Review - The Mist (2007 - Dir. Frank Darabont)

I read the Stephen King novella The Mist about 20 years ago and really wanted to see it as a film. A good film. Not the rubbish, overblown translation that you usually get.

Frank Darabont has done the business and has faithfully put The Mist on screen. In fact, he's actually improved on it. He's taken the source material seriously, no tongue-in-cheek business here, and shot it with handheld cameras. One thing that stands out on the Blu-ray is the gorgeous depth of field effects. It might be worth pointing out that I watched the black and white version. Both are great, but the black and white is more atmospheric and B-movieish. 

The central premise of the story is simple; David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his son (convincingly played by Nathan Gamble) go shopping. A mist descends and people start to disappear. And die. It starts off like any standard issue B-movie. Then towards the end the tone gets darker and then bleaker. The ending is one of the bleakest I've seen. I'm glad they went for it though, it would have been weaker without it.


The Blu-ray makes the photography look gorgeous but it also shows up some of the CGI effects. DVD smoothes over some of the rough edges and blends elements together, so the effects actually look better on DVD. One of the best effects is achieved with just a length of thin rope. It's amazing how cheap, yet effective some effects can be when used creatively.

The main problem, and it's not a major one, is Thomas Jane's acting. Generally okay but dodgy in parts. I'm still not sure about the end sequence where he is a tad distraught. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.


The film deals with similar themes to F. Paul Wilson's Nightworld. What happens when the world is ending? How do people react? Do the rules that you lived by still apply? One of the characters (played by Laurie Holden; spot the Silent Hill link there?) thinks that people are generally good and the others are being cynical. The film opts for the cynical approach in quite a hard to watch scene. You can imagine it happening though.


A special mention has to go to the music choice for the end sequence. The Host of Seraphim by Dead Can Dance was originally put in as a temp track but was so great they got the rights to use it. Glad they did. It makes the end of the film and fits it so well tonally. 


Watch this if you fancy a fairly intelligent B-movie that's atmospheric with some great Lovecraftian creatures (one's a whopper!). People who crave a happy ending - don't bother.
8/10
evlkeith




If you like this you could also try:
Silent Hill, The Fog, The Road, Shuttle.

Review - Silent Hill (2006 - Dir. Christophe Gans)

Now, I know this is not the most popular of films, even amongst horror aficionados and fans of the original game, but it is a film I keep coming back to again and again. 

I played the original Silent Hill game on the Playstation some years ago and can't remember it exactly; however the film does give me similar feelings to my recollections of the game. 

Radha Mitchell plays the mother of a young, sleepwalking girl who constantly witters on about a place called Silent Hill. She takes her there and promptly loses her in an atmospheric and confusing place filled with a mist made of ash. A great deal of disturbing monster filled mist action ensues, the highlight being Pyramid Head; you wish there was more of him. The original ending was going to include loads of Pyramid Heads but due to budgetary reasons was changed to the current ending.

One of the most maligned parts of the film is the role that Sean Bean plays as the husband. Yes, he is Basil Exposition. Yes, the director didn't really want to include the character. But he does add to the sense of poignancy in the final scene so I don't mind him too much. And he's from Yorkshire. 


I have one question about the film. How is it rated as a 15 when there is a intimate scene including razor wire and a lady's privities? The Evil Dead was banned for far less and is still rated an 18 now.

Easily my favourite video game film (admittedly, there's not much competition) but also one of my all time favourite films. Writing this review makes me want to watch it again...
9/10
evlkeith




If you like this you could try:
The Mist, The Fog (1980), Brotherhood of the Wolf, Crying Freeman.

Review - The Fog (1980 - Dir. John Carpenter)

If there's one thing that instantly endears a film to me, it's fog. Loads of lovely fog. Fog creates a brilliant atmosphere. Fog films are great.

That brings us nicely to The Fog. Not the 2005 remake, which I haven't seen but it does look like a piece of old rope. When I watched this years ago I was disappointed. Directed by John Carpenter of Halloween fame, I was expected some fairly harsh scenes. Well, there aren't any really. Watching it now, on its own merits, it's surprisingly good. 

The opening scene of an old salty seadog telling ghost stories sets the tone. This is a ghost story and as such doesn't really need the gore. There are some fairly tense scenes. Some are cliched, for example, a car that is stuck in a rut while ghosts creep forwards to attack with their evil hooks. But the acting, music and spooky ghost design pull you in. I love the way that you never see the ghosts' faces up close and in detail. It makes them a lot more menacing.

The cinematography by Dean Cundey (Halloween, The Thing) is gorgeous. There is some excellent use of lighting to create tension and scares. Dark corners of the frame are used to great effect. The shot of Adrienne Barbeau walking down steps to a lighthouse is stunning. The camera lingers over the view to let you fully appreciate it. Worth the price of the Blu-ray alone. 

 

The effects of the fog are effective up close but the long shots of the fog creeping into the bay look shonky now. Possibly a time when CGI would be better? The make up effects on the zombie-like ghosts by Rob Bottin are really creepy and he knows that less light is better for practical make up effects; if you watch the documentary on The Thing DVD you learn that he makes these fabulous creations and he would prefer it if there were no light on them at all! Quality fella.

Although there is no gore, there are a few scenes that make you go 'oof!'; the final shot being one of them. So, if you go into this without high expectations you will probably be pleasantly surprised. Don't think that you're going to get any extras on the Blu-ray though. I don't count audio and video set up as an extra really. Does anyone?

7/10

evlkeith

If you like this you could try:
The Mist, Silent Hill, The Thing, The Prince of Darkness