 
The Mist
MPAA Rating:
 for violence, terror and gore, and languageReviewed by: Christopher Johnston Extremely Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
½Primary Audience:
Adults, Teens
Genre:
Horror, Thriller, Adaptation
Length:
2 hr. 7 min.
Year of Release:
2007
USA Release:
November 21, 2007; DVD release: March 25, 2008
          Relevant Issues
How does viewing violence in movies affect the family? Answer   Hypocrisy in the Church—“I would never be a Christian; they’re a bunch of hypocrites.” What advice do you have for new and growing Christians? Answer
“Belief divides them, mystery surrounds Them, but fear changes everything” Castle Rock, Maine is just your ordinary, run-of-the-mill lakeside town. And David Drayton is a successful artist with a loving wife and little boy who live in a nice home by the lake. Little does David know that a strong storm will turn his little town—and life completely upside-down and shaken. You see, a strange, thick mist rolls over the lake and into the town. David has driven his son, Billy and Mr. Norton, his next door neighbor to the local supermarket to buy supplies to repair storm damage back at the house when the mist hits. The only problem with the mist besides not being able to see through it is some very unfriendly—and hungry critters from another world. David, his son and a large crowd of locals find themselves trapped in the supermarket trying to keep whatever is out there from coming in. What follows next is a couple of hours of screaming, gore, lots of profanity and a very liberal dose of God’s name being used in vain. It’s bad enough for David to try and calm down his terrified son, but things really go downhill when the local lunatic, Mrs. Carmody, starts preaching to the people in the store, and tells them that God is pouring out His Wrath on all humanity. She eventually succeeds in forming a little cult that wants to do human sacrifices to appease God and send the monsters away. And David decides it’s time to try to escape the supermarket with his son and whoever will follow him to get as far away as possible from town and hopefully, the mist. The plot in the movie is somewhat weak. It was hard to understand where the mist came from until the middle of the movie, when a trapped soldier in the supermarket vaguely confessed to a military experiment that went wrong up on the mountain. Dubbed the “Arrowhead Project”, military scientists on the mountain lost control of the experiment and allowed a whole legion of uglies to enter Castle Rock and the surrounding region via the mist. It’s not possible to know if the mist is localized, or covers the entire country. There is a lot of profanity in the movie. There are no less than 18 F-words, 28 S-words, 8 A-words, and 7 other bad words and obscene sexual references. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg in offensiveness. The character Mrs. Carmody makes an absolute mockery of God and Christianity in general. The makers of this movie have her portrayed as an insane lunatic who preaches the Word and blesses her subjects with liberal amounts of obscenities. Mrs. Carmody makes God out to be a vengeful, bloodthirsty being who is bent on destroying humanity by sending hungry monsters. Even a biker in the store looks at her and says, “Lady, I believe in God, but I don’t think he’s the cosmic A** that you make him out to be.” Mrs. Carmody spends a good amount of time telling people to repent, turn from their sins, or else God’s wrath will come upon them in a most unpleasant way. She completely misses the point in that God has already paid the price of sin through His Son Jesus Christ. And speaking of Jesus, it’s very unfortunate that His name is only used as part of a swear word or an exclamation of surprise. The Bible is very clear about keeping God’s name holy. This movie trashes His Holy Name. And another thing that people need to be aware of when they see the movie is this: Jesus Christ came down to Earth from Heaven to give His Life so that we may be saved. God loves us so much that He was willing to send His only Son to die a horrible, painful death as payment for our sins. And if we confess His name and believe that He died for us, we will spend all eternity with Him. The Bible promises that. If there is anything positive to say about the movie, it’s the strong bond between father and son, and the selflessness of several other people who put themselves in harm’s way to save others. But that’s about it. Everything else about the movie is extremely negative. Spoiler Warning: There is no happy ending. This movie will leave one depressed and feeling hopeless when it’s over. They should put up a banner over the theater entrance that says, “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here”. In conclusion, if you’re considering seeing “The Mist,” think again. I found this movie to be very offensive and blasphemous. It’s depressing and full of despair. The movie sends a strong message that Christians are nothing more than loony fanatics who preach about an angry God out for blood. My convictions will not allow me to recommend this movie to anyone for any reason. Violence: Heavy / Profanity: Extreme / Sex/Nudity: None See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.   Comments available:
Negative
Negative - THE MIST is anti-religious, anti-science, and anti-politics, but not anti-government. THE MIST is all of these and then some. THE MIST is based on Stephen King's novella of the same name. It is a story about fear and community. It is about the unknown and self preservation. It is a dark and gloomy tale. It is so foreboding that when the end comes, it will not be good. Negative - I saw this movie on opening night. I had expected a full theater, but it was mostly empty. That should have been a warning, I suppose. The movie had numerous curse words. I lost count of the times the F word was used. There were a lot of other curse words, including taking the Lord's name in vain. There was a lot of gore, and the movie had a hopeless feeling to it. The woman who was supposed to be representing God was portrayed to be a crazy fanatic. I wanted to walk out of this movie, but didn't want to make my husband feel bad since this was our date night. I would steer away from this one, for sure! Negative - This movie is one that I wanted to walk out of at least 3 times. It is filled with propaganda through out the movie. It portrays Christians as hypocritical and psycho. It is a very weird movie that tries to confuse the individual on what they believe. In one scene there is a military man that is accused of being the reason for God's wrath upon the earth, so they proceed to stab him over and over again. If you are a true Christian, you will be completely appalled at this movie. I enjoy movies and have no idea why I thought this would be entertaining. I actually asked people on the way out of the movie if they were going to 'The Mist' to warn them away from it. I am a Branch Manager for an Insurance Company and will be warning them and every other person that I meet away from this horrible movie. Negative - I'm ashamed to say that I took 3 of my teenage children to see this movie. I had read the short story by Stephen King years ago and immediately thought it would make a great movie. I was excited to hear that it was coming to theatres. Unfortunately, I had not considered how far from the original an 'adaptation' might deviate. The changes in this story were disturbing and in NO WAY beneficial. My children were as shocked as I was, and we spent the rest of the evening trying to put the movie out of our minds. I still believe the original story would have made for a great movie, I'm just extremely disappointed in the Hollywood minds that thought the changes made to the story could be considered 'entertainment,' on the contrary, my children, and I left the theatre feeling violated. Negative - My husband and I saw this movie on opening night because I was very excited to see how the novella would transfer over to a film. Well, much to my displeasure, I was very disturbed. As usual, Hollywood has depicted the 'Christian' character as a raving lunatic and not even remotely close to what a true Christian represents. One scene in particular calls for a certain person to be handed over to the creatures outside just after the mob of people (ordered by the raving lunatic) beat and stab him repeatedly. I was truly ashamed to be sitting in the theater at this point. As for the ending, once I figured out what was going to happen, I leaned over to my husband and said I would meet him in the lobby. I certainly did not want to see the final few minutes. From one Christian to another, please steer clear of this movie. It will not help you grow spiritually and all it will do is leave you with images and feelings you would much want to shake off, never to subject youself to again. Negative - Bashing Christianity at every turn. I am glad I went to see this movie so I can warn others not to waste their time and their money. The story starts with an interesting note and with a good premise; however all of this is buried under the ridiculous portrayal of a “Christian” character/ leader and rhetoric. If this is the image of what Hollywood perceives as a Christianity then it is sad how lost some people really are. The Christian(s) were full of such hate, hypocrisy, condemnation, skewed and false take on scripture and contradiction it was almost laughable if it wasn’t so pathetic. The lead “Christian” character is so vile where she speaks to God of doing his will then on the other side says the vilest and disgusting things to a non Christian who tries to comfort her. This character is so annoying and repulsive that the audiences I was in the theatre with actually broke out into applause when she gets her due. The story is depressing and hopeless offering no redemptive qualities .Aside from the portrayal of Christianity there are other “digs” as well from the good, loving and smart, sane non believers who also make statements about making up religion. If you hold your faith strongly to you, do not waste your time unless you feel like be bashed over the head with liberal media “enlighten” and a good dose of using the Lord’s name in vain at every turn. Negative - I found 'The Mist' to be very offensive movie although a very effective movie for it's genre. The movie is basically a monstermovie, which depicts residents of a small town battling horrific creatures that dwell within an un-earthly mist that descends upon the town. Like many other hollywood movies, this one contains graphic, foul language throughout the film as well as depictions of extreme violence, death, and terror. However, what disturbed me the most about this movie was the way the 'christian' was portrayed in this movie. Negative - The film and the book is blatantly anti-Christian, promoting the hateful stereotype and lie of Christians as violent and psychotic and falsely portraying Christianity as a religion that promotes human sacrifice. This is a blatant lie. Human sacrifice is repeatedly condemned in the Bible and its ritual practice is tied to pagan religions/tribes. God hated it. Only twice is human sacrifice tied with Christianity. The one being by God/Jesus Christ Himself and the other being Abraham/Isaac. Out of these, the calling of Abraham to give a human sacrifice is disturbing but is mitigated once one understands the parallel to God/Christ's sacrifice for mankind. In short, Abraham's calling was to be the Father of the nation of Israel and his call to sacrifice his son was God testing Abraham to see if he would be willing to do what God was willing to do. Negative - I am not a Christian, nor am I naive, and I was completely appalled at this movie!!! It should be advertised correctly. It looks to be your common, everyday, horror flick. Not so! It was absurd and ridiculous the way they played this out. I really cannot even think of the right words to say how this movie made me feel. I would have never taken my 15 year old daughter to see it, if I had known what it was truly about. I, as well, left the theater when I knew what was about to happen at the end. Negative - Most of the negative comments on this board center around the idea that the film is anti-Christian. This is absolutely true, but everyone seems to miss out on the most disturbing aspect of the film. The film bashes our U.S military, making the military out to be the carriers of the devils work. There is a particulary UNNECESSARY scene where a U.S soldier is stabbed repeatedly and sacrificed. The film makers should of left that scene out. I don't care if the novel had a soldier killed in it or not, showing it on film is demeaning. I am rather upset that not many people are offended by the negativity the film places on the U.S military. If you support the military and our soldiers, don't waste your money on this trash. If you don't support our military, feel free to move to Canada. Negative - Alright, if you folks want a waist of time, this is the movie to watch! I was very offended by the way the film portray's Christian's to be psycotic, morally twisted individuals. The film's worst antagonist wasn't the freakish aliens found within the mist, but a psycopath 'christian' woman. She twist's the scriptures of the old testiment in order for her to appear to the terrified individuals around her as an answer to their fears in the form of a vessel from God! Crazy? It gets better. She eventually turns nearly everyone around her (about 50 people seeking refuge in a grocery store) against anyone who doesnt agree with her. She say's the mist is a punishment for everyone's sins from God, and the only way to get rid of it is through blood sacrifice!
What kind of message is this supposed to give those who assume all Christians are the same? Ok, ok, getting off my soap box, the rest of the movie is filled with heavy profanity. The F-bomb being used countless times, the lord's name in vain, vulger refferences (by our lovely preacher) and many many more. As Christians, we have no business filling our minds with this garbage, whether or not your faith is strong. Beside's, it's in the Bible, 'Let no unclean thing come before your eye's.' If there's those of you who consider that micromanaging, take it up with the big man himself.
Ok, Im done. God Bless y'all. Negative - What a waste of a good monster movie. The premise was good, the creatures were interesteing, there could have easily been a good movie made here, but alas this isn't the case. The producers felt compelled to put in their own warped idea of what constitutes a fundamentalist Christian, and of course she's a worse villian than the creatures. When she was giving one of her insane rants she of course had to mention abortion and stem cells because we all know that anyone who is pro life must be a wild eyed whacko (heavy sarcasm). The town where they lived must be full of the weakest most spritually stupid people on earth, since so many of them so readily followed the nut job woman. Was ther no normal Christian around with even a rudimentary knowledge of the Bible to refute this woman? Of course our hero's are all non religious people..which I guess made it easier for them to take the cowardly, weak, sinful actions at the end of the movie. No fighting American sprirt in these folks either. They didn't even wait until a threat was immenent! I'm very dissapointed in this movie. I enjoy watching a good monster mvie with my 16 year old son..we like Cloverfield. Avoid 'The Mist'...the cool cratures aren't worth the aggravation. Negative - we rented this movie on the weekend..it is one of the biggest pieces of garbage i have ever watched..the storyline is nonsense..the acting is b-grade at best...the ending does leave you with feeling hopeless...i can't believe we watched the whole thing..but we kept thinking it had to get better....i would not recommend this movie to anyone.. Neutral
Neutral - I was disturbed that the audience clapped and cheered when Mrs. Carmody was killed. Everyone knows that she does not represent a true Christian, but she is still a caricature of a Christian, though very skewed. This is nothing to be cheered at. Many Christians in counties where Christianity is outlawed are killed because of their beliefs. If Jesus were going to watch this movie would he laugh and cheer at her death? The survivors at the supermarket reacted to Mrs. Carmody in a similar way as people do when a Christian shares the gospel. Sometimes people react with anger at the gospel and others accept it. When people laugh at this sort of thing it only reinforces the idea that violence solves everything. Of course this is a horror movie and violent situations are to be expected, but can we please react to said situation in a more mature manner. If you want to see a Stephen King movie that better represents Christians then I recommend “Desperation.” Neutral - The mist is most definately NOT what i expected to see. It was more gory but definately more of a 'brain teaser' than i had anticipated. The acting in this movie was actually pretty good and the plot was believable enough. Neutral - I cannot reccomend this film. Mainly because, as with so many other Hollywood movies today, I feel like I'm watching something scripted from the enemy and it makes my soul/spirit feel very heavy. I honestly feel like I need to read the Word now... yes, there was a lot of swearing and foul language (let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths) and was fairly graphic and violent...
As a Christian I am personally saddened and disgusted that so many are offended by the so called Christian portrayal. I honestly can't believe anyone would trully believe that this woman even remotely portrays Christianity-even those critical of our faith. She honestly did not offend me in terms of her making Christianity look bad. I believe that we should instead look at ourselves and see if that attitude doesn't lie within... Are WE the pharisee? Do WE judge based on law without the Love of Jesus? Without love, I am/have/can do nothing... to me, she was a perfect demonstration of how ANYONE can become if they have the law with no love-Paul before becoming Paul, I believe, was probably very similar. A zealout by his own admission. He was a legalist and proud, even going so far as to supporting the murder of Christians (which I feel was represented by this woman's character).
What did offend me was the notion that killing somebody when hope SEEMS to be lost is the better solution than holding onto hope (these three remain-faith, HOPE, and love)...
**SPOILER**
When the main character decided to 'keep his promise' to his son and not let the monsters get him, and ended up killing all of his other passengers too, this to some may have seemed 'merciful' but it was initially a very disturbing element because so many movies-million dollar baby being one, portray assisted suicide, among other methods, as a better alternative. We are becoming deadened to the fact that God himself tells us 'I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. CHOOSE LIFE so that you and your children may live!' And also we are told that death is the final enemy... death is NOTHING to be embraced and should be SOLEY left to God to decide. We have NO RIGHT to take another life or our own, EVEN IF circumstances seem dire-as in 'The Mist'... however, the very end was poetic justice in that it proved even in the midst of despair, there is still hope. I don't know if that was the purpose on the director's part, but that is what both my husband and I got from the ending. Neutral - I just watched this movie ( The Mist ). I am a Christian and follower of Jesus Christ. I read all of the comments here before watching the movie. The woman, Mrs. Carmody ( Marcia Gay Harden ) was obviously a religous fanatic that does not have a clue what being a Christian truly means nor does she have a clue about being a wittness for Jesus Christ. I think her character is a classic example of a person that was raised on hell fire and brimstone only and was taught to fear God and was never taught anything about the love of God. The characters were believable.
The other Bible lesson I saw in this movie was that we sometimes get into a situation and instead of trusting God we lose all hope and faith and think we can take care of the problem ourselves, instead of being patient and waiting for God to move. As the end of this movie clearly shows, our belief that we can fix it ourselves is usually the wrong decision and we soon realize He was in control all along. This part of the movie just re-enforced my faith that God is still in control and that I need to trust Him in all things and be patient. 'Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.'
The foul language was offensive. I believe that at times when some viewers may have thought the Lords name was being 'taken in vain' the character was actually calling out to God. The gore was not that bad if you see it for what it really is.....a movie.
If you are offended by foul language or taking the Lord's name in vain or moderate gore then this movie is not for you. I do not recommend it for anyone under 18. I do not recommend it for anyone that is not grounded in their faith in Jesus Christ. Otherwise I thought it was a good Steven King thriller. I did not come away from the movie with bad thoughts or feelings that I wanted to forget it. Positive
Positive - This was a great but harsh movie. It isn’t overly gory, but it is unpleasant to an extreme degree. That adds to this being one of the best, most difficult movies of the year. See it, if you can take it. Positive - I can't believe all the negative reviews here! This was a good movie! I am a Christian, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The nutty religious lady is not supposed to be a portrayal of Christianity in general. Rather, she is a kind of Christian who really does exist, and yes, her brand of religious fervor really is to be avoided at all costs. The actress who portrayed her was spot-on, by the way. I have known people like her. In fact, I hope that seeing this film might help people avoid that kind of religious fervor which can truly destroy one's joy. Positive - …One character even says he has no faith in human nature, we are sane when the machines are working and 911 is reachable, but once law and order is gone, we are reduced to our primal nature. As is truth, human nature is sinful, only God is pure. I think this is a wonderful overtone for the movie, as this sparked much discussion about the true human nature among my friends who I saw this with and was a great witnessing opportunity. Positive - I'm a Christian, and while watching the movie, I already expected many Christians will react to the lunatic woman claiming to be 'God's vessel'. So, yes, I agree that it is offensive, I was offended but not that much. I viewed it as a movie, no more and no less. I watched it as it is, 'what's the story?' In the end, The Mist (movie adaptation) is about ethics, morality, human nature. Sad it may be that it shows the 'evil side' of humanity, but as a Christian, I can use this movie to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is a good example of the evilness of the world and of sin. Just look at the end of the movie, 'mercy killing'. I whispered to my girlfriend and told her, 'next scene, he'll be shocked there are still humans left fighting the monsters from another dimension', and so it was. How did I know that? I already understood the whole movie. It may not be the intention of the director and the writer, but our not-so-hero do not have faith in God. So in the end, he found killing his son and three companions as 'solution' to 'escape the pain' of getting eaten alive. Positive - Before reading this, know that I am an atheist who frequents this site because I feel, that if a movie can still be rated well by people who are completely opposed to the movie's message, that there is a very high level of objectivity by the reviewers in regards to quality. That is, they do not let their beliefs get in the way of their quality rating of a move and are thus more trustworthy than secular reviewers. Positive - The Mist was thoroughly enjoyable! I rarely watch this genre, as I don't like realistic violence (I wouldn't watch a movie where someone was tortured, but a monster dragging a person away by tentacles is just fun, heh). The Mist was unique as it was a study of human nature, and clearly the point was that when order is removed that many normal people will become monsters. Comments from young people
Neutral - THE MIST is a relatively well-made little monster film based on the STEPHEN KING novella of the same name and directed by FRANK DARABONT, director of THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and THE GREEN MILE (two other KING adaptations), so with these two A+ minds behind the film… what went wrong? Oh the films looks good, the effects are great, the acting is at least an A in most places, B in a few others, so what are my complaints. Really, its the places with B acting (not including MARCIA GAY HARDEN, delivering an excellent, convincing performance), pacing that is all over the place (especially if you've read the novella), over-done cliches (that were NOT in the book), and, the one major thing above all the others that I can't get over, the ending. |
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