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Mr. Beaks Gets to the End of THE MIST with Frank Darabont!

Thanks for the article, Mr Beaks by palimpsest	Jul 30th, 2008 02:02:48 AM
THE MIST is well worth revisiting if you've seen it, and if you haven't seen it yet, then you really should. The movie's got issues, certainly (it's a bit rough around the edges, some of the dialogue is too on the nose, some of the conflict is awkwardly set up and there are too many injokes and genre nods for my taste) but the ending is worth it.
I loved the ending... by virtual_ninja	Jul 30th, 2008 02:04:47 AM
and Iam glad Mr. Darabont stuck with it. It made the movie go from just ok to fantastic! Definitley one of the better modern horror movies, god knows most of them are crap now-a-days.
Yup, the ending was a kick in the nuts...... by Aloy	Jul 30th, 2008 02:05:22 AM
but then why should it have gone the other way? (Trying to be mildly unspoilerish.) If Shakespeare could do dark and tragic why not M. Darabont? It'll be interesting to let a few years pass and see how this plays out.
The Mist was kinda sucky by Rupee88	Jul 30th, 2008 02:09:24 AM
I downloaded it and had to fast-forward through much of it. Maybe I'm shallow but I missed all the "deep" subtext...it seemed like a lame horror movie to me. The ending was certainly a downer, but I could deal with that. The only cool part in the entire film was that gargantuan monster thing walking across the road.
The Mist is great by reni	Jul 30th, 2008 02:11:20 AM
Everyone I've shown it to, (mum, friends, furniture delivery guys) have fucking loved it! Thanks Frank.
very good film by Bruarvatn	Jul 30th, 2008 02:11:47 AM
The thing I liked most about the mist, was that I was actually interested in what happende to the people in the movie. That is very rare these days, but Darabont is very good at this. I will watch any movie he makes.
Rupee88 by shodan6672	Jul 30th, 2008 02:21:35 AM
Maybe the movie would not have been lame to you if you had actually watched it. Is your attention span really that low? No offense but, really?
Gotta love Darabont by David Cloverfield	Jul 30th, 2008 02:27:21 AM
Mist was awesome.Rupee88, no offense, I know people who watch movies like this, downloading, fast forwarding for boobs, gore or people stepping on rakes, there's nothing wrong with that. But if this is your attitude to movies, why are you on a movie buff site? Just for the next comic book adaptation? Gotta respect your movies man.
Darbont is great by m_reporter	Jul 30th, 2008 02:40:02 AM
I loved The Mist, and the ending got me completely with my pants down, didn't expect that one bit. When I walked out of the movie, the 1st thought that popped in to my head was how ballsy it was to end a movie that way. The themes of mob mentality and radicalism where perfectly incorporated also. And it completely stuck with me for a couple of days afterwards, something that movies rarely achieve these days.
shodan6672 by Rupee88	Jul 30th, 2008 02:42:20 AM
I TRIED to watch it, but the whole tone and dialogue and acting was just not inspiring...and I'm not going to suffer through two hours of crap just so I have a totally informed opinion. I can usually tell in the first 2 minutes if a movie is going to be decent or not. Sorry if I have higher standards than some of you...TDK and Iron Man were both far from great. And before you say that I hate all movies, I thought Pans Labyrinth and Children of Men were both excellent...those just jumped to mind because I was reading about them, but those are two examples. I'm not a fan of the horror genre at all though,so maybe that's part of why The Mist didn't work for me at all...love sci-fi and it had those elements too though. Sorry but The Mist was just a big FAIL...on multiple levels.
Crystal Skull by GutsSpill	Jul 30th, 2008 02:43:42 AM
I really loved Crystal Skull. but what Im curious about is what Darabont's view is on it.
Why the ending was a piece of crap by Greggers	Jul 30th, 2008 02:46:32 AM
I was delighted to see this article tonight, hoping that maybe, just maybe, Beaks might get to the bottom of what Darabont was trying to say at the end of THE MIST -- what he was trying to say besides "Fuck you, audience," that is. Because on the face of it, that's all we've got. Oh sure, the movie plays with some interesting themes up to that point; as Darabount puts it, "it deals with extremism; it deals with a mental condition of fascism; it deals with mob mentality." I'll even add that it was an elegant parable of civilization and crisis. At least until the end, when the dude shoots his surrogate family, which has FUCK ALL to do with any of the themes we just talked about. But wait -- SUPRPISE! -- He shot his family unnecessarily. Haw! Punk'd! Again, that had fuck all to do with the themes that had been established up to that point. It's just a shocking ending, and not a particularly clever one. It's a piece of crap, and it ruined the entire movie. But hey, I'm willing to entertain the possibility that I just plain missed it. And I was hoping that maybe this interview might shed some light on the situation. I don't want to be spoon fed, but at least give me a fucking hint. Jesus Christ. And we got nothing. Beautiful. Now I'm sure somebody reading this post is already cracking their knuckles, preparing to mount a defense of the ending explaining how it can mean something beyond simply "kicking the audience in the nuts." Well, I'm all ears.
If the ending doesn't tell you that there's always hope by palimpsest	Jul 30th, 2008 02:50:26 AM
and that you should never give up, then nothing will. Thematically, it's similar to a lot of Darabont's other material in that respect (tho I admit it's a different approach, and that it also works as a WTF? kinda ending too.
Yeah but it was a good kick in the nuts! by BenBraddock	Jul 30th, 2008 02:52:11 AM
Best kick in the nuts I ever had, anyway. And RUPEE88: 2 minutes?? Yeah, right... what an ignoramus
Shawshank Redemption sucked too... by Rupee88	Jul 30th, 2008 03:03:13 AM
...just kidding...no one dislikes that movie...or could. And yeah, this is a weird article. Mr Beaks says Darabont discusses the ending for 10 minutes but he doesn't discuss it at all. He deflects the question. I agree that the ending really didn't say anything. Although maybe he should have waited until a monster was just about to peel open the car before he shot everyone. But it was the humane thing to do besides being tortured by the monster bug things.
Fuck the ending- by Commander Rah	Jul 30th, 2008 03:08:16 AM
'It's a conservative or liberal political statement?' What the fuck are you even talking about? You expected Darabont to lick up that diarrhea running down your leg? (pause)Wow! indeed
Terrible CGI by godoffireinhell	Jul 30th, 2008 03:09:33 AM
That's my only complaint about THE MIST. But I guess that comes with the territory when you have to make your movie "for a price". I'll take Sci-Fi Channel style computer effects over a neutered ending any day.
the eding by Bruarvatn	Jul 30th, 2008 03:10:31 AM
I'm not crazy about the ending in The Mist either. It had guts and it was nice and different, but it was a little far fethced for my taste. But overall a very good movie that I still think about from time to time. I loved the atmosphere and tension Darabont created in this film.
cgi by Bruarvatn	Jul 30th, 2008 03:13:53 AM
This is pherhaps the only movie I remember were the events taking place was so interesting that I forgot about the not so great effects. But we also have to keep in mind this was a low budget film.
I have no problem... by depalma25	Jul 30th, 2008 03:31:10 AM
...with depressing or unresolved endings. I simply did not understand what Darabont wanted to say with this ending. I wrote a story in 4th grade where the world was destroyed by nuclear war and one person survived. He ended up killing himself because he had nothing to live for. This was the impetus behind a few teacher/parent meetings btw. I really enjoyed The Mist until this strange ending. I can't watch the movie again. It may have been art for those involved in making it. But, the themes weren't strong enough to warrant such a depressing ending. There is no reason to punish Thomas Jane's character. To argue that the very reason to punish his character is because he's seemingly righteous...is bullshit! Where's the parable? If it's simply that "the good are inexiplicably punished," well..duh. I left the movie feeling cheated. As if, the director thought that killing everyone (like my fourth grade paper) was profound. It was obvious. I saw this ending coming three scenes before it happened. That was the saddest part, I think. It wasn't shocking. Or original. It was just silly, and kept me from showing it to others. What would they learn from this?
Rupee88 by depalma25	Jul 30th, 2008 03:38:08 AM
...you should be banned from watching movies. Period. I don't think i have heard such innane, silly, uninformed, uninspired critiques before. "I don't like horror movies." "I missed the subtext." Dude, or dudette, read a fucking book on philosiphy. Or take a couple night classes. Or, just shut the fuck up.
Didn't enjoy this at all. by Shermdawg	Jul 30th, 2008 03:50:42 AM
I've went over my reasons well enough last November, but the ending was probably the worst part. I was totally fine with him offing his son and the others, but to have The Mist disperse as quickly as it did and having the convoy with the mother and her children roll by just ended up killing any impact that the scene had with it's absurdity. I'm all for Twilight Zone twist endings, but here, it just ended up hurting the best sequence of the film.
Tom Cullen by Rupee88	Jul 30th, 2008 03:52:03 AM
Thank you...you obviously said it more articulately than I did...but there is so much wrong with this film that I didn't know where to begin.
Loved the film until the ending... by Zino	Jul 30th, 2008 03:52:36 AM
The ending is shocking for the sake of being shocking. All the effort that Tom Jane & friends make to escape the shop and take a chance simply HAS to be the correct course of action. But no, it turns out that all they had to do was sit on their arses for another day and they would have been fine. The ending renders all of their struggles completely pointless, and that is the real kick in the nuts for the viewers who have invested in these characters. I am struggling to think of another movie where heroism is the wrong course of action, but apathy is the correct one.
...continued... by Shermdawg	Jul 30th, 2008 03:54:52 AM
If Jane's character had reached a safezone a short walk ahead and encountered the woman and her family there, it would have played out better.
the ending by ragingdrunklove	Jul 30th, 2008 03:58:12 AM
i think the message of the ending was "fuck you audience thanks for your ten bucks" or possibly "i hate you all"...seriously the movie had me so well up until that point and then as soon as it ended i literally wanted to beat the living shit out of frank darabont. there was nothing edgy or shocking about it, it was just...well...kind of hilarious...especially with the waaaaay overdone music and tom jane's melodramatic wailing.
the ending is simply... by cifra	Jul 30th, 2008 04:01:34 AM
...one of the most daring and poignant endings ever. And as metaphor of the world we're heading into it's completely spot on. Darabont + Stephen King is one of the most consistent guarantees in moviemaking.
The Mist is an annoying movie by futureman3000	Jul 30th, 2008 04:07:15 AM
Marcia Gay Harden's character is a total joke, she doesn't make sense at all. The ending also seemed tacked on and laughable, Thomas Jane can't kill himself, oh the irony.
bacci40 by Rupee88	Jul 30th, 2008 04:11:02 AM
"for some it landed flat, for other, it was brilliant"....that is a distortion. It is more like for 98% of the audience it landed flat, for 2%, it was brilliant". And Marcia Gay Harden was OTP regardless of anything else. The Mist was truly a lame horror movie with a fucked up ending and that is the real shame.
would lot ever give over about 9/11 ffs by bongo123	Jul 30th, 2008 04:11:26 AM
does everything have to have some connection to post/pre 9/11!? we get it, it was a fucking mental thing to have happened but for the love of god stop fucking mentioning it, move on!!!
Anyways i loved the ending, horrors should by bongo123	Jul 30th, 2008 04:13:52 AM
end with a bleak, depressing ending, its a fucking horror movie afterall not some disney flick and fair play to darabont for having the balls to end it the way he did
Best film of last year by kwisatzhaderach	Jul 30th, 2008 04:15:11 AM
The audience I saw it with stumbled out of the theatre. That shot of the massive abomination stalking the earth near the end is awe-inspiring. People who think The Mist is a bad film just don't get filmmaking.
Oh by kwisatzhaderach	Jul 30th, 2008 04:17:36 AM
I forgot about Jesse James and There Will Be Blood. OK, The Mist is third best film of last year!
why i hated the mist ending by hank quinlan	Jul 30th, 2008 04:30:39 AM
I never have a problem with films changing the source material during adaptation if what they change is just as good or better then the original. The Mist is on par with Shawshank (King's best story) or It or The Stand etc. in literary form. But the entire reason, the thing that makes it so wonderful, is the last few sentences of the story. SPOILERS if you havent read it. The main character, you realize, is narrating and that they have barely escaped. And they may run out of gas and he doesn't know what to do. But he heard one word over the radio. And as his soon was asleep he whispered two words in his ear: Hartford. And Hope. HOPE motherfuckers! Thats the point. Why change that????? Its about hope. And instead its this lame punishing ending with silly coincidences. For no reason. I have yet to hear Darabont in any interview defend this choice with anything resembling a real explanation. You can invoke Kubrick all you want. Its not Kubrickian. Or whatever. Its stupid. How can someone so intelligent and talented make that choice and not have some sort of reasoning. At least one that jusitfies it. Other then...yeah its dark. TAKE THAT! Hope. Im all for dark endings. But only if the film has earned it and it makes sense.
I'm surprised how divided everyone is by nascentia	Jul 30th, 2008 04:33:09 AM
I honestly think this was one of the best movies I've ever seen. It wasn't perfect, no, but my God was it amazing, and certainly one of the best horror movies ever made. I really love movies - I get very excited over even the smallest things. When they play Ride of the Valkyries during Apocalypse Now, my eyes tear up just because of the awesomeness of the scene. And I'm not ashamed to admit that this movie, and especially the end, had me cheering at times, clapping at times, shaking and even just about crying. That ending was fucking AMAZING. And it shouldn't have ended any other way. When he shot all of them, I thought, "WOW. What a way to end it." He could have left it there. Then you find out, oh hey, there's salvation! It really was a kick in the nuts. Darabont rocks. And if you haven't seen the black and white version of this, you're missing out. It kicks the shit out of the color version.
yeh loved it, kiss my ass hater mofo's by quantize	Jul 30th, 2008 04:40:03 AM
really,get some fuckin taste
I thought Solaris was an awesome movie... by Rupee88	Jul 30th, 2008 04:40:37 AM
...and most people think it sucks too, so I can't call you Mist lovers "wrong" or stupid but I just don't get it, even a little bit.
Although the beginning seems contrived by thetwat	Jul 30th, 2008 04:41:27 AM
I took it that the characters were letting their pride overrule their logic. I think the building of characters in those first scenes is a good example of a decent-written screenplay.
Superb by cyberelf420	Jul 30th, 2008 04:55:59 AM
The Mist is one of my favorite movies. The black and white version makes it feel like a real throw back to a 50s monster movie. The effects feel like the would have been in a 50s movie if they had them back then. It was an homage to monster movies and one of the best King adaptions ever. Steven King said if he had thought of the ending he would have used it. In fact, if you read the story he mentions the gun and the limited number of bullets. The movie was not that different from the original novella. So if you don't like that you're not going to like the movie. I loved both. I guess that makes me better than the haters then doesn't it?
Do Worry, Don't Be Happy by Iowa Snot Client	Jul 30th, 2008 04:57:18 AM
Is he kidding? Americans have it better than ever and yet insist they don't.
I don't get it... by Samplelord	Jul 30th, 2008 04:57:59 AM
What is so great about this flicks ending..? Nothing...If Jane had been killed by 1 of the creatures, that would have been a dark ending... Or if they stuck with the book, where it seems like the world is over run...yet they hear a voice on a cb radio looking for survivors. What do we get...?The (American)army always wins, I laughed my ass of when I say the ending...I knew they would never make it as hopeless as the book...Jane acting in the end? like he was trying different types of crying, realy.. It seems like a lot of AICN staffers have never seen a movie before the 90s, cuz almost every review sounds like the reinvented movies...
Ending was bad cause it just didn't make sense........... by Riley Martin	Jul 30th, 2008 05:07:33 AM
Setup was a strong lead character, Mr Action Man in any type of dangerous situation. Who, at the end of the movie, suddenly becomes a snivelling wimp and offs his kids and others cause he hears a few scary sounds outside the car? Sorry, it just doesn't gel with what came before. I didn't minding him killing the kid - I love that type of shit in films. But that character would have at least waited till creatures were literally crawling over the car before doing something that drastic. Official verdict - EPIC FAIL of an ending.
It's pretty condescending by InspectorDoppler	Jul 30th, 2008 05:21:04 AM
to imply that anyone who thought the ending sucked just couldn't handle the grimness of it. The ending sucked because all narrative plausibility breaks when the filmmaker's hand descends out of the clouds and gives the audience the finger. Sure, I understand that it's a kick in the nuts, but even a kick in the nuts has to feel honest. Wicker Man is a case in point, you feel your insides hollow out at the end of that movie, but it never feels like it's doing what it's doing just to get a reaction out of you. It feels, for lack of a better word, sincere. The Mist just felt like a cheap shot.
the ending was a repitition of the movie by s0nicdeathmonkey	Jul 30th, 2008 05:22:05 AM
it summarized the film with the mob mentality repeated even closer within, (the family unit) and how it was destructive.
I liked The Mist, but, yeah, the ending was... by fiester	Jul 30th, 2008 05:25:32 AM
...pretty goddamned over-the-top silly. It sort of cheapened the entire movie. I think it was a gross mistep. It was also just sort of Vader in Sith goofy, like a bad joke very clumsily handled. I'm not saying I wanted a happy ending, but something smarter than that one. Heck, even the ending of the novella would have been preferrable.
Not my cup of tea by stvnhthr	Jul 30th, 2008 05:33:04 AM
Ballsy and original do not always equal good. Doing the unexpected does not equal artsy. Killing the main characters does not make a movie deep or meaningful. When you see likeable characters you relate to them on screen. You put yourself in their place. You see through their eyes. To see them get killed is like watching your own snuff film. Sure it is unexpected, but definately not entertaining. It may make you think, but really is that an acceptable goal, just making us feel creeped out and thinking why are we creeped out? Really?
The ending.... by Young Moses	Jul 30th, 2008 06:09:19 AM
as depressing as fuck as it may be, the message to me seemed to be, don't give up hope. Or for you Dark Knight fans out there, "the night is darkest before the dawn".
No George Lucas questions? by surfsup22	Jul 30th, 2008 06:16:14 AM
It would have been nice to have Darabont quote on just how crazy that bearded freak is.
The Mist and Darabont by D o o d	Jul 30th, 2008 06:33:40 AM
Judging by that interview it seems that Darabont isn't afraid to stick his neck on the line and to just play it safe. I really love The Mist and it was all about the ending. As a horror movie it's just one of the best in recent years. I'm sick of predictable horror.
Hank Quinlan said it all... by KillDozer	Jul 30th, 2008 06:49:08 AM
If you're going to mess with the source, make sure the change is for the better. I didn't mind the grimness of the ending, but I thought the combination of that over used Dead Can Dance song and Thomas Jane wailing was just laughable. So much worse than the novella ending. It still gives me the shivers thinking of the handful of survivors hanging out in that dark and empty motel, almost out of gas Also, it really bugged me that they explained The Mist in the movie. My recollection of the book is that it was never fully clear what happened. King alludes to something going on at the military base and then ALL the soldiers hang themselves in the back. Now that's some scary shit.
YackBacker by D o o d	Jul 30th, 2008 06:49:11 AM
You're half right. Once could see it as a Shyamalan-esque, except for the fact that Shyamalan would not have the balls or the clout to do what Darabont did.
recently watched it by Mr_X	Jul 30th, 2008 06:49:58 AM
don't know how it passed me by. Great movie. finally see Thomas Jane in action. it's worth checking out. Yeah the ending was grim, but if you watched the whole movie you'd know it was leading to it. worth watching.
Mr Beaks = AICN MVP for July by PotSmokinAlien	Jul 30th, 2008 06:53:18 AM
Seriously dude, do you sleep? One great piece after another. I saw this movie in NYC on opening weekend in a packed theatre... too bad everyone can't have that experience. The audience reactions to Marcia Gay Harden alone were worth the price of admission.
Darabont's Indy script sucked ass! by Atticus Finch	Jul 30th, 2008 07:06:02 AM
Thank God they went with what was shot, flaed though it may be!
The book was much better IMO for all the reasons above ... by Shan	Jul 30th, 2008 07:07:09 AM
... Like various posters have said above, I thought the book was much better. Firstly, the ending of the book showed that they never reached the end of the Mist. It's strongly implied that it went on to engulf the whole world. In the movie, it just suddenly fades away. The book ending is much more grim that the movie. The movie is just shown to be bad for Thomas Jane's character, the world ending is much more grim. If Frank Darabont wanted a really grim ending, he could have just had them run out of gas and leave them stranded (and by implication inevitably doomed), with the Mist continuing into the distance and imply the whole Earth was going to be engulfed, not just a small part of Maine USA. Also, please explain to me how the woman who went to get her kids (and left the store) somehow survived and got home and found her children. I get the point that it's meant to be an additional boot into Thomas Jane's character but how likely was it? (Percentage chance = 0%). Scenes in the book like the soldiers just hanging themselves for no definitive were much creepier too, as posted above. It was freaky enough in the text. However, having an additional soldier there to act as exposition man to spell everything out just totally ruined the effect.
Loved The Mist. by Knuckleduster	Jul 30th, 2008 07:17:23 AM
Really just shows what can be done with such a limited budget. Good storytelling doesn't need to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Darabont has yet to make a bad movie, in my book. So sad that the real filmmakers are having such a hard time getting financing. It took two years to get the mere $25 million it took to make There Will Be Blood. I really do miss the 70's.
Eyes Wide Shut by Cory849	Jul 30th, 2008 07:43:19 AM
The most important thing to note in this interview is that Mister Beaks thought there was something redeeming about Eyes Wide Shut. Therefore we need never listen to him again. 'tis the Phantom Menace of art films, that one.
Hank Quinlan: EXACTLY. by Duck of Death	Jul 30th, 2008 07:53:07 AM
I have to wonder if everyone wanking themselves raw over the filmed ending have actually read the novella. The way the novella ended was pitch perfect. Bleak, uncertain, but with just a glimmer of hope. Everything in the story leads up to that final moment of miserable, desperate hope. It's an absolutely chilling conclusion and the reason I have reread the story many times since I first encountered it in 1985. Darabont's adaptation trades in that absolutely perfect ending for a schlocky, B-movie "shock" finale that shits all over the source material, is inferior in every way to the true ending, but even on its own terms is so ridiculous as to arouse incredulous laughter rather than horror. Lame. Just lame. In Shawshank Redemption, Darabont's changes from the original actually improved on the story, and it may be one of the very few literary adaptations that actually equals or surpasses the original. But here, Darabont fucked up, pure and simple. He failed to respect the source material, and made a weak, forgettable film as a result. It's telling that in every interview I've seen with Stephen King where he's asked about this movie, his statements are very vague and diplomatic. I imagine he doesn't want to call out his friend as having royally fucked up his story.
The only question Eyes Wide Shut raised... by rev_skarekroe	Jul 30th, 2008 08:01:19 AM
...is "How did Kubrick manage to make such a sucky movie?"
The idiot characters wrecked it at the outset by aboriginal	Jul 30th, 2008 08:01:42 AM
It had a lot going for it and, although the ending was a little telegraphed for me, it was the idiocy of the characters in the market that killed it. Someday i hope to see something of a more believably acted group sequence.
Crappy CGI... by Kid Z	Jul 30th, 2008 08:04:08 AM
...That Darabont smartly tried to hide in mist and shadows for the most part. It falls apart when you get any good looks at the creatures. Ending was a kick in the nute, then the head, then a few more in the ribs after you've hit the ground. The movie rocked but I'd probably not watch it again.
As for The Mist... by rev_skarekroe	Jul 30th, 2008 08:06:22 AM
The ending works even better if you've read the book. It's a helluva kick in the ass, that's for sure. And I remember reading that Stephen King liked the new ending. I don't remember where. It may have been his EW column.
the MEHst by ironic_name	Jul 30th, 2008 08:09:26 AM

Mr. Beaks and 9/11 by BobParr	Jul 30th, 2008 08:12:26 AM
Everything somehow comes back to 9/11, Iraq, Bush, etc. with this guy. I'm sure he'll see the "metaphorical and microcosmic" links between 9/11 and the next Olson twins movie. I hate it when obsessed lefties write movie reviews. Nothing can exist outside of their narrow prism.
Great fucking ending by dr sauch	Jul 30th, 2008 08:27:40 AM
you're all pussies.
The Mist is a MASTERPIECE by Sithdan	Jul 30th, 2008 08:28:20 AM
The Mist is more than just one of the top 15 films of 2007, it's a fucking masterpiece of cinema that belongs in the same playing field as No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood. Perfection. It may not be Stephen King's tale word-for-word, but it's one hell of an adaptation. Those who didn't enjoy the movie are the same bunch who hated No Country. They just don't "get it."
Why the ending sucked by Funketeer	Jul 30th, 2008 08:45:51 AM
It was manipulative. It would have been a great ending if he had killed everyone in the car and then stepped outside to wait for his own death and then the camera's stopped rolling. But by showing us, mere seconds after he kills his friends and son, that the army has shown up to kick some ass and he didn't really need to kill anyone, he quickly takes away any of the drama of him having to kill them and the focus becomes that he didn't have to do it at all. It's manipulative and tacky. I don't know if Darabont has kids or not but having to shoot your son in the face is horrible enough a thought for someone to have to live with. It would have been better to let the audience chew on that after the lights came up rather than the ridiculous and improbably last couple of minutes that he tacked on there.
I'll have to watch it again... by dengreg31	Jul 30th, 2008 08:58:51 AM
because I for the life of me don't know where the "shitty CGI" comments are coming from... I thought the effects were pretty damn good throughout... As for the ending... I can totally see why some folks hate it.. I thought it was great though... As for Marcia Gay Harden's character... I would have shot her myself if such a thing is possible.. Pretty scary flick though...
I thought the CGI was ok... by rev_skarekroe	Jul 30th, 2008 09:08:45 AM
...but I've actually only watched the B&W version. As for Marcia Gay Harden - what a freaking ham.
LOVED The Mist. by HoboCode	Jul 30th, 2008 09:10:41 AM
Even better in black and white. Fuck the haters. And Beaks, your "left-leaning" friend wh othinks the ending was a "swipe at defeatist liberal attitudes" is a walking case of irony.
my take on the ending by robamenta	Jul 30th, 2008 09:13:09 AM
this is the way i saw it....sometimes you do the right thing. you take chances, you are a hero , you try to stick up for the things you believe in, and tragedy can still happen. thats life. its sad, tragic. and full of ironies. no simple cookie cutter solution that can explain it. life can be a heart breaker sometimes...for what its worth, that film still lives in my mind and am greatly affected by it
robamenta by shodan6672	Jul 30th, 2008 09:40:08 AM
That is a good take on the ending. I also think it applies to the ending of King's novel Cujo, in which the child actually dies. King said, in response to the hate mail he gotm for it, that sometime bad things happen. Pretty much sums it up. King also has said that he likes the ending of the movie (I think the novella was one of the few pitch-perfect stories I have ever read).
THE MIST was a HUGE MISS... by hollywoodsummers	Jul 30th, 2008 09:43:57 AM
It missed the boat in almost every way. No real tension, horrible effects, bad acting, retarded character logic, and worst of all... using the Dead Can Dance song from BARAKA at the end in a last ditch attempt to try to give some emotional weight to a lame ending is unforgivable. I'm fine with Jane killing his son, but it was just SO poorly dramatized (like the rest of the film) and he shouldn't have ruined that song (it belongs to much more moving images of BARAKA!) I wanted to like the film, and even watched the B&W version (which helped the shitty effects a bit), but in the end you can't polish a turd.
by shodan6672	Jul 30th, 2008 09:43:58 AM
It was a little unclear from my post by I was talking abut King's liking of the ending of the film of the Mist.
I can't wait for The Long Walk by robertkent.net	Jul 30th, 2008 09:44:48 AM
I loved The Mist, though I had trouble with the ending. I'm cool with what the characters decided to do as it fits thematically with Darabont's vision of the story and you've got to admire his big brass balls for doing it, but I wish the characters had waited just a little longer to do it. These characters were all fighters, yet they give up and off themselves the moment their car runs out of gas. I just wish there was a montage of them trying one or two other things first or at least waiting in the car a bit. I mean, these guys waited for days in a supermarket filled with crazy people, but they can't last more than three minutes in a car that's run out of gas. Lame.
Tom Cullen: Religious Nutbags by kevinwillis.net	Jul 30th, 2008 09:54:38 AM
"King's stock standard religious nutbag . . ." Man, you got that right. I loved listening to Cell (even though all the people floating around and playing music out of their mouths made no frickin' sense), but she showed up there, too. Obviously some large, zealous woman had her way with little Stevey at some point. Because those religious nutbags show up in half of his novels, and they all say exactly the same sort of shit. They all accuse some of the characters of having sex or orgies or masturbating or blowjobs and they all start talking about penises. I've met some very fervent religious people, but I haven't ever met one of those. Ever. "I'm a zealous Christian so I want to sacrifice a child to appease the Gods! Don't you do-gooder, plain-folks, secular humanists try to stop me, or I'll accuse you of having sex with each other and masturbating and talk about your penises!"
BTW, Haven't Seen the Mist by kevinwillis.net	Jul 30th, 2008 09:56:23 AM
But the ending sounds great. Very consistent, and more final, than the orginal novella ending. At the same time, I have a hard time seeing a liberal or conservative theme in it. Defeatism, like spearmint gum or underwear, is not inherently political.
The film's ending is contrived and makes no sense by Lovecraftfan	Jul 30th, 2008 09:59:20 AM
IT has NOTHING to do with how dark it is. The way its shot where the car and tanks which apparently behind him the whole time except he didnt hear them just happened to appear at the right moment was ridiculous. The novellas ending was pretty sad as well but at least it didnt feel contrived or badly put together.
It made no sense, dammit! by Isopor	Jul 30th, 2008 10:08:01 AM
Like people are saying, he wouldn't just go ahead and do that after all they've been through just because they're out of gas. I'm all for dark endings, but they need to be set up properly. And then having everything sorted out five second later didn't work either. "We have flamethrowers, HAHA, take that evil mist!" Loved the rest of the movie, though.
BTW, King May Have Liked The Mist by kevinwillis.net	Jul 30th, 2008 10:08:19 AM
But he hated Kubrick's version of The Shining. Apparently, he still can't bring himself to like it, when that movie remains classic, brilliant Kubrickian horror. Yes, Kubrick changed a lot, and made a helluva great film, where as King's faithful ABC adaptation started out all right and became increasing more tedious and laughable. Not that I didn't enjoy The Shining as a novel, but Kubrick made a wonderful movie version. And King could never get his head around that.
Riley Martin... by -guyinthebackrow	Jul 30th, 2008 10:10:48 AM
"Setup was a strong lead character, Mr Action Man in any type of dangerous situation..." Did you even see THE MIST? The main character was an artist. He was an upper middle class normal guy. He was NOT an action hero. You're an idiot. He killed his son because he promised him that he wouldn't let the monsters eat him. And that wouldn've been the worse death... getting eaten alive by monsters. And that should be obvious to everyone. And, yet, the monsters were no longer a threat, but that is the amazing part of the ending. The main character shouldn't have killed his son and friends, but did because they all thought they wre about to die horrible deaths.
The Mist was ass by Thot	Jul 30th, 2008 10:23:22 AM
B-Movie schlockiness throughout with a horrible, cruel and pointless ending. Entertaining? While they were holed up in the store there were some good fright scenes, but that's about it. Marcia Gay Harden's character was idiotic and useless and immensely annoying. Even MENTIONING Shawshank in he same sentence as The Mist is an insult to a great film.
Oh lucky you, talking with Darabont by Aeghast	Jul 30th, 2008 10:51:15 AM
Nice article/interview!
MIST IST MIST by Sir Perior	Jul 30th, 2008 10:51:34 AM
Here's what's wrong with THE MIST... the hero is an artist who can kick ass... the vfx looked worse than any scifi mow... and the ending made no sense... they outran the creatures before, why not make a run for it? If you die anyway, might as well die making an effort to survive! When the tank emerges from the fog - I'm sorry, the MIST - I actually burst out laughing! The look on Jane's face is too fucking funny --OOPS!!
Thanks Beaks by Super Rabbi	Jul 30th, 2008 11:22:22 AM
Good interview!
The only distractingly bad CGI in The Mist... by Nasty In The Pasty	Jul 30th, 2008 11:36:31 AM
...was in the "tentacle" scene, which disappointed me, as that's one of King's greatest horror setpieces. The remainder of the F/X (spiders, pterodactyls, that giant Bernie Wrightson monster at the end) looked just fine to me.
I think Rupee 88 is the BIGGEST idiot in the world by Ghostwood	Jul 30th, 2008 11:50:32 AM
even though I never read his/her posts entirely. I started to, but got bored and skimmed past to the last word in each post. I mean, who needs to actually read a post entirely to make an informed decision on it or the person writing it?
Rupee88 is a tool by Eyegore	Jul 30th, 2008 11:57:18 AM
First, your opinion on a movie you watched 'mostly in fast-forward' is worth less than an ounce of shit. I pity the people you call friends, because they might actually listen to your bullshit and miss a good movie. You are poison. STFU.
Rupee88 is a frakin moron!!! by Crackles	Jul 30th, 2008 12:17:38 PM
That bitch also just dissed The Dark Knight.....are you kidding me! The Mist kicks ass!
by nefarius1	Jul 30th, 2008 12:27:33 PM
Did anyone mention the mother from the beginning? She begged and pleaded for someone to help her go out into the mist and find her kids. No one in the store would and so she goes alone. At the end she is in the convoy with her children driving by Jane. I thought there was theme about letting bad things happen because good people don't always take a stand when they should. Yeah, the ending was harsh, maybe it was too close to the bone for some people.
Bad Planet by Hikaru Ichijo	Jul 30th, 2008 12:58:51 PM
Great comic that Jane is involved with. Lots of "Mist" elements and ass kicking. Just for the record, I liked the ending, and had no problem with the effects, but it's important to keep in mind that I'm a studio plant.
The ending was indeed INARGUABLY out of character for jane by IndustryKiller!	Jul 30th, 2008 01:15:32 PM
I don't think that is really open for debate. We have a character who has been acting one way for the entire film. Showing himself to be a fighter over and over and over again and each time he's in a tough situation he fight that much harder than the last time. He's a bit like the main character in Cormac McCarthy's The Road. He has become strong because that is what he MUST become. There isn't a defeatist bone in him because his existence is about keeping his child alive, hope or no hope. We see that time after time after time with Janes character. And if he has to shoot his son while he's in the grips of a monsters jaw he would def do it to spare him the pain, but up to this point they have survived some incredibly hairy situations and the one they are faced with at the end is no more immediate than the ones they have survived before. So shooting everyone does indeed become a very Hollywood ending, and although I appreciate Darabonts risk taking, he didn't make it the least bit organic. Darabont also makes it very heavy handed with literally 30 seconds later the army showing up right down to the fucking sky clearing out for no discernable reason. I mean he might has well have started playing "I can see clearly now the rain is gone" just to pile on the irony.
Eyes Wide Shut is HILARIOUS! by fiester	Jul 30th, 2008 01:36:07 PM
I don't think it was meant to be, but it is. I laugh my ass off throughout most of that mess. Especially the idea of Tom Cruise at a masked orgy where the action is not man-on-man.
The Mist Ending. by fiester	Jul 30th, 2008 01:41:01 PM
Yeah...it just did not work. I also think it's a little presumptuous for the Jane character to just go ahead and cap the two oldsters in the back. I would have liked it better if they had the old guy struggling to get the gun out of Jane's hands, screaming "Hey, man, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Then at least we could have pretended the Jane character had just become suddenly unhinged--despite being the most sane person throughout the entire movie. But no. And then the silly "Fuck you with the tanks and the mist clearing--and, yeah, as someone pointed out--the fucking woman who left the store at the beginning to get her kids! I mean, come on! That's fucking hilarious. It really is a bad joke. Reminds me of the end of that movie "The Game" when Michael Douglous realizes they've been fucking with him the entire time. Ruined and otherwise very enjoyable movie for me.
Ok let me get this straight... by yiannis	Jul 30th, 2008 01:48:32 PM
We have someone who can judge a (on average) 120 minute film based on the first 120 seconds critiquing a film he didn't bother to watch. We have repeated criticism of effects that look low-budget. Um, it was a low budget film... We have repeated criticism that a religious zealot acting without logic or reason is a completely unrealistic character in this day and age. We have criticism based on the fact that a character desperately clinging on to hope loses it at the end, simply because his situation at that point offered NOT ONE bit of hope whatsoever, whereas there had always been some hope up until then And we have criticism that the ending sucked because there actually WAS hope, only he didn't see it. His fault for not being omniscient like all good, believeable movie characters... Have I missed anything, or does that sum up this talkback nicely? Oh yeah, some people actually liked it...
Nihilism for Nihilism's Sake by The Alienist	Jul 30th, 2008 02:14:55 PM
Nothing in that movie prepared for that ending. It was a boneheaded choice for such a fun monster movie. It was horrible and ruined the film for MOST of the people who saw it. Sorry, guys. MOST of the people aren't you. I'm talking people who know good movie making, who know a once merely good director who was now imagining himself as an auteur and merely proved he actually was a hack all along. God save us from genre film directors who believe themselves to be "more".
9/11? Really? by König Lear	Jul 30th, 2008 02:18:12 PM
"Did the tone darken after 9/11?" Who really cares? I'm not advocating an ADD public consciousness, but not everything's a metaphor for vicarious national trauma. It feels like most American filmmakers now need to have a pat response to a 9/11 question so they don't seem insensitive. But they just come off sounding silly. "9/11 made me REALLY want to make this movie." What nonsense. Just once I'd like to see a filmmaker say, "You know, 9/11 was a horrific event, but it wasn't a fountainhead, for Christ's sake."
sooooo tired of "soap-box" movies. by TooWhippy	Jul 30th, 2008 02:24:26 PM
Yeah we love to hate America!!!!!!!! America sucks!!!!! Weeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!
Greatest Horror Movie in recent years by bee152	Jul 30th, 2008 02:54:18 PM
No comparison! A horror movie where the main characters are scarier than the monsters. Fantastic!
Thought the kid was good as Gordon's son in TDK by Andyrooskie	Jul 30th, 2008 03:07:24 PM
...But when Two-face had a gun to his head, all I could think was "if he dies, he has gotta be the most unlucky 8-year-old sumbitch in the world".
The Alienist by HoboCode	Jul 30th, 2008 03:30:45 PM
Nothign in the movie prepared for the ending? I guess you missed the scene in the film in which Jane's son, after the attack in the store, begs him to not let the monsters get him no matter what.
Piece of Crap by kbass	Jul 30th, 2008 04:22:44 PM
Hated the ending, it ruined the movie for me. And to read Darabont's justification for the ending doesn't make it any better. By the way, I'm glad he's not comparing his work to Kubrick's. At least we agree on that.
9/11 by mrbeaks	Jul 30th, 2008 04:24:00 PM
Bitch all you want, but a) it's absolutely relevant in THE DARK KNIGHT (where it's visually referenced after the hospital blows up), and b) Darabont admitted in the interview that it "reinvigorated" his need to do the movie. I hate to be cliche, but artists hold up the mirror, and the nation's nature changed drastically that day. It must be reckoned with, and some films acknowledge it more clearly than others. That said, let's not act like I'm invoking 9/11 in reviews for mindless studio product like GET SMART. If I get that overbearing, then please, by all means, feel free to call me on it.
Jeremy Smith top 15 list sucks ass by ArmySmithaz	Jul 30th, 2008 04:43:10 PM
I read your top 15 and you need help buddy. How in the holy hell do you praise Ben Affleck. Ah, you made it, I bet you regret, I'd like to see you list so far this year. I bet Hellboy 2's in your top 5...sucka.
not enought sex by chipps	Jul 30th, 2008 04:51:34 PM
I thought it was a pretty good movie but not insanely good. the cgi was alright, come on, it wasn't that bad. the characters could have been a bit better. oh and in the book the two leads screw, even though they are both married.
Sorta Okay... by symon	Jul 30th, 2008 04:57:16 PM
To me, The Mist was a mediocre movie, somewhere in the middle for Stephen King adaptation (cheesy like a lot of them in acting, effects and dialogue, but not as lifeless as adaptations like The Dark Half and Needful Things). The only thing it has going for it is the shock ending, which is effective, but it doesn't redeem the entire movie that came before it. And it certainly doesn't make it a classic. I love Frank Darabont. I keep telling myself that. But the truth is he's made one great movie, two okay ones, and one that was less than okay. Not a great track record.
Kinda sucked. by 18to88	Jul 30th, 2008 05:09:41 PM
More laughable than scary.
Industrykiller! by -guyinthebackrow	Jul 30th, 2008 05:11:03 PM
"So shooting everyone does indeed become a very Hollywood ending." BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You're soundy really stupid right now. Just shut your mouth. Shh. Shh. Shut your mouth.
The Ending made PERFECT sense. by ZeroCorpse	Jul 30th, 2008 05:12:24 PM
1. They watched many people get TORN APART, suffer from VENOMOUS STINGS, die from ACID BURNED FACES, have eggs IMPLANTED INSIDE THEM and then DIED FROM EGG-HATCHING, and worse. A bullet in the head was MERCY compared to the ways they pictured they could have died. 2. The wife was dead. Their world (As far as they knew) was overrun. No help was in sight for days. They were TIRED of being scared. 3. They had no food, no water, no bathroom facilities, no privacy, no room to move, nothing protecting them from monsters but windshield glass, and no way to communicate with anyone else-- IF anyone else existed, which at that point they thought was extremely unlikely. You'd prefer to starve to death, sitting in your own piss & shit, inside a truck with four other people doing the same? Or were you thinking you would you pop outside with the THOUSANDS of horrible monsters to squat behind a tree and pick some berries? 4. Utter hopelessness. They were exhausted. They'd been fighting for their lives for long enough, they were terrified, felt like there was no way out, and didn't want to watch another day of it. They gave up out of sheer mental exhaustion. Their willpower reserves just ran out. They saw no point to extending their horror, discomfort, and pain. 5. Even if they survived and the monsters went away, they'd have to live with the memories. They'd have to live without the people they lost. After watching the kind of horrific shit they saw-- including spouses and friends being killed-- Would you be back to work on Monday? Or would you feel like nothing matters anymore?
no bathroom facilities?!?!!!! by chipps	Jul 30th, 2008 05:14:03 PM
Oh my god! OH MY GOD!!!!!!
Yes. Nowhere to shit or piss. by ZeroCorpse	Jul 30th, 2008 05:31:49 PM
Think about it. You're in a truck with two OLD PEOPLE, a CHILD, and two other adults. They will all need to shit & piss. They have nowhere to do it. They can't even open the windows to throw waste out (even IF they had a container to go in) because opening the windows could mean EVERYONE DIES. So how many days of that could you handle while also exhausted, terrified, STARVING, and feeling utterly defeated? I swear, some of you guys act like you're fucking Superman and aren't afraid of things like this, but I know that if you were forced to take a shit in your pants and sit in in for an hour while smelling the collected load from the old lady sitting next to you along with your own, you'd be CRYING to get out of the truck and let the monsters eat you. And that's just ONE problem. Mount everything else they dealt with on top of it, and you understand how that felt that a bullet in the head was a much more merciful, dignified way to go out.
There's a reason that most people think this movie is shit by Rupee88	Jul 30th, 2008 05:39:50 PM
and it's because of bad writing/directing/acting...and a totally WRONG choice of how to end the film. You guys who love the film aren't wrong, but you are in denial that you love a bad movie. I have big dumb stupid movies that I love too for some reason, but I'm smart enough to admit it. And the adulation for TDK just reminds me that my IQ has to be quite a few pts higher than many people on here.
And for the record, I probably watched at least 30-45 minutes of by Rupee88	Jul 30th, 2008 05:44:07 PM
I didn't FF through the entire film...I watched a couple of long sequences and not one really worked. I know the whole is greater thah the sum of the parts, but this one was just limping out of the gate and that never changed.
Oh Rupee...... by Crackles	Jul 30th, 2008 05:51:32 PM
you don't know what the fuck you're talking about! And did you just say you're smarter than the rest of us cause you don't like The Dark Knight?!! You're fuckin NUTS!
"reasonable characters taking opposing viewpoints" by zooch	Jul 30th, 2008 06:04:06 PM
"because it's narratively expedient." Maybe you are right, maybe you are wrong, it's hard to say. However, offering opposing viewpoints in the narritive does make for some better drama. It makes the choices the characters make harder. They do it on Battlestar Gallactica all the time.
shocking for shock sake..perhaps by zooch	Jul 30th, 2008 06:25:23 PM
But the ending hardly ruins it. Since it was a horror film I able to overlook a little shocking for shock sake, especially one this well. MANY horror films are guilty of the same thing.
I actually thought his ending would go for AWE... by Anti-fanboy	Jul 30th, 2008 06:26:05 PM
..instead of awe, shit. I thought we would discover the world almost entirely enshrouded in the mist... then, what I really wanted to see, was that the mist was spreading into space, as cyclopean tentacles slowly wrapped around the planet, before our tiny, doomed world disappeared altogether. But, you take what you get, and I loved the huge monster crossing the highway. And the shootings -- after all of the horrific things they'd seen, it'd be really hard, in that situation, not to imagine even more horrific things coming out of the mist, that could tear into their vehicle before they had a chance to realize what was happening, by which time a bullet through the brain would seem really appealing... Honestly, it just made me smile that Darabont had done what he'd done, that he'd been that ballsy. Overall, enjoyed the hell out of it.
Rupee88 by Gwai Lo	Jul 30th, 2008 07:00:11 PM
Wait, what movie are you complaining about that you fast forwarded through without watching? And I'd like to hear more about how not liking The Dark Knight or The Mist makes you more brilliant than the average specimen. Sounds like that thesis you're working on over there is real academic and shit.
The ending sucked ass. Plain and simple. by Chrighton	Jul 30th, 2008 07:11:52 PM
Jane's character exhibited signs of a survivor type virtually the whole movie. He even stuck his neck out for the burn victim at the store. There was no hint in his psychology throughout the movie that this man would lose hope and kill his fucking son. The ending sucked colossal ass and ran completely counter to Jane's character's frame of mind. Darabont fucked this one up, and ZeroCorpse is a fucking moron. I'd sooner drop a load in the car than give up all hope and kill my son, all because I had no toilet paper, and shitting outside MIGHT be dangerous. How fucking retarded. The bleak ending with a gimmer of hope of the novella was far better of an ending.
"It must be reckoned with" by Geekgasm	Jul 30th, 2008 07:17:14 PM
Wow, pretentious much? The "reckoning" people have done and are continuing to do in their own lives is infinitely deeper and more significant than a Frank Darabont movie. "Yes, Hollywood must help us make sens of it all and but it in its proper context; we can't do it on our own! We're not sophisticated enough!" Please. Get over yourself.
Geekgasm by PotSmokinAlien	Jul 30th, 2008 07:29:55 PM
Guess you and art don't spend too much time together.
Oh, for fuck's sakes.... by futureboymaddog	Jul 30th, 2008 07:44:15 PM
I hate coming here sometimes. You keep praying and praying that the people will have an iota of intelligence and wit, and then they open their mouths and spew the most moronic, ridiculous crap that is specifically designed to get other people to react and get pissed off and spend 30 or 40 posts commenting on how stupid that person is. Obviously Rupee is stupid. Let's move on to the actual article, shall we? Oh, that's right. This is an AICN talkback. That being said, film was brilliant, ending was brilliant. Right on, Darabont.
Don't Usually Talkback, but... by Doug Exeter	Jul 30th, 2008 08:11:28 PM
I had to chime in on this one. I love SK's story and the ambiguous ending he gave. "One is Hartford, the other is Hope." Beautiful. However, Darabont's ending gives you the cock-AND-ball punch of No Hartford or Hope, AND factor in the fact that the military comes down the road from BEHIND Thomas Jane's vehicle meaning he passed them just a few minutes before shooting his passengers. HOW DO YOU MISS A MILITARY CONVOY OF THAT SIZE WITH FLAMETHROWERS? Just sayin'.
The reason it failed was shitty marketing by rjcjr9	Jul 30th, 2008 08:33:36 PM
The ads and previews made it look like the worst kind of Stephen King movie, like Graveyard Shift. I saw it when it came out on DVD and it was good, but sometimes it isn't the "Don't worry, be happy" syndromes "we Americans" have.
I loved it by dirtsandwich	Jul 30th, 2008 08:54:59 PM
the bugs were a little to cgi-y. The pharmacy reminded me of the Aliens' hideout in Aliens. But it was cool. Looking forward to seeing it again. I didn't think they do that for an ending. Even though it was a solid kick to the sack it took elephant balls to choose to do it. Thanks Frank.
Fun flick, very insulting ending... by Billyeveryteen	Jul 30th, 2008 08:58:00 PM
Had a great time, and wished it ended with that wicked tall fucker. Hell, I'd be fine with the suicides... But the insulting blue sky, and tanks, destroyed any fun and respect I had with the film. Boorish and lazy.
90% of the people in this TB agree with me by Rupee88	Jul 30th, 2008 09:08:37 PM
You guys can call me stupid if you want, but you can't dismiss nearly every other post that agrees with what I've said.
The ending by Cory849	Jul 30th, 2008 09:10:58 PM
Heh. I liked the ending, just as it was. I'm really surprised so many people didn't. BTW, I don't think there was a message behind the ending, like "you gotta keep hope alive". It was just a great dystopian twist ending. I'm not saying The Mist is my favorite movie. It was pretty mediocre, something which I think is a direct result of the budget and nothing else. But it was a perfectly fun good movie as far as I was concerned with an ending that I personally found very dramatically satisfying.
"Pan's Labyrinth" is an apt comparison... by D. Allusion	Jul 30th, 2008 09:20:36 PM
As heartbreaking as that ending was, it felt earned, and satisfying. Nobody complains about the ending of that movie, because it wasn't pointless and arbitrary.
Re: Beaks and 9/11 by BobParr	Jul 30th, 2008 09:24:44 PM
9/11 is not visually referenced in TDK. A building blows up!!! I guess DIE HARD must have foreseen 9/11 15 years earlier when their building blew up. Buildings blow up real good in movies all the time. That doesn't make it a 9/11 reference. I did see some political overtones in TDK besides the ridiculous "have it both ways" resolution with the surveillance. As for THE MIST. The book and movie were written well before 9/11 and it was a throwback to old monster movies anyway. Dartabont's 9/11 motivation schlock was just the egotistical drivel of a Hollywood director.
Its called TONE, Hobocode by The Alienist	Jul 30th, 2008 09:28:23 PM
It's called EARNING the right to showboat an ending so extreme. It has nothing to do with literal setup.
90% of the people in this talkback are whiny little bitches! by Crackles	Jul 30th, 2008 09:31:07 PM
Get over yourselves. You can't end the movie the way it ends in the book and I think Darabonts ending was fucking awesome. It felt like something Stephen King would have written! Jesus does everything have end happily ever after!!!??? Grow a fuckin pair ya bunch a pussies!
Plus...... by Crackles	Jul 30th, 2008 09:34:28 PM
The King himself said he wishes he would have ended the book that way! Why? Cause it's fucking awesome and hardcore! You leave the theater with a sinking feeling in your gut which is quite rare these days! Thanks Frank!!!
by nefarius1	Jul 30th, 2008 09:40:20 PM
I don't understand how people gush over TDK (which I liked btw) with it being so dark and yet, this movie sucks because it has a dark ending. I'll bet if it had a happy ending you'd all be bitching about that. "Waaah, they lived. Another sanitized happy hollywood ending wahhh"
The mist DIDN'T dissapate at the end... by Nasty In The Pasty	Jul 30th, 2008 10:17:43 PM
...the flamethrowers were burning it off. You can bet that around the military caravan, it was business as usual, mist everywhere.
This movie didn't suck because it had a dark ending... by KillDozer	Jul 30th, 2008 10:32:19 PM
it sucked because it had a shitty ending. In retrospect, I should've listened to my gut and skipped this one. I had a really bad feeling after I saw the trailer. I know Darabont probably had little to do with it so I guess I can't blame him, but it was totally the wrong trailer for this movie. The best part of the story was not knowing what was going and the resulting dread from that not knowing. The first trailer pretty much gave it all away. Ah well, the way things are going someone will remake this film in another couple of years. Maybe they'll get it right.
Ending = Keep hope alive? Really? by Greggers	Jul 30th, 2008 10:46:32 PM
Way up at the top of this talkback, I asked for an explanation of the thematic meaning of the ending, and the closest we've gotten is...keep hope alive? You're shitting me, right? Darabont has us invest in the four characters who reflected that reason must be backed by courage in a state of crisis -- only then will it surmount hysteria and self-destruction. Hope, or the kind of hope being used to justify the ending, was never part of this equation; never presented as a dynamic of the story on the same level of the other themes, and to claim its magical appearance at the end is weak sauce. That dog won't hunt. So in the end, we're left with a movie that goes to a lot of trouble to suggest a noble message, then shits on it in the end for no apparent reason. As many in this talkback have said, that ending wasn't earned. Yeah, it was crap.
just because by chipps	Jul 30th, 2008 11:07:58 PM
the short story was written before 9/11 dosn't mean the movie can't blend 9/11 into the script. Heart of Darkness was written before vietnam but remorphed to invoke it. I don't see how the building blowing up invokes 9/11 but certainly tdk as a whole dose in a big way. and i agree with beaks in that where there are obvious references and themes, where what is going has relevance, you call a spade a spade. not ever movie has 9/11 relevance but the fact is that 9/11 is the major historical event since the fall of the berlin war. It is the elephant in the room, to ingore it would be like making movies in the late 40s early 50s and pretending the second world war never occurred.
The ending sucked by criticalbliss	Jul 30th, 2008 11:35:12 PM
The ending betrayed the characters. Such an ending would work if the characters had shown they were ready to give up from the beginning, but, instead, they kept hope and kept fighting. It made no sense for them to "suddenly" surrender. The problem I had with the film was the motivational inconsistency. It would have been better to leave it open-ended, I feel.
D.Vader by Rupee88	Jul 31st, 2008 12:28:08 AM
So if I saw the movie at the theater and had to get up and run to go pee for 4 minutes and "didn't see the ENTIRE movie", then I would have no basis to judge it??? I saw far more than enough of it to form a strong opinion and that opinion just happens to be similar to the overwhelming majority of people in this TB.
I loved The Mist by krushjudgement	Jul 31st, 2008 01:19:56 AM
Once again proving my total disconnect with most of America's critics.
The Mist is one of the worst movies of the decade by darthvedder81	Jul 31st, 2008 02:47:07 AM
Utter crap. The ending was awful but so was the rest of the movie. Laughable performances and bad special effects. The funniest way to watch is to listen to the Darabont commentary as the egomaniac waxes on and on as though his schlock movie is some important masterwork.
MIST was awesome by killianx	Jul 31st, 2008 04:24:29 AM
I could go on for days about how many diferent levels this movie is sheer quality However i will sum it up like this: This movie got into my head and stayed there bothering me for weeks. That is true Horror I saw it the opening weekend and honestly if i ponder the film long enough it still will bother me. I consider myself a pretty brave guy btw having been through some real life situations of my own. but this was just an excellent Horror movie and story. I think all the performances were on the mark as well.
That "keep hope alive" stuff was mine by palimpsest	Jul 31st, 2008 04:55:10 AM
And I stand by it. I don't think the ending's perfect (personally, I'd have preferred it if Jane had one more bullet, had killed himself as well, the camera had held on the car full of dead people, and THEN pulled back to reveal the mist parting, soldiers etc). But that's my reading of the movie, and I think it stands up with the internal logic of the film, and with Darabont's wider concerns as a filmmaker. Besides, with the current ending, Jane gets to live with the knowledge that he gave up too soon and is damned because of it. That's the movie Darabont made.
The ending was awesome! The crazy church lady was RIGHT! by fireclown	Jul 31st, 2008 07:00:08 AM
Loved it to death. Crazy church lady claims that God has told her that the childs death will eliminate the menace. Easiest thing to mock in the world, as we all know all religious people are crazy. After the child gets shot, the fog lifts, and the Cavalry shows up, JUST LIKE SHE SAID. Siding with the crazy church folk is about the riskiest narritive thing you can even think about in Hollywood today. I love that ending just because of the finger that it gives to the prevailing climate.
why doesnt Darabont shut the fuck up about thsi movie? by DANNYGLOVERS_DICKBLOOD	Jul 31st, 2008 11:05:02 AM
Jesus....its over man. Move on. Fuck. He has been try to tell us how great this film is for fucking ever.
Mebbe he believes in it. by palimpsest	Jul 31st, 2008 12:10:40 PM
Plus, as he found with SHAWSHANK, some movies need a little time. If he starts on about THE MAJESTIC, that's when you gotta worry. A passable enough film, but I liked it better when it was called CINEMA PARADISO.
What's his next project? by mrfan	Jul 31st, 2008 12:22:57 PM

I haven't got a problem with the movie at all by palimpsest	Jul 31st, 2008 01:17:56 PM
i like that there are strong ideas and gaps in it that provoke different reactions to it.
Fascism has many faces. by angel_svn	Jul 31st, 2008 02:15:39 PM
I haven't seen the movie, but does it deal honestly with group mentality and the rise of fascism? I don't want to see a movie that looks at the reaction of 9/11 as the only kind of mob mentality to worry about. Liberals and conservatives are equally capable of these sorts of reactions. Each will kill their enemy for his ideas alone as much as any other mob. No one is free from this ... so I am surprised that Frank would be so certain by raging that it's a liberal tract. If he is honest about human nature, whether a person is a liberal or conservative, then I would be glad to see the movie. But extremists like Franks, and Beaks, and most of the people here don't seem to understand that they are also extremist. It's like they don't really get what they're talking about. And that's sad.
RILEY MARTIN... by SG Xibalba	Jul 31st, 2008 03:22:07 PM
Why SHOULD it have to make sense?!?
My Take On THAT Ending by SG Xibalba	Jul 31st, 2008 03:23:35 PM
There's only one small thing I would have changed - when the truck drove by, I would have had everybody that was left at the store onboard. Man, now would THAT have ever been a fucking kick in the nuts....
One of those movies........ by u.k. star	Jul 31st, 2008 05:28:08 PM
That in 5 or 10 years people will look back on and say "how was that not a huge film?" I hate the ending, but it is magnificent. So sad, so depressing, but top class.
Kind of reminded me of Mamma Mia by skani	Jul 31st, 2008 09:37:44 PM

...because by skani	Jul 31st, 2008 10:03:30 PM
It would have been very dark and more believable/satisfying if they just left the film with him out in the mist waiting for something to get him. Here the guy is making a great, final heroic act, the perfect culmination of everything he's been throughout the movie. Then, like a cgi-pteradactyl-squito-thing, Darabont swoops in and says, "Your final, heroic act is a big joke. You just killed your loved ones for nothing. It doesn't matter that you just spent an entire day or however long driving around looking for help. Sorry, but the army is on strict orders to hide out in the mist until you run out of gas and ice all your remaining loved ones. If you can do that, just give it about 30 more seconds and the help will show up inexplicably to dump rubbing alcohol into your wounds and then light you on fire." I like a good, dark, existential deal, but this is over-the-top, pessimistic, improbable, Woody-Allen-has-a-baby-with-Ma rilyn-Manson, dark. A shame because the movie is really great, right up until that...um, sucker punch. Yeah, good choice of words.
bacci40 by angel_svn	Aug 1st, 2008 09:17:13 AM
The nut bag who shot up the church was not a Christian. In fact, Christians made him mad.
The ending and this film was brilliant by BrightEyes	Aug 1st, 2008 11:50:25 PM
and Rupee88 and Danny dickglover blood. You sirs are whiney little cunts
Best Horror ending in YEARS!!!! by NomoredirtyjokespleaseweareYanks	Aug 6th, 2008 08:47:33 AM
I have loved the short story for about 18 years now. Darabont, you knocked it outta the fuckin park!!!!
Nasty In The Pasty is right. by Fawst	Aug 11th, 2008 09:40:53 AM
He's the only person besides me that I've ever seen/heard mention the fact that the soldiers were burning the mist away. And as for them passing the army only minutes before, that is not necessarily true. There are these things out there called "intersections." You know what they are, you've seen pictures. See, the way they work is roads meet up at these points. So when someone on road A intersects with road B, then turns onto road B, they are no longer on road A. In other words, THEY COULD HAVE COME FROM FUCKING ANYWHERE! On top of that, did anyone catch the fact that the mist was negating sight and sound? Beyond a certain point, nothing was visible, and there was no sound. It doesn't take much of a stretch to think that they could have passed within half a mile of the caravan and never even noticed. Not saying anyone is wrong for not liking the movie or the ending, but telling the people that did that they're wrong is just stupid. Can we get our fucking Gunslinger film now? The teaser poster is already done! :) Darabont + J.J. Abrams and Co. Yes, please.
"Gerry" anyone? by norler	Aug 18th, 2008 12:14:43 PM
Has anyone mentioned yet that this is the exact ending of the Gus Van Sant movie Gerry? Matt Damon kills Casey Affleck right before being rescued by a passing car riding on the road they couldn't make out in the desert glare... I can accept an ending like that and what it may be trying to say about the minute-to-minute variables of life and the choices we make. What the Mist does however, is to replace an already amazing ending in the published version with something far less mysterious and unnecessary. BTW to all King fans... doesn't the novella of Shawshank also end with the same declaration of "hope"? It's a much more moving ending (than actually seeing the friends meet up as they do in the filmed version.) Maybe Darabont doesn't care so much for King's belief in the power and mystery of holding onto hope in the face of tremendous odds?
Ran across this... by Dosomo	Sep 10th, 2008 03:37:51 PM
Just saw The Mist on DVD last night, and ran across this interview. No one will probably reply to this since it is so old. But I couldn't resist posting. Let me start by saying the movie is great except for the ending. However, I don't have the same problem with the ending that most others do. The ending isn't bad because he kills his kid and other survivors. It is bad because of how the scene is set up. Let me give you a version that works much better in my opinion, but still has that big "shock" value you all seem to enjoy: The car runs out of gas, and they all look at each other while Thomas Jane holds the gun. Everyone is afraid, and the obvious question in the air is still, should we all just end it now? Now, one of the monsters hops on the hood out of the mist and starts breaking the windshield. He points the gun at the creature, but doesn't fire. More of the monsters appear around the car and start trying to break in. He has the option to use the last 4 bullets to try and kill some of the creatures. Instead he looks around the car at the others, and then he looks at his now awake son. He looks up at the woman holding his son. She nods, and then covers the little boy's eyes. We then get the exterior shot and the four gun shots. Next, we get a close-up interior shot of Jane with tears in his eyes waiting on his inevitable death. Then there is a blast of flame across the car. Is it some other horrible creature? The monsters trying to get in scatter. All is quiet for a moment, then Jane gets out of the car and sees the army rolling up. Everything else proceeds like the actual ending from there. This version fixes the biggest problem. That character would NEVER have given up hope without an immediate and unstoppable death staring them all in the face. I mean, Darabont has them run out of gas, and then within 5 minutes he has the hero killing his own kid. The same hero who fought through impossible odds up until that point. It ruined that character's story in every possible way.

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Mr. Beaks Gets to the End of THE MIST with Frank Darabont!

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