The Mist

'The Mist' is one of those movies, like John Carpenter's 'The Thing' or Neil Marshall's 'The Descent', that depicts a group of people in a struggle for survival against monsters, and in doing so demonstrates that actually human nature, when under duress, is often scarier than any monster out there.

The plot concerns a sinister mist that descends upon a remote town, a mist that harbours a variety of nasty supernatural creatures. The story centers around a group of people trapped by this mist in a supermarket, among them the main protagonist (played by Thomas Jane) and his son.

It isn't long before tensions mount amongst the survivors, as conflicts emerge - firstly over what to do about the threat, and later (and most disturbingly) over whose fault the whole situation is. To say more than that would be to give too much away, and I'm certainly not going to discuss the now famous ending.

The development of rifts between the protagonists is convincing and well handled, and is informed by a sharp eye for both the nuances of human behaviour, and for the social and political state of America. In fact, the increasingly violent nature of these conflicts is often more frightening than the encounters with the monsters, and more of a threat to the survival of the group.

That's not to say that the monster attacks aren't any good, because they are. They are suspenseful, they are well timed, and you're never quite sure how they are going to play out. If I do have a a criticism of 'The Mist', however, it would be that the creature design (with the exception of one magnificent beastie toward the end) is somewhat derivative and uninspired, and some of the CGI isn't as good as it could have been, which occasionally impacts on the viewer's suspension of disbelief.

But these are minor gripes, which don't lessen the fact that 'The Mist' is an excellent film - well written, well performed, and well paced. It also benefits from a haunting score by Mark Isham. And though its portrayal of humanity may be bleak, it is compelling and thought provoking, and the film never forgets to entertain.

Just don't let anyone tell you the ending beforehand!