Papp Schnapp's Movie Recaps: The Mist

This is the first of many movie reviews from my friend John Papp! Enjoy the silly title and the review.

I had some wonderful insight when I began to re-re-watch this, but I sort of cut my viewing in half. Two things to make sure of:

1. Watch this in one sitting. You should always watch films in one setting. Interrupting for longer than an hour or two ruins the flow.

2. Watch it in black and white. The 2nd disc contains the black and white version, which is ten times as terrifying, and ten times as harrowing. Desaturate the colors on your TV if you must to achieve the effect.

"Oh my God, it's Kirstie Alley! Ruuuuuuunnn!"

Anyway, Frank Darabont has wrought upon us the single greatest horror film (along with 28 Days Later) since Suspiria and Dawn of the Dead (1977 and 1978, respectively). This is an exercise in extreme terror, and if you can't buy into that terror, then you're not allowed to watch horror movies ever again.

The acting's what helps make this movie as terrifying as it is. Tom "I just want my kids back" Jane is our rock in this affair, leading us through the horrors and inspiring hope. He's helped by Toby "I've absolved myself from Dobby" Jones, who just might be the best actor in this movie. He should be in more shit. Andre "Frank Pembleton" Braugher is great in the short amount of time he's in this (he should be in more stuff, too), and so is Nathan "Commissioner Gordon's son" Gamble, who is amazing as that little kid (It's funny how both of his most high-profile roles involve him crying in most of his scenes, and he manages to sell them both well).

But the most talked about performance is sure to be Marcia "more like Gay Hard-on, lol" Gay Harden, as the most wretched and evil female villain this side of Nurse Ratched. In a way, her character is more frightening than the Cthulu-like monsters that attack the characters, though they're downright horrifying, too.

"Is now the best time to fly a kite?"

Y'see, this is certainly more than just a monster movie. Like Night of the Living Dead, a movie it certainly owes a lot too, and admits it openly, it's about what happens when the skies turn red, but more importantly, it's about how we cope with that. Some lead, some.... Go absolutely nuts.

Uh, anyway, I didn't like it at first, mostly because of the ending. But Michael Messina changed my perspective on it (I'm trying not to give anything away here), and made me realize that this is a horror movie, and horrifying things can't always be pleasing.

So, I would certainly hope that this film be ranked highly in the "Greatest Horror Films of all Time" list, whenever that's made. Because it is. It scares me to the point of shivers and tears, and I hope it keeps you all up throughout the night.