The Mist ***1/2Cast: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Toby Jones, Laurie Holden, Frances Sternhagen, Andre Braugher, Nathan Gamble, William Sadler, Alexa Davalos
Director: Frank Darabont
Running Length: 2:05
MPAA Classification: R

After a bad storm that puts a tree through his studio window, David Drayton (Jane), his son Billy (Gamble), and neighbor Brent (Braugher) head into town to get some supplies from the supermarket. Once there, the mist that they saw rolling across the lake has made it into town and engulfs the store. The terror level is upped when a man runs into the store with blood on his face, screaming that there is something out there. Indeed, there is, and soon those trapped in the store see what it is. To make matters worse, a religious fanatic by the name of Mrs. Carmody (Harden) is stirring up some of the customers with her talk of the end of the world. David finds himself looked to for guidance, and when things seem to be as bad as they can be, things get worse.

Director Frank Darabont takes another stab at a Stephen King story, this time a horror story, and succeeds quite well. Like “The Shawshank Redemprion” and “The Green Mile”, “The Mist” is a faithful adaptation of the source material, with an added on ending that may or may not work for viewers. I, for one, enjoy endings of this nature, but am not sure that it was the right ending to tack on the end of this particular story. The acting is solid all around, especially Marcia Gay Harden as the disturbing Mrs. Carmody. The film has its share of monsters, but the scariest ones are inside the store, not outside it. “The Mist” works because it is a smart thriller, directed by an excellent director. I recommend this film.