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| |  | VHS | Home » » The Mist | | | | | | | Description: | | After a mysterious mist envelopes a small New England town, a group of locals trapped in a supermarket must battle a siege of otherworldly creatures...and the fears that threaten to tear them apart. | | | Features: | |
• From legendary frightmaster Stephen King and Academy Award nominated director Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) comes one of the most tense and terrifying films since The Shining. After a mysterious mist envelops a small New England town, a group of locals trapped in a supermarket must battle a siege of otherworldly creatures. and the fears that threaten to tear them apart
| | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| William Sadler, Chris Owen, Andre Braugher, Nathan Gamble, Toby Jones | | Format:
| Color, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen | | Language:
| English | | Subtitle:
| English, Spanish | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| Genius Products (TVN) | | Run Time:
| 126 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| March 25, 2008 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 420 reviews |
| | | | Used and New: | | | |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
95 of 109 found the following review helpful:
 Michael Jackson Was Wrong, It Does Matter if The Mist is Black or White. (dvd features below)Apr 28, 2008
By Mike Liddell
On the two disc edition of The Mist, on disc 2 there is a glorious Black and White version of the film, with an introduction by the director Frank Darabont. Darabont says he originally wanted The Mist to be in B&W and be a throwback to the 50's and 60's horror movies such as Night of the Living Dead, which I felt it had a lot in common with. Darabont says this can be considered his director's cut. I knew he directed two other King favorites The Shawshank Redemption (Two-Disc Special Edition) and The Green Mile, but I didn't realize his other contributions to the horror genre, until I checked out IMDB. Starting in 1980 as a production assistant on Hell Night and going on to write the screenplays for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 - Dream Warriors, The Blob, The Fly II (Collector's Edition), and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
The Mist is an entertaining, at times infuriating, tragic horror film filled with fun scares in the form of 50s and 60s era monsters lurking in the mist outside and the uglier monsters inside that apply to our present day, a true creature double feature.
Darabont reminded me of Romero and his use of horror and social commentary. Here he makes an atmospheric horror movie, our main character, David Drayton, played by, Thomas Jane, (Deep Blue Sea) designs posters for horror movies, followed by a big storm, and ultimately has David and his son (mom at home) trapped in a supermarket with the towns people. Similar to the mall in Dawn of the Dead [Blu-ray] evil lurks outside the market, not in the form of zombies that can be seen, but old school monsters that lurk out in the mist. That's the surface of the film, but as we go through the layers we find much more, such as the monsters that lurk inside the supermarket. Human nature, when afraid and backed into a corner and the role the military plays once the smoke clears are some of the movie's other factors.
The Black and White Version is the way to go, to get that old school feel the director intended, even the way the title on the dvd is written is like an old monster movie. Highly Recommended, one of King's best film adaptations.
2 DISC DVD FEATURES (FROM BACK OF DVD)
DISC I Features Commentary by Writer/Director Frank Darabont - Deleted Scenes with optional commentary - Drew Struzan: An appreciation of an artist - Behind the scenes webisodes - Trailer Gallery Dolby Dig 5.1
DISC II - Frank Darabont introduces The Mist in Black & White - The Director's Vision: The Complete Feature Film in Black & White - When Darkness came : The Making of the mist - Taming the beast - The making of scene 35 - Monsters among us: A look at the creature FX - The Horror of it all: The visual FX of the mist. Dolby Dig 5.1
17 of 19 found the following review helpful:
Lovecraft smiles in his graveMay 17, 2008
By J from NY
Frank Darabont's "The Mist" would have made Howard Phillips Lovecraft proud, even if he would have had to leave the house to watch it.
Bank on it: when you see a Stephen King film that does NOT INVOLVE direction by Stephen King and the material is excellent in the first place, you're in for a terrifying ride: ("Salem's Lot", "Pet Cemetery", "The Shining" all attest to this) this film is a case in point. Thomas Jane gives the same performance he always does but it works as the befuddled, terrified and courageous Everyman David Drayton
makes a simple decision with tremendous consequences: he goes to the grocery store.
The sheer mystery and grotesque nature of what goes on is convincing by virtue of the relatively banal, provincial setting: relations between annoying townsfolk and the "artist" (Drayton) escalate when the fantastic is finally introduced into their own lives. The scene in which the teenage boy makes an unwise decision to be a tough guy in front of the other locals lets you know what you're in for. Andre Braugher is in this movie for about five seconds and I have no idea why: he's such a great actor and I would have been curious as to how his character would have dealt with the situation if he hadn't denied it was happening, or thought it was an "inside joke" being played by the locals. Scarier than the things outside, though, is the religious fanatic played by Marcia Gay Harden, known as Mrs. Carmody to anyone who even skimmed the novella: the ultimate bad religious, the most irritating and horrifying phenomena in perhaps the entire tale, she takes full advantage of the situation to impose her blasphemous view of the Old Testament on the dumbstruck crowd, turning them into bloodthirsty monsters. When the young marine is offered up to the looming horror outside as "Food for the Gods", one can barely watch.
But the ending: this is key here. You will never see it coming and it is absolutely perfect. Great!
54 of 67 found the following review helpful:
A King-sized thriller!Apr 09, 2008
By Steven Hedge
"Movie Fan"
Director Frank Darabont successfully adapts yet another King tale. He had done a great job with King's prison tales The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, but is equally good at working on King's thrillers.
***This may contain some spoilers. I think I'm vague enough, but some like to be warned of any potential spoilers within a review. So, here's your warning***
This film is based on a novella, a short novel that is usually less than 150 pages, which helps to keep this film tightly focused on a small band of people trapped in a supermarket as a strange mists surrounds an entire town. Within this mist are incredible monsters that are very effectively produced as part CGI and part puppets. They do look frighteningly real and not as obvious special effects. As with any of these "band of survivors" kind of films there are an odd collection of characters, but I can't label them as stereotypes and that is a welcome change for this genre of film.
All the actors bring a real and human quality to their characters. Thomas Jane, of Deep Blue Sea, King's Dreamcatcher, and husband to Patricia Arquette of NBC's Medium for which he had a role on two episodes, has always been something of an action actor with passing acting abilities, but here the director gets a sincere and highly emotional performance out of him. Andre Braugher as the initially hostile out-of-towner, turned nice guy, turned angry guy, turned determine guy is performed quite well considering the complexity of the actual role. You see the tension with him all the time, but you also see a "nice guy" trying to come out and get along with others who struggles with insecurities. In addition, there is Toby Jones, The Painted Veil and Infamous, as a shift manager who is keenly insightful about people in general, but believably so. The supermarket is rounded out with the likes of Frances Sternhagen who graces any film she's in, William Sadler who is great at playing semi-villains, and the ever reliable Jeffrey DuMunn who is no stranger to starring in King films. Lauren Holden as a kind of a stand-in wife/son to Thomas Jane's character and his son while trapped at the supermarket and is good in her role. She may be best known as the macho cop in the horror film Silent Hill.
I would be remiss if I didn't note the Oscar-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden's role as the sick, sadistic, Bible thumping, I'm against the world, bitter religious zealot Mrs. Carmody. In the Stephen King world this is the Christian stereotype as it was in his Carrie novel. King himself admits that he has had a very negative view of Christians prior to his near fatal car accident, and often painted them with the same brush he painted Mrs. Carmody. Even prior to his accident he was beginning to lighten up on his view of Christians and his The Green Mile - Six Volume Box Setis a good example to that softening of King's views. Having said this, Harden plays this role a bit over-the-top at times, but is still convincing. She does eventually become a caricature of sorts, but she is very compelling to watch and I give her kudos for that kind of performance.
As much as the actors make this a very enjoyable film, much credit for the success of this highly effective horror film is the writing and directing by Danabont who just knows how to handle King's stories. King often fought with his publishers when he had downer endings. Publisher hate it when an author kills off the heroes in a story or evil appears to win, but King, to his credit, never flinched and has had numerous stories in which his main characters die and evil won. I admire that with King and some of his most effective stories have been the ones with downer endings. I'm not saying who dies in this story and who doesn't in this story or if the evil in the mist wins as I don't believe in spoiling someone else's enjoyment of a film, but this adaptation is very faithful to the novella and it does have a strong ending. In fact, the ending is quite shocking, moving, harrowing, and just plain jaw-dropping. I doubt anyone would see it coming which makes it all that much more effective.
This is an outstanding horror film that is worthy of a place in your DVD collection.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Frank Darabont adapting Stephen King is always a must-seeApr 29, 2011
By Steven Aldersley
The Mist
Directed by Frank Darabont
Starring Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Andre Braugher, Laurie Holden, Toby Jones
Weinstein Company | 2007 | 126 min | Rated R | Sep 16, 2008
Video:
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio:
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
English SDH, Spanish
Discs:
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region free
Frank Darabont hasn't directed many movies, but three of them are in my collection. The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile are both adapted from Stephen King stories and so is The Mist. Despite its lower budget, The Mist is another strong entry from Darabont.
The thing I like about Stephen King is that most story elements are based in the real world. We can identify with the type of town and the characters who inhabit it. He usually changes one or two things to transport us into another world. In this instance, the other element is the mist. We learn that it has leaked through from an entrance to another dimension, along with some of the creatures from that reality.
The exposition is handled well and draws the viewer into the situation. After a brief description of David Drayton's (Jane) home life, he travels into town with his son Billy (Nathan Gamble) and neighbor Brent Norton (Braugher). While the three are shopping in the local supermarket, a man runs in with blood on his face warning that there's something in the mist.
Some of my favorite stories examine what happens when society breaks down. Stephen King seems to enjoy writing about it too. The Stand is one of the best novels dealing with the psychological effects of a catastrophe and The Mist delves into the same territory. Imagine the situation. You're in a store and a mist descends outside. A man runs in injured and shouts a warning. Do you listen, or do you ignore the warning and assume it's a natural phenomenon?
Some people are deeply rooted in routines. They know how much they earn and live one or two paychecks away from disaster. Their routine means that they rarely have to think about anything out of the ordinary. They may excel in one or two known situations, but be completely out of their depth when facing the unknown. That's when we see who the real leaders are. Who will crumble and who will adapt and remain calm under pressure? Will anyone lose touch with reality completely and start behaving in unpredictable ways? Would you steal to feed your family or kill to protect someone? The Mist shows what happens in just such a situation. The results are interesting to say the least.
My favorite character is Ollie (Jones), the assistant manager of the store. He's a great reminder of how people are not always what they seem. Looking like an older version of Radar O'Reilly, he's able to step up and make a difference in a crisis.
Darabont doesn't spend a fortune on special effects, but the result is convincing to me. As the story unfolds, we see a variety of creatures. Some of them are close to creatures we know while others are like nothing we have ever seen.
Another interesting choice from Darabont is the use of sound in the movie. Most entries in this genre would feature music heavily during every action scene. Darabont chooses to just show the events as they happen without trying to influence our mood with music. There are a few muted sound effects for most of the movie, but nothing more. The result is that we are drawn into the situation even more as if we are left alone to think about how we would handle the situation. The one exception is in the last few minutes of the story when The Host of Seraphim (Dead Can Dance) is played during a pivotal scene. Its impact is greatly enhanced due to the absence of music in the remainder of the movie.
Darabont changes King's original ending. It's a brave choice and will annoy a lot of people. King remarked that he wishes he had thought of it. It's a resolution of sorts and it's certainly not typical Hollywood fare.
Video Quality 4/5
The Mist Blu-ray package consists of two discs; one showing the movie in color and the other in black and white. Darabont is known to prefer the black and white version as it adds to the intended feel. While I like both, I slightly prefer the color version. Detail is good in both and there's nothing to complain about. It's not up there with the best the format has to offer, but it's more than adequate.
Audio Quality 4/5
The movie is driven by dialogue and is as much a character study as a monster movie. With no music for the vast majority of the running time, this is not the type of movie to show off your sound system. It handles everything it's supposed to without going over the top.
Special Features 4/5
The commentary track goes into considerable depth and is an excellent addition for those who want to know how everything was done. There are also 15 minutes of deleted scenes, a "making of" feature and a discussion with King and Darabont. There are several other features focusing on certain scenes or special effects. Overall, over two hours, and a good supplemental package that's worth seeing at least once.
The Mist is a fun world to visit for two hours. See it if you are a fan of horror or psychological drama and enjoy a decent Blu-ray presentation.
Overall 4.5/5
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 From BeyondMar 19, 2008
By Sky
In 1920, H. P. Lovecraft wrote a short story called From Beyond about an alien environment inhabited by horrific creatures that overlaps with our own environment. Stephen King often gives credit to Lovecraft as inspiration for his Horror writings (see Stephen King's Danse Macabre).
Therefore, it's no surprise--and perhaps not a coincidence--that King wrote a story circa 1980 called The Mist that explores what might happen if a window to that alien environment was inadvertently opened...wide...releasing a dense mist filled with monsters. (The Mist was later published in one of King's collection of short stories called Skeleton Crew {1985}.)
Fast forward to the late 2007 release of a feature film adaptation of The Mist. But what's really interesting is that the director of The Mist is the same guy that directed The Shawshank Redemption...Frank Darabont...so my expectations for The Mist were very high! (Darabont also directed King's The Green Mile.)
And my high expectations were met in the film adaptation of The Mist...mostly. The story in the movie is very loyal to the book (as I remember anyway...I read it more than 20 years ago!): A monster infested mist descends on a small lakeside town, and we follow the perils of a group of townspeople trapped in a grocery store when the mist hits. On screen, some of the actions and decisions by the terrified captives are a little hard to grasp, and the movie has a truly haunting and affecting ending that was much more depressing than the book's. Otherwise, the story from the book seems completely intact.
There's great suspense. Good acting. I was thoroughly entertained. And unlike too many film adaptations of King's Horror stuff...The Mist was very well done and preserved a lot of the prose, shock and character of the original story.
Any Horror fan should enjoy The Mist, and any fan of King and the original story shouldn't miss this DVD.
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