"The Mist"

I went to see "The Mist" on Thanksgiving Day. Even though Cindy and I have a tradition of going to the movies on Christmas Day, it still surprises me when I see the kind of long lines I saw on Turkey Day for a 3pm movie. Aren't most people sitting down to their Thanksgiving Day dinner around this time? I guess not. I mean, I had the excuse that I was alone, from out of town and just looking to get out of the hotel room. There were several couples, groups of friends, etc. all lined up at the ticket window and concession stand.

It reminds me of when I used to be a bartender and DJ. The bar would open at 2pm on Thanksgiving Day and by 3pm every seat was filled. Don't these people have families to be with? Most of them, it turned out, did not and the rest were in the bar to escape theirs, lol.

Maybe the teetotalers go to movies instead of a bar to escape their Thanksgiving Day family gatherings.

"The Mist" is adapted from a Stephen King short story of the same name and the basic plot is a mysterious fog rolls into a small Maine town (all of King's stories, it seems, take place in Maine) with heretofore unseen and unknown creatures hidden in the fog, trapping a group of people in a grocery store. As is the usual case with King's works, the true horror lies not in the strange, man-eating creatures emerging from the fog, but within the hearts and minds of people who react with fear. That theme is followed from the very first scene to the last in various guises throughout the film.

I read this short story years ago and since my memory is not what it used to be I could only recall bits and pieces. The end, I already knew, had been changed by director Frank Darabont and praised by King as an excellent conclusion; one that he wished he had written. Obviously, I don't want to give away the ending, but I will say that at a certain point I KNEW what the end should be...and it was. You'll probably have the same thoughts when you go to see it.

Because, although this is not a blockbuster movie by any means, I do recommend watching it as a study in human nature and group dynamics under pressure. Some, in fact, have suggested that the movie is a metaphor for the condition America finds itself in, reacting with fear and panic to the threat of terrorism emerging from the fog, as it were.

Just be sure to have a flashlight with you if it's dark or foggy when you leave the theater.

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