By Maria Komodore
Warning: this post may contain spoilers — if you haven’t seen The Mist yet, read on with caution.
The Mist, director Frank Darabontʼs third collaboration with writer Stephen King (the other two being 1994ʼs The Shawshank Redemption and 1999ʼs The Green Mile), is a blend of horror cult films such as Them! (1954) and The Fly (1958, 1986) — among many, many others — and John Carpenterʼs The Fog. And thatʼs exactly why itʼs sooo good.
But in the case of The Mist, keeping with the cult extravaganzasʼ marvelously ridiculous plots, the dangerous mystery that the fog holds doesnʼt involve peopleʼs past sins returning to mercilessly haunt them down. That would be way too simple. Rather, the threat engulfed in the thick white cloud is a number of apocalyptic and pre-historic looking creatures that found their way into our world when scientific experiments to open up windows to different dimensions got out of control. In other words, fears about science and the ways it has put us in serious trouble, a subject perhaps more urgent today than ever, make their triumphant return.
Just a guess, but whatever they’re looking at probably ain’t too friendly.