The Mist

-by Ann Marie

Just another Stephan King novel made into a movie. "The Mist" has twists and turns, horrible looking creatures and a society looking to save themselves.

The story starts off with a terrible rain storm that causes incredible damage and a massive power outage in the neighborhood. David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his son, Billy Drayton (Nathan Gamble) head to the super market for supplies, but David notices a strange mist coming in off the water. The mist follows the Draytons to the super market where all the chaos begins. The movie follows the storyline of the people stuck in the super market trying to survive.

The cast for the movie consisted of newer actors and actresses. At points in the movie, the acting seemed cheesy and seemed to be forcing their lines. There was only one top actress in the movie, Marcia Gay Harden (Mrs. Carmody). Her acting was fluent and she didn't miss a step. The cast however, needed some more veteran actors to help improve the storyline.

Frank Darabont directed the movie. There were many shots that helped improve the movie's quality. David tries to make a phone call from the phone booth, and a low angle with the super market in the back was used. This shot normally shows power over the audience, but when the telephone won't work, the camera stays still as David walks toward the super market and shrinks in size. This shows that the telephone had more power over David and he is helpless. The workers at the super market wear aprons that say food house. This indicates the people have now dropped on the food chain. Lastly, when the actors and actresses walk out into the mist, it represents their lives are over because they fade away.

This is the second movie Darabont has done on King's novels. He first directed "The Green Mile." He has also directed "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Frankenstein" based off Mary Shelly's novel. Darabont also directs television shows such as "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles." He also just announced the making of "Fahrenheit 451" which is expected to be done in 2010.

"The Mist" was full of twists and turns with a surprise ending, but the viewer has to be patient. There are some scenes that are not appropriate for a younger viewing audience, but the movie keeps the viewer guessing. I would recommend this to anyone who likes Stephan King novels or suspenseful movies.