Why Stephen King Adaptation The Mist Makes Guys Cry

[JMac85]

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.

I'm an atheist too, and I don't see what that has to do with anything. It was a messed up situation, and reason and composure doesn't always get you through messed up situations. Sometimes what seems like a bad idea works out, and what seems like a good idea ends up failing. It's not the typical Hollywood ending where everything just works out for the protagonist, and that's refreshing.

I'll agree with your other point, but again, that was a problem with editing, not writing or directing.

 

[Gennadios]

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.

I'm an atheist too, and I don't see what that has to do with anything. It was a messed up situation, and reason and composure doesn't always get you through messed up situations. Sometimes what seems like a bad idea works out, and what seems like a good idea ends up failing. It's not the typical Hollywood ending where everything just works out for the protagonist, and that's refreshing.

I'll agree with your other point, but again, that was a problem with editing, not writing or directing.

It *was* a typical Hollywood ending. Seems like at least twice a year some ateur decides to release a movie that would have been much improved if the last 5 minutes of it were cut out.

The movie spent it's entire running time establishing that nobody is safe. Homes were filled with mummified corpses, unidentifiable creatures were stalking the shadows, how did that one woman manage to make it through the fog at the height of disorder and confusion??

The editing was bad, but the original Stephen King story ends at the point where the group initially drives into the fog. The movie would have been better if it ended just 3 minutes before it did instead of trying to go for the gut punch.

 

[JMac85]

*snip*

It'd be the typical Hollywood ending if that woman was the protagonist, sure. But we don't know what set of circumstances lead to her rescue. For all we know when she ran off she could have happened on some Army guys in a Humvee right away. A bit anti-climatic, if shown.

Basically, The Mist is: Shit happens, the end! It's cynical, it's depressing, and it's senseless. That's why I feel it works so well. We're experiencing a horror movie through the POV of one of the poor bastards who doesn't make it. Imagine if there were a version of Pan's Labyrinth where those two farmers were the main characters. It's fascist Spain, you're poor, you're out hunting rabbits with your son. Some point earlier a young man handed you a pamphlet of communist literature. You're illiterate, but you accept it to be polite and nonchalantly stuff it into your bag. You and your son then get picks up by some high ranking twat of Franco's douchebag patrol and everything goes to hell. He smashes your son's face in with a bottle and shoots you in the head. The End.

 

[mjharper]

I liked the film, I liked the ending. Wasn't aware there was a b/w version, so I'll have to see if I can find that.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Not a bad movie. Horrendously stupid ending. "Dad, don't let the monsters eat me." "Okay, I'll shoot you instead." Bad comedy. Look on Youtube for an alternative ending.

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.

Also considering the military was like 2 minutes away from them at the time, how come Tomas Jane didn't drive past them when the car was still running? I mean, the military comes up from behind the car, right? What were they like hiding all those armored vehicles in the bushes, and then suddenly jumped out once they rode by?

Yeah, it's a dumb ending, but then a lot about the movie is dumb. People seemed to get emotional and crazy at random just to add tension. Like that one mechanic guy, who suddenly turns homicidal zealot just because he sees a big demonic spider, eventhough he saw big demonic flies and birds not too long ago and it didn't phase him at all.

And then there's the utterly ridiculous scene where they see a giant tentacle rip a clerk apart, the first reveal that monsters hide in the mist... and the very next thing that's spoken is 'Hey man, sorry I didn't believe you, but you should've just explained better'.

 

[Gerishnakov]

The movie doesn't make me cry; more stare wide eyed in something akin to horror for the duration.

 

[senordesol]

I loved the ending (especially the rendition of Host of Seraphim as they were driving through the Mist.

I will acknowledge that they jumped to 'blast our brains out' a little *too* quickly. Maybe if they could establish that some particularly horrific death was barreling down at them; that the 'easy way out' was clearly the better option would have made it more effective (I mean the military does show up literally seconds later, maybe all the noise and stuff from that would sell that impression).

 

[zombiejoe]

I love this movie, and I love the ending. Didn't cry at it, but I think it's a conclusion with real punch.

 

[Kuredan]

I haven't seen the movie, but I have read just about all of Lovecraft, and the allusions in the article definitely strike the right chord with me. The "existential dread" is a universal constant in Lovecraft's world and it is only our ignorance of the universe that allows us a normal life.

He writes "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age"

If the synopsis is accurate, it begins in the ignorance of normal life, has the characters confront a new terrifying reality, and either go mad or devolve to primitive instincts.

What makes Lovecraft's take on existential dread so chilling is that his universe is one that is entirely uncaring towards us, who sees us as motes of nothing in a dark and dangerous world.

That's why (it seems) like that ending has such a gut punch. All that effort and terror for no reason. The universe goes on, uncaring in the face of personal tragedy and that's the real horror: our meaning and importance and all the associated actions are not recognized by the universe and the horrors will keep happening no matter how many well wishes, good feelings and senses of poetic justice we throw at it.

 

[x EvilErmine x]

Meh it was ok, it was good at building atmosphere and tension, and it almost made it the whole way way without loosing that claustrophobic 'oh no where's the monster...is it going to attack?!...we are so boned' feel but then once they get out of the store it just turned into half life 2. (think strides and bullsquid)

IMO the ending was the worst part, which by the way I totally called. Just after he shoots everyone in the car and is sat there looking all angsty and guilt ridden I remember saying to my friend who i was watching it with 'I bet someone comes and knocks on the window and asks him if he's ok in a minut or something, and it'll turn out that he shot everyone for no reason' when the army showed up I laughed so hard that the other people in the cinema gave me funny looks.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

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

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.

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.

From IMDB Trivia:

Frank Darabont's "controversial" ending actually comes directly from Stephen King's source material. Written in first-person, David entertains this notion in his mind as a distant possibility, noting there are three bullets and four people (Dan Miller doesn't make it to the car in the novella), but he ends his journal and leaves it in a restaurant the survivors have sought refuge in before the car runs out of gas. Darabont felt this ending was too ambiguous and wrote the story to its finite climax, and ending that Darabont says in the DVD commentary was endorsed by King as the ending King wished he would have thought of.

So although not directly King, it was definitely something he alluded to in the book. And it does fit with the usual levels of sick humour found elsewhere in the multiverse!

It definitely left me stunned. I like how Steven King writes. He comes up with an absurd, yet well written scenario, but then focuses on the people involved. Their interactions, the best and worst of their personalities and their inherant flaws. Addicting stuff!

 

[RTR]

This is one of my favorite movies of all time, and that jaw-dropping ending is part of the reason why. I've never felt more satisfied to have a movie kick my ass.

 

[Elijah Newton]

"He doesn't want to live, neigh, he CAN'T live with what he's just done."

So he became a horse?

Probably meant, 'nay'.

Also, watching that trailer - not only made by Frank D, but did I just see Andrea from the Walking Dead? (*checks imdb*) Yep! ( http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0390229/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t13 )