Why Stephen King Adaptation The Mist Makes Guys Cry
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I don't have kids and it was still awful to see. I don't know if horror is the right genre for it, but "creepy existential dread" doesn't have a category on Netflix, so...bjj hero said:
Most of Stephen King's books tend to destroy Archetypes
Think about it.
Dark Tower Series. Roland is the "Hero" yet, he fails to protect pretty much everyone and is doomed to repeat the entire story over and over again.
The Mist. Dad is supposed to be the Hero Type, and basically at the end has destroyed his entire life by following the Hero path. Tries to save family, Boom, they all die. Tries to protect his son, boom shoots him in the head to protect him from the monsters, which is noble, but flawed. He follows the Hero path until the bitter end, preparing to face death that would be horrible, until the military shows up and cleans up their mess.
Stephen King writes books that rip at your heartstrings, giving you hope, and then laughing at you while you pick up the pieces.
That being said...
I like some of his stuff
Think about it.
Dark Tower Series. Roland is the "Hero" yet, he fails to protect pretty much everyone and is doomed to repeat the entire story over and over again.
The Mist. Dad is supposed to be the Hero Type, and basically at the end has destroyed his entire life by following the Hero path. Tries to save family, Boom, they all die. Tries to protect his son, boom shoots him in the head to protect him from the monsters, which is noble, but flawed. He follows the Hero path until the bitter end, preparing to face death that would be horrible, until the military shows up and cleans up their mess.
Stephen King writes books that rip at your heartstrings, giving you hope, and then laughing at you while you pick up the pieces.
That being said...
I like some of his stuff
That was pretty much the reaction the couple times I've seen this movie, with each different group. Just... sat around quietly for a few minutes, even after the painfully emotional ending credits music was over.bjj hero said:
It probably does, but it's impossible to find due to their random category display, and if found it probably contains this, Event Horizon, and Carebears (my mistake, Carebears is in Sci-Fi & Fantasy between Terminator and The Crow, seriously)Thunderous Cacophony said:
I love the novella, and I was really looking forward to the movie. And nine-tenths of the movie is good and faithful. But that ending?
That ending...
It was too much. It turned a harrowing story of survival and the darkness of the human heart into a "screw you, the universe sucks" moment. It was too much. It was not the ending in the novella, and I honestly don't care that even Stephen King thought it was balsy. It was too much, and it made the movie unpleasant to rewatch. I bought the movie after seeing it in the theaters, and I just can't watch it again. I WANT to like this film, but that damn damn ending is TOO MUCH.
It's one thing to have things end badly in horror. It's another thing to end it in a way that makes you want to slit your wrists at the utter unfairness of it all. That was this ending, and it ruined the movie.
That ending...
It was too much. It turned a harrowing story of survival and the darkness of the human heart into a "screw you, the universe sucks" moment. It was too much. It was not the ending in the novella, and I honestly don't care that even Stephen King thought it was balsy. It was too much, and it made the movie unpleasant to rewatch. I bought the movie after seeing it in the theaters, and I just can't watch it again. I WANT to like this film, but that damn damn ending is TOO MUCH.
It's one thing to have things end badly in horror. It's another thing to end it in a way that makes you want to slit your wrists at the utter unfairness of it all. That was this ending, and it ruined the movie.
The worst part is that the military shows up 2 seconds later. It's filmed in a way so it almost seems like they walked around for an hour or two until deciding that suicide is a better solution, only to be rescued minutes later. I really hated that ending, just didn't work for me, almost expected a "Wah wah waaah" sound.Sgt. Sykes said:
As a reader of the short story, I was very impressed with how true they kept to the original story until........the end. It was so far removed the original that it was almost laughable. My personal feeling is that the original stories ending which involved the father writing the story in a diary and leaving it in the motel they were in, would have had much more impact as you never find out what happens (and i normally hate those endings but it felt right for the mist).
The ending wasn't Stephen King though. The ending in the book was a fair bit less dark, they changed it for the movie. That being said, Stephen King loved the new ending, and wished he'd wrote it for the book.Kyr Knightbane said:
It doesn't surprise me that the opinions on the ending are so polarized. I thought it was great, but they went all in with it so it could very easily swing the other way for somebody else.
Don't get me wrong, I liked the book and the movie, and the movie ending seemed to go more inline with what the book was heading towards.The Almighty Aardvark said:
I was just notating that Stephen King tends to like toying with Hero Archetypes
The ending to the original novella ends on a fairly bleak tone as they continue to travel, unsure of whether or not the Mist has spread across the world, it also mentions receiving a radio signal from a neighboring town (if memory serves.)
The changed ending for the movie adaptation work better for film, not because the ending to the original story was bad but because in a movie it would feel like cheap sequel baiting.
Yeah, the changes made to the ending are harsh, and it's a kick in the gut for most of the folks I've known who have watched it, but I like the finality of it. I like a horror movie that's not afraid to let the heroes lose.
The changed ending for the movie adaptation work better for film, not because the ending to the original story was bad but because in a movie it would feel like cheap sequel baiting.
Yeah, the changes made to the ending are harsh, and it's a kick in the gut for most of the folks I've known who have watched it, but I like the finality of it. I like a horror movie that's not afraid to let the heroes lose.
I cried at the time I will never get back in my life. Poorly written, preposterously over-acted toss, and a ridiculous ending that renders the entire film pointless.
I know suspension of disbelief is a big thing, especially in horror, but just like the dumbass ending of Cloverfield, how am I supposed to believe an entire battalion of tanks moving through the mist wouldn't make a single sound to be overheard by Thomas Jane or his band of miserable men?
The Mist is one of the few films I've seen that made me genuinely angry for wasting my time. (See also: the aforementioned Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity.)
I know suspension of disbelief is a big thing, especially in horror, but just like the dumbass ending of Cloverfield, how am I supposed to believe an entire battalion of tanks moving through the mist wouldn't make a single sound to be overheard by Thomas Jane or his band of miserable men?
The Mist is one of the few films I've seen that made me genuinely angry for wasting my time. (See also: the aforementioned Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity.)
Wow, pretty mixed reaction to the ending. I guess fatalism isn't something a lot of people subscribe to.
It made perfect sense to me. The world seemed to be ending, they were stranded in a nightmare with only a car to protect them from unnatural monsters, and they had no supplies. It's implied they've been driving for hours. Hundreds of miles and no end to it. Their prospects at that point were either slow starvation/dehydration, or they'd be found by some horrible creature that would be able to crack open their car. Judging by the variously painful ways those creatures killed people, I can't say which way to go is worse.
Yeah, the editing made it seem like they were a bit hasty with the whole killing themselves, but given the situation I can totally see myself doing the same. I always hate how some people are all "pah, those characters are idiots, if that were me I'd be a total badass and survive!" I doubt they've never had to deal with an actual crisis and feel actual despair and helplessness.
It made perfect sense to me. The world seemed to be ending, they were stranded in a nightmare with only a car to protect them from unnatural monsters, and they had no supplies. It's implied they've been driving for hours. Hundreds of miles and no end to it. Their prospects at that point were either slow starvation/dehydration, or they'd be found by some horrible creature that would be able to crack open their car. Judging by the variously painful ways those creatures killed people, I can't say which way to go is worse.
Yeah, the editing made it seem like they were a bit hasty with the whole killing themselves, but given the situation I can totally see myself doing the same. I always hate how some people are all "pah, those characters are idiots, if that were me I'd be a total badass and survive!" I doubt they've never had to deal with an actual crisis and feel actual despair and helplessness.
The only reason I was able to accept the ending was that it seemed the whole movie had a theme of misanthropy and thus the ending seemed appropriate. I didn't see the protagonists decision to shoot everyone as a hard but justified act, I saw it as a tragic mistake being made by a flawed character who was loosing it. Ultimately, despite all the horrors outside, it was a man, the protagonist no less, that did them in.
The ending may seem cruel and unfair, but it wouldn't have been if he had held out longer and not given up all hope.
All this being said, it was a ridiculously dark ending, and I can't say anyone's wrong for disliking it.
The ending may seem cruel and unfair, but it wouldn't have been if he had held out longer and not given up all hope.
All this being said, it was a ridiculously dark ending, and I can't say anyone's wrong for disliking it.
The end angered me for multiple reasons.
First off, I'm an atheist, and the whole theme of the movie up to the end seemed to be a of a reasonable man attempt to maintain composure in a situation devoid of all reason. An ending where a hysterical woman ran off into the mist alone at the height of an outbreak, when organized groups failed, and came out alive enraged me.
Second of all, even if I understand the feeling the director was going for for the ending. It could have been done way better. Seriously, protagonist couldn't hear a motorcade and flamethrowers burning shit a few yards away before murdering his friends and family?
First off, I'm an atheist, and the whole theme of the movie up to the end seemed to be a of a reasonable man attempt to maintain composure in a situation devoid of all reason. An ending where a hysterical woman ran off into the mist alone at the height of an outbreak, when organized groups failed, and came out alive enraged me.
Second of all, even if I understand the feeling the director was going for for the ending. It could have been done way better. Seriously, protagonist couldn't hear a motorcade and flamethrowers burning shit a few yards away before murdering his friends and family?