The Mist is one of those movies that literally leave you on the edge of your seat. Directed by Frank Darabont, The Mist is definitely a movie that has you biting your nails throughout the entire movie. It all beings with a family that lives in Maine, and their house was just damaged by a bad storm. While the family is outside assessing the damage a strange fogs comes creeping across the lake but they think nothing of it and go on with their day. David and his son as well as their neighbor head to the store to pick up supplies to fix up their house. But that's where things start to get interesting. While everyone is in the store buying supplies for themselves, Jeff Miller comes running in and claims that there is something in the mist. By now the entire store is surrounded by this fog so there is no way out. David decides to go check the generator because there lights have gone out and discovers that its clogged. While he is in the loading dock he hears and sees the garage door banging, clearly something wanted to get inside. When he tells the others they don't believe him and the bag boy Norm, decides he is going to go outside and unblock the exhaust for the generator. But David knew that wasn't a good idea, and expressed his opinion. Everyone thought he was crazy and full of himself for thinking something non human could be out there. Almost as soon as Norm goes outside numerous tentacles grab him and he is gone, but David managed to cut one of the ends of the tentacles as proof of what is out there. When they tell the others what just happened, Davids Neighbor Brent, becomes insulted and thinks this is a big joke. Brent is not believing any of what has just happened and wants to see whats out there for himself. Brent and a few people decide that they want to go outside and see for themselves. Another man joins them to get a gun from another mans truck, attached to a rope in case things go south. And sure enough things go south, the rope starts flying out of everyone's hands, but they manage to get it reeled in and its covered in the blood of the man. Mrs. Carmody is a woman who is stuck in the store with everyone else, she is known as the crazy lady to this point in the film. She seems to think that this is the end of the world and that everyone who doesn't live by the word of god will be sent to hell by this mysterious fog. But everyone disregards her and continues to try and prepare themselves for the night they they are about to face. When night falls Mrs. Carmody has gathered a following and people are actually buying into what she is saying. This is becoming a problem because now David has people against him and that puts him and his son in danger. They begin to ask the only army soldier alive in the store if he knows anything and after some persuasion he confesses that this was all the army's fault and that they opened a door to another dimension. Mrs. Carmody thinks that since he is the cause of this (even though he really wasn't) that he must be sacrificed, and in the matter of seconds the poor soldier was stabbed by one of the store employees and thrown outside for the creature. By this time David has to many people against him and knows he must leave the store or he and his son will be sacrificed next. So he and a few other people who don't buy into Mrs. Carmodys beliefs gather supplies and attempt to leave but they are caught by Mrs. Carmody. And now she seems to be the one in charge, which was a huge change of powers. She demands Davids son be sacrificed next, but the only store employee that knows how to use a gun shoots Mrs. Carmody in the stomach causing everyone to back off. After this startling situation David and a few others pile into his car and begin driving. They drive to his home to discover his wife encased in spider webs, and then they drive until they can drive no longer. This film is very different from anything we have watched in class thus far. "Darabont used in-your-face camera operators who improvised around and among the cast as they shot and re shot their long, chaotic and exhausting scenes in real time. Darabont says it was sometimes more like filming a hectic and energetic stage play"(Patterson). It different because the camera is used in a very different way compared to any film we have seen yet. During the beginning of the movie we can see that the camera is not being moved around much and has smooth transition. But when we get to the store and the older man comes in with a bloody face, the whole mood and setting changes along with the way the camera is being used. All of a sudden the camera is frantically switching between people and that just adds to the craziness that is going on during the film. What I also noticed, was that even though this is a movie it sometimes looks as though the camera was being held by a bystander. Almost like it was design to make the audience feel like they are a character in the film.
Just as the camera angles change really quickly, so do the characters. If you look at nearly each character from the beginning to the end, not a single character is the same as when they started. Much of this has to do with the situation that they are put into but regardless, each character goes though a change. A perfect example would be Mrs. Carmody, at the beginning of the film she was some crazy lady that made no sense. And at the end of the film she was some sort of genius that knew the answer to save all the people who believed in god. And when you look at all the people that thought she was crazy go though this change and start doubting what David says and start believing what she is telling them. I have never noticed that with any other movie and I thought it was interesting because it showed how people can change based on the situation that they are faced with. When your life depends on it you may believe anything in order to stay alive. Overall, I think this was one of my favorite films we have watched in class so far. It had so much going on and the characters really made you mad or you loved them. Mrs. Carmody really made me angry at times and I think that's what a good movie should do. It should get into the viewers emotion and connect them to what they are watching.
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AuthorI normally only watch comedies and action movies so this should be an interesting change. Archives
May 2017
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