Random Film of the Week: The Mist

At the helm: Frank Darabont
The players: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones
The year: 2007

Do you like Dawn of the Dead but found that the atmosphere wasn't quite misty enough? In addition, did you wish that the lumbering undead were replaced with otherworldly insects and crustaceans bigger than houses? Well then do I have a film for you!

Frank Darabont's adaptation of the Stephen King horror novella is an exercise in doom narrative. The lonely band of survivors riding out a supernatural disaster are going to meet their end, but when and by what means is entirely unclear. It's also a glimpse into the nature of true evil in dire circumstances and whether or not it rests in the hands of the attacking creatures acting merely according to their nature, or whether humanity is its own worst enemy.

The movie starts out with a thunderstorm that tears through a small town in Maine. After riding out the storm the townspeople, including our main character (Jane) and his young son, head for the local supermarket to stock up on supplies. However, a strange mist envelops the town and convinces the market shoppers to stay inside as they hear the dying screams of pedestrians from a force that they can't yet see.

The Mist begins on a level of B-Horror that I really came to enjoy. Giant tentacles slither their way through an open garage door and snatch the bag boy, tearing him pieces. Giant bugs and bat-things crash through the plate glass windows wreaking havoc. Large spiders with acid webbing cocoon victims and use them as hosts for their spawn. It's messy, disturbing and highly entertaining horror-fare.

However the movie shifts to a more educated perspective as the ravings of a fire-and-brimstone evangelist (Harden) begin to draw the line between saint and sinner, viewing the town's predicament as the end of days. This is where the movie becomes the most intense and it's where it really draws you in. Harden plays the vile character so well that you begin to root for not only her demise, but for anyone else moronic enough to follow her, despite the fact that they are only looking for the best means of survival. Soon it isn't the creatures outside that the rational heroes need to fear, but the madness inside willing to sacrifice them to appease God.

One thing to take from this movie is that being a hero sucks. With maybe an exception or two, throughout this movie, anyone willing to take a step up for the sake of their fellow man meets with a gruesome end. Any heroic deed has bitter consequences that far outweigh the benefits and as more time passes through the movie, it would seem that being a gullible sheep is the best bet for survival.

Which brings us to the ending. We've seen unhappy endings before, but the ending of this movie is such a buzzkill that it risks coming off funny if it wasn't so damn depressing. The ending is hard to justify as good, but it definitely warrants applause for the film makers courage to use it. Like I said before, this movie hates heroes.

Random Film of the Week: The Usual Suspects

At the helm: Bryan Singer
The players: Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Spacey, Benicio Del Toro, Kevin Pollak
The year: 1994

It all starts with a line-up, and you know from the very beginning that one of these five guys is going to screw over the other four. Who could it be, the hard-edged leader with a heart of gold, the grease-monkey angry at the world, the trigger-happy nut job, the Spanglish-speaking smooth operator, or the quiet cripple. It's all about your power of observation, a theme that runs rampant throughout the film.

Bryan Singer's classic mystery taunts it audience, daring them to try and figure out who the villain really is. The villain comes in the form of Keyser Soze, a mythical butcher used as a spook story for criminals everywhere. The police can't exactly prove that he exists, but they can't exactly prove that he doesn't exist either. However, when his name pops up through the grapevine in a drug deal gone bad, the only person with any chance of knowing his identity is a crippled con-man played by Spacey. The film chronicles the story of five well known criminals leading up to their last fateful job together, and the aftermath that ensues.

What I like most about this movie is that it makes you feel involved, you get a brief dossier and sketch of every single character, and you have the opportunity to try and work it all out before the cops on screen do. From the beginning you know what happens. A cloaked figure descends upon one of the main characters and puts two bullets in his head. You see that the figure smokes, speaks clear English, holds his gun at a funny angle, and that his victim recognizes him. From there it's on you to figure it out. But let me say that it's hard to see the truth coming, little things peak you attention, but in the end it's just a distraction for the mind-blowing twist.

The film's got a great cast. Gabriel Byrne, post pea-soup vomit. Stephen Baldwin, about the time he was going batshit crazy, so his role wasn't much of a stretch. Finally Kevin Spacey, who got an Oscar for his role, and a deserved one at that. Spacey really sells the likability of his criminal character.

What kills this movie, as with most whodunits is it's replay value. Once you find out who Keyser Soze really is, it trumps the need for repeat watching, and if it doesn't do that, it at least robs it of its appeal. Not to say that it isn't a great film in its own right, but movies with gimmicks, like a big mystery and reveal, lose steam fast.

All in all though you can't beat some of the classic scenes in this movie, the line-up is probably one of the most ingenious ways of introducing characters and their personalities.