DVD Review: The Mist Blu-Ray
Written by: Dominick at 9:33 pm
Movie Info:
Writer: Frank Darabont , Stephen King (story)
Director: Frank Darabont
Cast: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, Frances Sternhagen, Nathan Gamble, Alexa Davalos, Chris Owen, Sam Witwer
Rating: R
Studio: Weinstein Company
Release Info:
Theatrical Release: November 21, 2007
DVD Release Date: September 16, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $23.95
Back in March, Ashtyn did the review for the standard release of The Mist. I had watched this movie with her and I liked it then. I’m a fan of anything Stephen King oriented. If the screenplay is written by him or if the story is based on one of his works, then I’m probably going to check out the movie or TV miniseries at least once. I’ve seen everything from the good (such as Carrie and Firestarter) to the bad (Dreamcatcher anyone? It was an excellent book, but a rotten movie). What I’ve come to realize is that, overall, Stephen King has such a twisted mind, if his work is represented well in film form then the film will be amazing.
The Mist wasn’t just an exceptional film. It’s one of those jaw droppers that leaves you reeling well after the credits roll. I didn’t see the ending coming. It was a complete shock and yet it made absolute sense. Stephen King is a serious mofo. He loves to play with the human mind, that much is clear in most of his work, but especially in The Mist. While King didn’t write the screenplay to this movie, Frank Darabont follows the plot of King’s story almost exclusively.
The Mist is truly a gem amongst a horror genre that has a dwindling amount of entertaining content. While The Mist isn’t gore-filled (though there are some gross moments in relation to the mist-filled creatures), the real horror is in the desperation felt (you could actually see yourself reacting the same way as the characters do) by those trapped in the supermarket, especially when it is clear what they’re up against.
While I thought the movie had a few moments where it felt like a TV drama (some of the acting was a bit too melodrama for me), there were some standout performances. By the end, Thomas Jane had made me a fan of his work. As for Marcia Gay Harden, I wanted to do exactly what Ollie Weeks did to her character, because she was so believably frightening as the obsessed “Christian prophetess”. I know people that could act like that during a tragedy. It’s not a pretty thing!
Still, it is Darabont’s overall vision and attention to detail, as well as his loyalty to the excellent foundation King has already set up that makes this a success. Put a movie like this in the best visual and audio qualities available and you’ve got yourself more than a hit. You have a classic in the making.
The Mist Plot
After a severe storm the night before causes trees to fall and litters debris around a coastal Maine town, the inhabitants of the town, some of whom are summer owners, head to the nearby supermarket to stock up on storm supplies. One of those people is local artist, David Drayton (Thomas Jane). David’s art studio has been wrecked by a falling tree. It slammed through the window, destroying his latest painting.
His next door neighbor, summer owner, Brent Norton (Andre Braugher) had his expensive car crushed by a tree. Another tree on his property has also destroyed the Drayton’s boat house. Norton and the Draytons are not exactly neighborly with one another. The animosity is clear between the two, and it is later revealed that Norton lost a major property dispute to the Draytons. Nevertheless, David agrees to be neighborly and take Brent to the store with him. The two are accompanied by David’s young son, Billy (Nathan Gamble) while David’s wife, Stephanie (Kelly Collins Lintz) stays home.
When the three get to the supermarket, there is pandemonium and the power is out because the power from the backup generator is being conserved. Within a matter of minutes, everyone is trapped inside the supermarket. A thick mist has surrounded the store and a local man, Dan Miller (Jeffrey DeMunn), has run into the store. He’s cut up and bloody, warning of something dangerous out in the mist. With those in charge of the store working to try and get things under control, they ask everyone to stay where they are until something is figured out.
A woman emerges from the crowd adamant about leaving. She has left her eight year old daughter home and she is supposed to be watching her little brother. The woman (Melissa McBride) begs some of the men in the store to walk her home, but everyone is afraid of what Dan says is in the mist. After imploring for David to walk her home (he says he has his own son to worry about), the woman heads out into the mist…alone.
Throughout the pandemonium, a solitary figure begins to speak in jibberish. This is Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden). Mrs. Carmody is seen as a borderline schizophrenic around town. She’s obsessed with a vengeful and angry God and has decided all non-believers are headed to hell. This is Armageddon and ‘his word’ has to be preached to potentially save the dirty souls of the non-believers. While, initially, Mrs. Carmody is seen and treated as a crackpot, as people die from going out in the mist, as Mrs. Carmody said they would (yeah, no crap lady – there are monsters out there!) she soon develops a following of desperate answer-seekers.
In the meantime, a group of men try to figure out why the backup generator has been blocked and is malfunctioning. When David sees something slamming against the steel door, he warns the men not to open it. Not taking him seriously and even being offensive to David, a few of the men send a high school-aged bag boy, Norm (Chris Owen) out to clear the generator pipe. When a huge creature with messed up looking tentacles snatches Norm from the doorway, the men quickly shut it, cutting off a tentacle as proof of the monster. Norm is, of course, gone, but this doesn’t mean that people are going to believe what is going on outside.
When David and the store manager, Ollie Weeks (Toby Jones) try to tell some of the other men out in the store what happened, including Brent Norton, they don’t believe them. In fact, the store owner doesn’t believe it until he sees the tentacle. Nonplussed, Brent and his group of rebels decide they’re going to head out into the mist to get help and possibly supplies. With all of these various groups forming (including one psycho religious cult), a group of soldiers acting somewhat suspicious inside the store, and an unknown threat outside with no idea if or when the mist will clear, the folks in the store begin to go stir crazy. Of course, that means pretty much anything could happen!
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting: 
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
Just like the Two-Disc Collector’s Edition of The Mist, the Blu-Ray version offers the standard color and the director’s preference black and white version. The main transfer of the movie is a 1.85:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen transfer with a 1080p resolution. The quality far surpasses what I saw in the standard DVD transfer. This transfer is rockin! While this movie was originally made on a shoestring budget, the quality is absolutely stunning. While there are minor saturation issues, especially in relation to flesh tones and the overall tint of the picture, this is a minor problem I probably wouldn’t have noticed had I been looking for it. This is only a brief problem. Most of the movie looks absolutely spectacular!
When I think of a Blu-Ray transfer, I think, “I want to be transferred to a movie theater while in my living room.” That’s the kind of quality I’m looking for, when I’m reviewing Blu-Ray movies. While watching The Mist I could imagine myself watching it in the theater. The overall theater experience and quality was able to be transferred near to perfection with the color release of the film. Throughout the majority of the movie, colors are vibrant, every little detail is visible (Ash pointed out how intricately detailed the film was when we could read fine print on cans in the store or objects in the background throughout the movie, as well as see every little line on the monster insects!), the monsters look terrifyingly realistic and the contrast is excellent.
While I was able to notice a few more problems with the black and white, I recommend watching this version as well as the color. I love black and white movies and in a horror film it just heightens the scare factor of this movie. Visually, minor instances of dirt and grain are present as is the occasional compression error. Still, this isn’t going to be distracting. This version is well worth the watch, especially if you’re a horror fan. This is Darabont’s vision for the film, as he wished to only do the black and white version originally. So, that should be enough to make fans clamor for a chance to see it in black and while.
The main soundtrack available on The Mist Blu-Ray is a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track. One of the most important elements of any horror/thriller film is helping to establish the atmosphere of the movie through dialogue, music, and sound effects. This soundtrack has a realistic, clear tone to it. Everything sounds good and comes through clearly. It’s about as good as being in a theater, especially with the HD sound on my television. I was truly “in the moment” when this movie was in my Blu-Ray player. There is no need to toggle the volume. Everything sounds crisp and comes through loud and clear.
Additionally, there is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track. This is more standard and sounds similar to the track found on the standard DVD. Still, it’s a great, dynamic track. There is also a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track in French. I haven’t listened to this, but I’m sure it’s good! Interestingly enough, subtitles are available in both English and Spanish, though no French subtitle track is anywhere to be found!
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
The Mist Blu-Ray has plenty of bonus features to keep fans of this movie on their toes. The first is, of course, the aforementioned Black and White cut of the movie. This is the same size as the main movie and same run time. It’s just in black and white.
Beyond this, there is a nice selection of bonuses, starting with a commentary. This is with Frank Darabont, the writer/director of the movie as well as Denise Huth, the movie’s producer. This is one of those commentaries you’re going to want to listen to, because Frank Darabont has a lot to say. Darabont talks about the making of the film, filming methods he used, and how he attained the overall “frightening” feel of the film.
This commentary also includes a lot of information on how the effects were achieved from talk of creating the monsters to creating the mist. One of the most fascinating parts of the commentary is when Darabont talks about King. The ending was changed slightly from King’s ending in the novella. King approved Darabont’s ending and Darabont also cites other influences besides King for his overall vision of The Mist.
Moving on, there is a featurette that actually includes Stephen King. This is called “A Conversation With Stephen King And Writer/Director Frank Darabont”. Again Darabont discusses the ending of the movie, only this time King is there to shed some light on his view of the ending in comparison to his own. There is more than just a discussion of the ending though as the two talk a lot about their ideas for The Mist in both a story and movie form, amongst other things.
From there, there are a series of deleted and extended scenes from the movie. Available with optional commentary courtesy of Darabont, there are eight scenes in total. It’s easy to see why most of these were cut as many of them just contained additional exposition.
The typical making of featurette is known as “When Darkness Came: The Making of the Mist”. This is a huge making of feature coming in at well over a half hour in length. You’ll find out more from Darabont, though he will repeat some of the thoughts he’s also included in the commentary. There are interviews with many of the main people involved in making The Mist including members of the cast, crew and Stephen King. There is a look at Darabont’s other bodies of work and how they influenced his vision when making The Mist. The score, set, casting, behind the scene footage, special effects, and a look at the story and character roles is all available here.
“Taming the Beast: The Making of Scene 35″ is the next featurette in the bonus section. This movie is filled with action, so this looks at one of the best action sequences in the film. The preparation and improvisation on the part of both the actors and the director are a part of what made this scene so real.
The visual effects for the creatures is discussed in the next featurette, “Monsters Among Us: A Look at the Creature FX”. This delves into what we saw about the monster creation in previous features and expands to show how the realistic elements to the monsters were formed. With more effects than that (including the creation of the mist), another feature on special effects, “The Horror of it All: The Visual FX of The Mist“, is also present. This also looks at the impact CafeFX had on the movie.
You probably realized the artistic work was not really done by Thomas Jane. It was actually done by a man named Drew Struzan. The next featurette looks at his contribution to this film in, “Drew Struzan: An Appreciation of an Artist”. There are a series of webisodes that can be watched. These look at the making of the scenes “Burn Man”, “Earthquake” and “Franny, the Flamethrower”. From there, the only remaining bonuses are trailers for The Mist.
All in all, this is one of the most extensive set of features I’ve seen for a film!
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
The Mist is not only an excellent movie, it looks absolutely stunning in Blu-Ray. If you’re a fan of this movie and have access to a Blu-Ray player, you’re going to want to upgrade to The Mist Blu-Ray. While most of the same bonus features are included in the standard two-disc edition of the movie, the sound and audio quality of The Mist in Blu-Ray far surpass what could ever be available on a standard definition release. This is truly what Blu-Ray is all about!
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: The Mist, DVD Review, Blu-Ray, Stephen King, horror, Frank Darabont, Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, monsters
---------------------
Written by Dominick - Visit Website
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dominick Evans is in his late 20's. He spends his days working as a full time writer/editor and a part time musician/composer. His passions in life include music, directing films, watching movies, reading books, watching sports, wheelchair football, politics and spending time with his family (fiancée Ashtyn, son Robert, and shih-tzu Oliver). Other interests include being an advocate for the disability and GLBT communities.
