The Mist
Out of context: Reply #71
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- harlequino0
Just saw this last night. Was really digging the nifty spin on monster movies (and fast fuckin forwarded through that spider sequence, GAGHH!!!), up until the real build up of evengelicals vs. normals. A little overdrawn on dialogue and "guess what, audience - i DO have something to say as a filmmaker" exposition.
Was digging the ending too, with the DCD music and all, and that kickass Cthulhu creature you get to see. Ok but then, pop pop pop, they're dead. And the army rolls up. And you have the "gotcha" grim ending. It's been bugging me. And I got to say I hated that, and agree with the other thoughts here that it would have been better to end with him alone in the mist. And I think here's why:
In horror movies, and especially monster movies, people get what they deserve. That's part of the subtext and purpose of the genre. That is, unless you're talking about something like "Funny Games" where nihilism and self-aware violence is the point. When a main character gets the grim ending, they've usually done something or have some flaw to warrant their fate. I just didn't feel that with this guy. He really was trying everything he could to save his kid and help these people get out. Had he walked off into the mist or been faced by the big monster, and bang that's it, I get that. It's iconic, he's an Omega man, and a sad martyr in a way.
If he DID deserve that fate, then WTF?! Why?? What is the filmmaker saying, that he should have been on his knees praying like those loons back the store? Aside from maybe waiting another hour before everyone puts a bullet in their head, where did this guy go wrong? They rejected fanaticism and mob mentality. He tried to protect people while the lunatics screamed for the blood. He was honest and kept his shit together through the whole thing. And he gets screwed with that ending? With the army showing after he shoots his own son and everyone's looking at him like "what? we've had this under control for a couple hours now."
Anyway, way better horror film than most of the trash out there. I liked it a lot actually, and it gave me some nightmares, but I call bullshit on the ending.
Ok, ridiculously long blog entry over. :/