Wow. I'm not sure what to say or think about this film. I don't know if I should be sad or angry, or even confused. I'm somewhat speechless. The Mist is a 2007 film directed by Frank Darabont, which takes place in a small town that is enveloped in a mysterious and terrifying thick mist/fog. The Mist is an adaptation of Stephen King's book also named The mist. This film has strong religious themes and an undertone of political beliefs. This film is a rollercoaster of fear, anger, sadness, and terror. It's ending is also one you can't forget (or accept). The first thing I noticed about this film is the use of shaky cam. Shaky cam is where the photographer gives the illusion of a hand held camera and similar movements rather than being steady and smooth like most films. An example of this is film the Blair Witch Project. I think the use of shaky cam is perfect for capturing the characters emotions as it enhances their fear and tension, as well as the unknowingness of the mist. In Brian's commentary he says "the movie is about instability" and I think this relates well to the use of shaky cam. Another visual element I noticed and thought about was the unclear and foggy color white of the mist. Of course fog and mist are white, but that's not my point. what I saw was the use of white to portray pureness, light, and hope. On one hand, the use of white representing pureness, light, and hope works well with the idea of religion, because typically religion is a light and pleasant thing for people, and also provides hope for them. But on the other hand, my idea of religion and white is contradicted, as all of my descriptive works, pureness, light, and hope are things that are declining very rapidly in the characters as the film progresses. These definitions of white in this film are like flipping a coin, and as times it is easy to see, while it may also be difficult to notice. The fogginess and unclear, not-see-through color of the mist also plays well with the feeling of fear, because no one really knows what's out there, especially after the first encounter with a monster. In Nick Schager's interview with Darabont for Yahoo Movies, darabont says, "Even in The Mist, the monsters outside are only the context for the monsters who are your friends and neighbors, who you really have to worry about." When I read this, it definitely changed my mind on how I felt about the characters in relation to the monsters. At first I believed that the monsters were truly what the religious woman, Mrs. Carmody, was preaching about before the end of days. But when I read that, and rethought about it, it made perfect sense that Darabont used monsters rather than human-like figures in King's novel, because it really does exemplify how humans can be monsters, even the ones you know and trust, like when Private Jessup is blamed and used as a human sacrifice, and is locked out of the store. This film obviously is full of fear, both in the viewers and especially the characters. I think that for a 2007 scary film, where there is a plethora of different types of fearful and slasher plots, the mist really stands out. In darabonts interview with John Patterson for theguardian.com, darabont explains, "It's what I call the Lord of the Flies paradigm: you put people into a pressure-cooker of fear and terror, you shake 'em up and you see what they do. Do they start to work together, or do they start to descend into unreason and savagery and superstition?" I found this interesting, because I think this is evident not only in the trapped characters in the store, but also somewhat in people viewing this in a movie theater. Many people are together in a big, but small when full room, and many of them are feeling the same feeling: fear. OF course people seeing a movie in a movie theater can leave safely, it relates to the people in the store, but if they leave, there's a negative, terrifying consequence.
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