

Whilst I agree King's endings are inadeqate too many times, he sure as hell can write a satisfying finish. Pet Sematary, Thinner, Cujo, Misery and Gerald's Game, for instance, and that's just off the top of my head. Lots of great short stories too.

Mist and Descent are pure class though and everyone who disagrees has a false opinion. And stinks.

Deleted user 21 November 2009 09:34:08

squarejawhero wrote:

MrED209 wrote:

Tonka wrote:

squarejawhero wrote:
Which version of the Descent did you see?
I didn't know there were different endings. I saw the one with the tired, clich�d OMG it was all a dream I'm trapped in the underground in some wierd cave on a wall HELP!!! ending. Hated it. Made me lower my score to a seven when I was polled at the door.
Eh?

Do you mean the ending where, having been pursued through the caves and seen most of her friends brutally killed by underground trolls, she passes out and hallucinates escaping, only to reawaken to realise she's still trapped underground after all? That's a brilliant ending, far far better than the alternative ending that set up the completely redundant sequel, in which she does genuinely escape.

I don't think she realises at all. By this point she's completely lost it.

I'll pretend there is no sequel.

I'm pretty sure she realises and completely loses it.

Deleted user 21 November 2009 09:36:59

Aretak wrote:
Christ... I didn't realise they'd made a sequel to The Descent. That must be the most unnecessary sequel ever.

I'd have thought so. Marshall is on as Executive Producer I think, but surely that translates as "I'm having nothing to do with it but you're not using my characters and story without cutting me in, bitches."

Deleted user 7 August 2010 17:04:25

Just finished this for the first time. Loved it to bits it was so tense throughout it had me on the edge. And the ending.. Christ.

milknoodle 7 Aug 2010 18:51:25 435 posts
Seen 6 years ago
Registered 12 years ago

Hated the ending, ruined the film for me.

The Mist • Page 5