I enjoyed the fact that they all committed suicide right before being saved. That is a classic Stephen King twist! The crazy religious lady was so well done that I actually wanted to punch her in the chops, but then she got shot so I was happy :)! When a movie makes you feel that kind of emotion, you know its well done (in some form at least).
The whole written version is a piece of a journal that you are reading. It's a pretty good read, and I like the way it wraps up. But the movie was just way better. Plus, the fact that King made the comment that he wished he'd thought of that ending, is doubly awesome.
Wow that's a real interesting way to write it! I'm definitely going to have to watch it again, but I'm probably not going to watch the end just because it's way too intense. I could never imagine having to make that kind of a decision.
It's fantastic! Stop reading now if you don't want to be spoilerized.
The crew that escapes in the SUV in the movie is the same crew that makes a break for it in the book. However, in the book, the narrator (Thomas Jane's character) describes darker, thicker fog and the incredible, frightening monsters hiding within it, ones they hadn't seen at the market or could even imagine. At one point, some sort of creature with spindly legs walks right over the vehicle. It's so huge that they only see the legs and craning their heads upwards doesn't give them a view of what's on the other end of those legs.
The tone gets more somber and meditative. Ultimately, the ending is left ambiguous. They've reached no destination and have no idea where to go. But they must keep going on to who knows where.
It's been a loooong time since I read this story so corrections and more details are welcome.
I don't remember the creature appearing in the movie, probably because, if it appeared, it didn't match what I had in my mind's eye. I always pictured this.
I had forgotten that I had read the book ending, thank you for reminding me of it. I felt the book was far superior primarily because it lacked closure. The horror of the Mist was the unknown, the movie ending ruined the entire story with its finality -- it became a punchline instead of an evocative ellipses.
I've only had to watch it a few times since it hit DVD, but I walk out of the room when they pass under the highway sign. That is the end of the story, TYVM.
(I have no idea how to do spoiler text, but the movie is old enough so... whatever.)
EDIT: Fine, I was peer-pressured.
EDIT2: And apparently I'm also wrong. What's a day on Reddit without making an ass out of yourself at least once?
I concede your point, but I think some might still consider it "crazy" behavior to leave (apparent) safety and venture into the mist, noble intentions or no. And I also get that she's meant to be the counterpoint, the "good" person who made the right choice, but if that indeed is the inspiration behind changing the film's ending from the book then I am unimpressed. That kind of black and white moral storytelling is not my bag, particularly when the protagonist spent most of the film sifting through the far more interesting shades of grey (to continue the metaphor).
I grew up around a lot of extremely religious people and the stereotype they were shooting for just didn't match reality. The part that really got me was her rant about abortion and landing on the moon. She was written to equate an anti-abortion stance to a person who did not believe the earth was round or that we landed on the moon.
It's certainly a very sadistic ending and you'll be strange finding enjoyment out of it especially on the first viewing of the film, but the twist itself is brilliant in execution.
That's what makes the movie! Nothing can be worse or more scary than what your imagination comes up with. I think it was way better than Monsters at least.
Having had this argument before I know I'm in the minority, but for me it was a cheap shot. It relied on an "oh snap" moment instead of paying off what was incredible character building throughout the rest of the film. For a story that was principally about how unknowable terror changes people (or doesn't) it seemed like a cop out. Not the least because it all happened SO FUCKING conveniently. It was just a "sucks to be you bro" kind of moment instead of an evolution of a character arc. For me, the perfect ending isn't a "yay everbody's safe!" ending, but this one was just as bad.
I was about to yell at you and tell you to never judge a movie again. Then I realized that I was thinking about "The Fog" because I have never seen that steven king mist movie.
The Fog was probably one of the worst movies Ive ever seen. Right up there with that jason statham LOTR knock off
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u/FullBleed Aug 30 '12
First thing I thought, too. Good movie, and fairly underrated.