The Mist (2007)

"As a species we're fundamentally insane. Put more than two of us in a room, we pick sides and start dreaming up reasons to kill one another. Why do you think we invented politics and religion?”
               - Ollie

A New England town becomes a microcosm of humanity in Frank Darabont’s The Mist. Based on the novella by Stephen King the film is no doubt firmly rooted in the horror genre (it’s tense, scary, and bloody) but it works on more levels than just that. Indeed, the monsters inside the mist are nothing compared to the darkness within ourselves.

A curious mist rolls into town and traps a collection of people in a local supermarket. Slowly they discover that various monsters dwell within the mist and the struggle for survival begins. Things move quickly early on, as they should, and in fact the creatures’ origins are never fully explained because they aren’t what’s important. The story is less about the monsters and more about how we react to extreme circumstances. They function merely as the circumstance for this sampling of people to come together. The supermarket is itself is an interesting, if understated, setting for the film to take place. Just like the suburban mall in Dawn of the Dead, it’s the great equalizer. Everyone, from the educated to the uneducated, high class to working class, can be found in the supermarket and that’s how you get your microcosm. Within this collection of people larger societal sections are also represented, and thoughtfully explored.

Consider Mrs. Carmody who represents the rise and corruption of religion. Early on her claims of the end of days are regarded as crazy ramblings of the town nut; nothing more than nonsense to be ignored. Slowly she gains a following in light of attacks by the mist monsters, and by the film’s third act she’s hailed as a prophet and commands some of her fellow survivors to carry out violent, terrible acts in the name of religion and survival.

Heartbreaking ending notwithstanding, the film’s greatest success, and why it’s worth watching, is in its portrayal of humanity. We’re panicky and we’re organized, we’re altruistic and selfish hypocrites, we’re believers and we’re rational; we are undoubtedly walking contradictions in so many ways. The Mist captures this quality so incredibly well. It’s a shame that the film didn’t garner more attention when released.