Ok, just saw it tonight. I actually really enjoyed it, though holy god that was a depressing ending. Tom Jane did a good job. Also, the creatures were good.
The tentacle monster freaked the shit out of me, and the thing that we never really saw that got the soldier was also really disturbing to me for some reason. Lastly, the colossal six-legged thing was just
I thought Darabont did a great job with the creatures. Funny enough, they did look just how I imagined them from the story, if only a little "buggier".
If I have one gripe about the movie, it would be the music that played during the end scenes. It really took me out of it. I mean, we get good, atmospheric music the entire movie...only to get the haunting singing? It just felt over the top and too dramatic. It felt like movie music. =/
Also (end spoilers)
Tom Jane's screaming in the car was great. His tantrum, followed by him jumping out of the car and screaming was wonderful as well. However, once he saw the tanks and everything...I think he should have just gone silent. He should have just stared at the oncoming military and just had tears running down his face. He was just yelling too much at the end.
I really, really liked the ending, mostly thanks to the gravity, intensity, and surprise. Offhand I can't think of any american film with such a daring ending. If anybody has counterexamples I'd love to hear them.
Shit, I just thought of one but it's not exactly an American film: Romeo & Juliet
Heh, apparently this film was #9 in the box office. For a horror flick I guess it was too smart for the average theater goer though I think the ending contributed to it.
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SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
edited November 2007
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) had a downer ending.
I didn't see The Mist, but I did ruin the movie for myself by reading about the end.
I really liked this movie. I haven't read the story but I went with my boyfriend who is a big SK fan and he said they stayed pretty true to the original material.
The weakest parts I thought were some of the acting (gogo Thomas Jane) and the part in the pharmacy when they don't just GTFO when they hear/see the spider type things. HMM GUYS LETS INVESTIGATE THESE SCARY NOISES!! But I just hate that in horror movies in general. :P
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SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
I think this was one of the only King stories I've ever seen done correctly. It just really carried that Stephen King atmosphere from beginning to end.
Also, I don't get why people are hating on Thomas Jane. I think he's a pretty good character actor and thought he did a damn good job in the film. In fact, I thought all of the actors were really good though they occasionally had a bad line to deal with.
I think this is the first movie I have ever really shivered in.
The theater temperature was fine, just some of the moments were so tense, it was amazing.
The part where the five try to leave and are surrounded by the congregation. There was such an amazing build-up to that, with the crazy lady gathering people about her, that that conflict itself seemed like a huge payoff. The inevitable end to it was amazing too and had people clapping in their seats.
The ending...I really enjoyed it but there are some people in my group who did not. They saw it as 'stupid' and 'gay' while I thought it was very daring and was surprised it hasn't caused a hubris in the media. I'm happy to know there's one director out there who will not pull the punches when it comes to a story as dark as this.
I really, really liked the ending, mostly thanks to the gravity, intensity, and surprise. Offhand I can't think of any american film with such a daring ending. If anybody has counterexamples I'd love to hear them.
Se7en with the original ending point ("Somebody do something!" fade to black) seemed this way.
Judging by the reception here I just went from -yawn- to -I'm going to go see this movie.
Huh, conflict. The premise, and most of the plot of this movie, doesn't honestly interest me that much. But I might see it just for the ending...I mean, that is pretty ballsy.
But not Oldboy ballsy. Or should I say...tongue-sy?:roll:
driving past all those ready sources of fuel and not stopping to get some
Uh
How, exactly, would that have worked
In the original ending of the novella, they discuss this as they hide out in a safe place. From past experience, they figure that they have a short amount of time they can spend outside before monsters show up. He thinks they might be able to start a siphon and get back in the car - where the critters can't smell them - until it is done, then quickly cap off and roll. The main character isn't looking forward to it, but knows he must - as something at the end has given him hope
driving past all those ready sources of fuel and not stopping to get some
Uh
How, exactly, would that have worked
In the original ending of the novella, they discuss this as they hide out in a safe place. From past experience, they figure that they have a short amount of time they can spend outside before monsters show up. He thinks they might be able to start a siphon and get back in the car - where the critters can't smell them - until it is done, then quickly cap off and roll. The main character isn't looking forward to it, but knows he must - as something at the end has given him hope
Thank you. I figured it was pretty obvious from the scene
where they got in the car and the spider just completely ignored them.
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GreenStick around.I'm full of bad ideas.Registered Userregular
driving past all those ready sources of fuel and not stopping to get some
Uh
How, exactly, would that have worked
In the original ending of the novella, they discuss this as they hide out in a safe place. From past experience, they figure that they have a short amount of time they can spend outside before monsters show up. He thinks they might be able to start a siphon and get back in the car - where the critters can't smell them - until it is done, then quickly cap off and roll. The main character isn't looking forward to it, but knows he must - as something at the end has given him hope
Thank you. I figured it was pretty obvious from the scene
where they got in the car and the spider just completely ignored them.
No, I understand what you were talking about, it's just that
they were lacking any sort of tools to actually siphon fuel. In the novella they manage to make it to safe spots (like a Howard Johnson) where they can pick up supplies, but in the film they were pretty much left with the gun alone.
Also, King REALLY DID sell the option for a JJ Abrams movie on the Dark Tower for 19 bucks. That's not a joke.
And with Abrams, who has made some of the most intense episodes of a show ever (See every season premier and finale of Lost, even if you think the show sucks, the season premiers and finales are absolutely fantastic intense pieces of TV) coupled with one of the best book series ever written (Shut up, is too) and King who has said specifically that he would be alot more involved, I think a DT movie has potential.
Haha yes. Marcia Gay Harden did a great job with that character.
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The_SpaniardIt's never lupinesIrvine, CaliforniaRegistered Userregular
edited November 2007
I thought it was fairly decent and enjoyed it for what it was. I mean I felt that it could have been better and fell victim to a few common "Kingisms", but where it was good it shone. Steven King has always been great at making likable bit characters and absolutely despiseable villains. You really fall in love with certain characters, like the old lady and the nerdy grocer, and everybody cheered when Biblethumper McGaybash got a lead IQ boost.
Edit: I also loved the design of the gargantuan creature at the end of the movie as it was an exact recreation of something I had designed years ago. I know it was based on an old story, but it still felt like I was watching one of my creations come to life.
I would like to say that your sig is awesome, and if he made a book about her, I would read it and watch the movie.
Thanks! Wasn't Carrie about her teen years? She's a vile bitch, and if breeding keeps her off the air, I volunteer to sacrifice some of my seed (from a distance, please) to keep her popping out puppies as long as possible.
Oh fuck. That was one fucking dark and depressing ending, probably one of the best I've seen in a movie in a while.
This was a damn good horror movie. Haven't liked any since Silent Hill, and this movie is just as good as that one. It was also nice to see Laurie Holden having another role in a fog-infested city. :P
I liked the movie, but I couldn't stand the lack of camera focus. I know it was trying to be realistic, but honestly, don't unfocus the camera every 3 seconds. Other then that it was excellent, really close to the short story.
Carmody and her followers blame the PFC, a friggin' E3 fer the luv of gawd, for what (supposedly) happened at the military base. You can tell none of those people ever served in the military!
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"A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people's business." - Eric Hoffer, _The True Believer_
Carmody and her followers blame the PFC, a friggin' E3 fer the luv of gawd, for what (supposedly) happened at the military base. You can tell none of those people ever served in the military!
Religious fanatics, man. Not the most rational of people.
Carmody and her followers blame the PFC, a friggin' E3 fer the luv of gawd, for what (supposedly) happened at the military base. You can tell none of those people ever served in the military!
Religious fanatics, man. Not the most rational of people.
Indeed, and unintentional hilarity often ensues.
Peter Principle on
"A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people's business." - Eric Hoffer, _The True Believer_
The trailers have me quite interested in this movie, but I am wondering how scary it is. I really dislike the horror genre for the most part, but I like me some suspense.
driving past all those ready sources of fuel and not stopping to get some
Uh
How, exactly, would that have worked
In the original ending of the novella, they discuss this as they hide out in a safe place. From past experience, they figure that they have a short amount of time they can spend outside before monsters show up. He thinks they might be able to start a siphon and get back in the car - where the critters can't smell them - until it is done, then quickly cap off and roll. The main character isn't looking forward to it, but knows he must - as something at the end has given him hope
Yeah, I really liked the ending to the novella better for two main reasons:
There is no finality to it. He never gets back to see if his wife is dead or alive one way or another because the road is simply too blocked/torn up. That's such a wicked scene because even though he *knows* she's probably dead, he never gets closure. And for the same reason, you never know if the mist is a local phenomenon or a widespread event by the end of the novella. I like the uncertainty of that. I like all the little things that imply the "earthquake" was a result of the rift opened, implying that either another dimensions spilled into our own or we fell into it. But the ending just never makes clear and I like that.
As for the theatrical ending...
I liked the suicide part, I thought that was a tough pill to swallow on its own, but I hated the deus ex machina ending of the military showing up to save the day. Regardless of the fact those survivors shot themselves or not, I hated the finality of not only seeing his dead wife but of having the military clean the problem up in the end. It almost felt like the end of Jurassic Park 3.
However, I keep giving it thought...
And this may completely be me reaching for straws to make an ending that sets better with me, but I think there is stock in the idea that those final moments of the film are all in his head. Why? In the novella when sitting in the HoJo's writing everything out he says:
But you mustn't expect some neat conclusion. There is no And they escaped from the mist into the good sunshine of a new day; or When we awoke the national guard had finally arrived; or even that great old standby: It was all a dream.
And really, those three things are basically (give or take a little) what happens in the end. As much as I would have just preferred seeing a slight variation on the "Hartford ending", it sits better with me to think all of the military stuff at the end was just a result of him finally losing his shit.
That giant six legged beastie... where does something that big just fuck off to when the military shows up with flamethrowers, ya know? And the lady in the beginning who needs to get home to her kids, you *know* she didn't make it but there she is at the end in a very ethereal sequence.
Ultimately I haven't ruled out I could just be reading deeper into something that isn't there in an effort to make the ending not feel so much like two different people's writing colliding together at the end.
I prefer the novella's ending too, mostly because I have a hard time swallowing the idea that the handful of critical thinkers who survive and escape would give up so readily. I really like the idea the movie was going for, there, but it just didn't get executed very well. It left me sorta scratching my head.
Also, I didn't think any of it was supposed to be a dream, but that's an interesting way of looking at it - I can see all of those three elements there now that you mention it.
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Shit, I just thought of one but it's not exactly an American film: Romeo & Juliet
Heh, apparently this film was #9 in the box office. For a horror flick I guess it was too smart for the average theater goer though I think the ending contributed to it.
I didn't see The Mist, but I did ruin the movie for myself by reading about the end.
Would you really call it a downer or depressing ending as opposed to a shocking one? I guess thats where the genre 'tragedy' comes in.
Actually, I guess I'd call it both shocking and depressing. You really feel bad for that lady as Donald Sutherland points at her.
Also, I don't get why people are hating on Thomas Jane. I think he's a pretty good character actor and thought he did a damn good job in the film. In fact, I thought all of the actors were really good though they occasionally had a bad line to deal with.
I know. I couldn't stop thinking about how much Silent Hill one was inspired from this short story.
Great movie. I give it a 9/10.
I thought the ending should of been a little longer.
Your 19 reference is better than any Dark Tower they will make. It will be a mockery.
Steam - Talon Valdez :Blizz - Talonious#1860 : Xbox Live & LoL - Talonious Monk @TaloniousMonk Hail Satan
The theater temperature was fine, just some of the moments were so tense, it was amazing.
The part where the five try to leave and are surrounded by the congregation. There was such an amazing build-up to that, with the crazy lady gathering people about her, that that conflict itself seemed like a huge payoff. The inevitable end to it was amazing too and had people clapping in their seats.
The ending...I really enjoyed it but there are some people in my group who did not. They saw it as 'stupid' and 'gay' while I thought it was very daring and was surprised it hasn't caused a hubris in the media. I'm happy to know there's one director out there who will not pull the punches when it comes to a story as dark as this.
Highly recommended, film of the year even.
Se7en with the original ending point ("Somebody do something!" fade to black) seemed this way.
Judging by the reception here I just went from -yawn- to -I'm going to go see this movie.
And for the record Secret Window was a terrible story.
Uh
How, exactly, would that have worked
But not Oldboy ballsy. Or should I say...tongue-sy?:roll:
I think J.J. Abrams and his gang are the only ones who even have a chance of making this work.
I would like to say that your sig is awesome, and if he made a book about her, I would read it and watch the movie.
...Holy God, that ending sounds depressing.
Thank you. I figured it was pretty obvious from the scene
No, I understand what you were talking about, it's just that
Also, King REALLY DID sell the option for a JJ Abrams movie on the Dark Tower for 19 bucks. That's not a joke.
And with Abrams, who has made some of the most intense episodes of a show ever (See every season premier and finale of Lost, even if you think the show sucks, the season premiers and finales are absolutely fantastic intense pieces of TV) coupled with one of the best book series ever written (Shut up, is too) and King who has said specifically that he would be alot more involved, I think a DT movie has potential.
Edit: I also loved the design of the gargantuan creature at the end of the movie as it was an exact recreation of something I had designed years ago. I know it was based on an old story, but it still felt like I was watching one of my creations come to life.
Honestly I'm almost brought to tears by this news.
Thanks! Wasn't Carrie about her teen years? She's a vile bitch, and if breeding keeps her off the air, I volunteer to sacrifice some of my seed (from a distance, please) to keep her popping out puppies as long as possible.
My favorite line from the movie?
Paraphrasing...
Tears of joy, yes?
Also, there is an awesome Dark Tower reference in this Dr. McNinja comic, of all places.
I meant to supplement my tears with the giant hard-on so yes tears of joy.
This was a damn good horror movie. Haven't liked any since Silent Hill, and this movie is just as good as that one. It was also nice to see Laurie Holden having another role in a fog-infested city. :P
Religious fanatics, man. Not the most rational of people.
Indeed, and unintentional hilarity often ensues.
I just couldn't take Thomas Jane seriously at first because I kept thinking of Arrested Development.
"I just want my kids back!"
" I'm Tom Jane.
I would go out with you, but I'm Tom Jane."
Yeah, I really liked the ending to the novella better for two main reasons:
As for the theatrical ending...
However, I keep giving it thought...
That giant six legged beastie... where does something that big just fuck off to when the military shows up with flamethrowers, ya know? And the lady in the beginning who needs to get home to her kids, you *know* she didn't make it but there she is at the end in a very ethereal sequence.
Ultimately I haven't ruled out I could just be reading deeper into something that isn't there in an effort to make the ending not feel so much like two different people's writing colliding together at the end.
Also, I didn't think any of it was supposed to be a dream, but that's an interesting way of looking at it - I can see all of those three elements there now that you mention it.