Hauptmann Kauffman
March 16th, 2008, 02:29 PM
This is by far the best horror movie I have EVER seen. I was on my toes the entire movie, and was literally gaping at the screen at the end! Here is a movie review ofr you all, and I highly suggest you rent this film TODAY!
I have to say, this is easily the best Stephen King horror adaptation since "The Dark Half." When fidelity to the source material is taken into account, it is probably the most successful Stephen King horror adaptation ever.
The movie opens with an ingenious bit of fan service, with Darabont utilizing the incomparable artwork of Drew Struzan to great (and heartbreaking) effect. That night a powerful storm hits, and the next morning formerly feuding neighbors David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and Brent Norton (Andre Braugher) forge an uneasy peace as they travel to the supermarket with David's son Billy (Nathan Gamble from Babel).
And then the Mist rolls in. And people start to lose their shit.
And this is where the movie almost lost me. What doesn't quite work character-wise is lifted almost directly from the page, so King is equally culpable. The business with bag boy and his boneheaded decision and the dust-up with Brent Norton ring a little too false. Of the places where Darabont could have taken liberties, these two scenes could have used tweaking.
Also, what turns out to be the weakest CGI in the movie takes place in the loading dock scene, with tentacles that looks a little too shiny, a little too weightless, and a little too animated. Thankfully, the rest of the CGI in the movie is much better, with Cafe FX turning in work comparable to their stellar job on "Pan's Labyrinth."
Once Brent leaves, the movie really hits its stride, with Darabont turning a scene featuring a bunch of people pulling on a rope into one of the most exciting and suspenseful scenes of the year. By the time the giant bugs start to swarm, I was absolutely hooked and all remaining doubt had faded away.
Darabont does a commedable job of fitting bits of exposition and backstory from the novel in the dialogue without it feeling too forced or awkward. And while we lose a lot of Drayton's characterization with the lack of a voiceover (a wise choice for a horror movie), Jane does some of his best work, capturing through subtext and subtlety what King espouses through Drayton's narration in print.
In fact, the performances are pretty all-around fabulous, with Toby Jones' note-perfect Ollie Weeks and Marcia Gay Harden's absolutely despicable Mrs. Carmody being the two stand outs.
This is a movie that had us sweating, screaming, and cheering--a monster movie of the highest order. It incorporates elements of the best in the horror/suspense genre. The tenseness and mistrust of "The Thing," the post-Apocalyptic hopelessness of "Night of the Living Dead," and the "oh my God, what the fuck is that?" scares of the original "Alien." Up until its gut-punch of a conclusion, this is a movie that should please audiences and Stephen King fans alike.
But that ending... Holy fuck. It's going to be very, very polarizing, but it's going to get people talking. It's extremely rare that a film adaptation out-bleaks its source, but Darabont doesn't back-down in eschewing King's original ambiguous close. Will it upset fans? Some. But hopefully they'll accept that ambiguity is rarely cinematically satisfying, and given the choice of the usual tacked-on Hollywood feelgoodery or an ending with balls, they'll take the balls.
Well that's about it. The movie was great, Darabont remains the world's classiest Stephen King adapter, and the Drafthouse and AICN continue to rule for making the event happen. Thanks!
I have to say, this is easily the best Stephen King horror adaptation since "The Dark Half." When fidelity to the source material is taken into account, it is probably the most successful Stephen King horror adaptation ever.
The movie opens with an ingenious bit of fan service, with Darabont utilizing the incomparable artwork of Drew Struzan to great (and heartbreaking) effect. That night a powerful storm hits, and the next morning formerly feuding neighbors David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and Brent Norton (Andre Braugher) forge an uneasy peace as they travel to the supermarket with David's son Billy (Nathan Gamble from Babel).
And then the Mist rolls in. And people start to lose their shit.
And this is where the movie almost lost me. What doesn't quite work character-wise is lifted almost directly from the page, so King is equally culpable. The business with bag boy and his boneheaded decision and the dust-up with Brent Norton ring a little too false. Of the places where Darabont could have taken liberties, these two scenes could have used tweaking.
Also, what turns out to be the weakest CGI in the movie takes place in the loading dock scene, with tentacles that looks a little too shiny, a little too weightless, and a little too animated. Thankfully, the rest of the CGI in the movie is much better, with Cafe FX turning in work comparable to their stellar job on "Pan's Labyrinth."
Once Brent leaves, the movie really hits its stride, with Darabont turning a scene featuring a bunch of people pulling on a rope into one of the most exciting and suspenseful scenes of the year. By the time the giant bugs start to swarm, I was absolutely hooked and all remaining doubt had faded away.
Darabont does a commedable job of fitting bits of exposition and backstory from the novel in the dialogue without it feeling too forced or awkward. And while we lose a lot of Drayton's characterization with the lack of a voiceover (a wise choice for a horror movie), Jane does some of his best work, capturing through subtext and subtlety what King espouses through Drayton's narration in print.
In fact, the performances are pretty all-around fabulous, with Toby Jones' note-perfect Ollie Weeks and Marcia Gay Harden's absolutely despicable Mrs. Carmody being the two stand outs.
This is a movie that had us sweating, screaming, and cheering--a monster movie of the highest order. It incorporates elements of the best in the horror/suspense genre. The tenseness and mistrust of "The Thing," the post-Apocalyptic hopelessness of "Night of the Living Dead," and the "oh my God, what the fuck is that?" scares of the original "Alien." Up until its gut-punch of a conclusion, this is a movie that should please audiences and Stephen King fans alike.
But that ending... Holy fuck. It's going to be very, very polarizing, but it's going to get people talking. It's extremely rare that a film adaptation out-bleaks its source, but Darabont doesn't back-down in eschewing King's original ambiguous close. Will it upset fans? Some. But hopefully they'll accept that ambiguity is rarely cinematically satisfying, and given the choice of the usual tacked-on Hollywood feelgoodery or an ending with balls, they'll take the balls.
Well that's about it. The movie was great, Darabont remains the world's classiest Stephen King adapter, and the Drafthouse and AICN continue to rule for making the event happen. Thanks!