Frank Darabont
The Mist

If Stephen King hadn't taken refuge in writing, he would probably be rotting in a psychiatric clinic by now! Sometimes the line between genius and madness is really very thin. This madman writes a story about mist and makes millions of dollars from author rights, especially for the movie adaptations (at this point, I think he is more genius than mad). This latest "The Mist" is the adaptation of a story contained in the collection "Skeleton Crew", and on a conceptual level, it is simply formidable and macabrely realistic.  What tends to disturb the viewer (or the reader) is not the supernatural content of the story, namely monstrous creatures from another dimension hidden in the mist, but rather humans! Because humans put in extreme conditions are much worse than any alien horror! We are really awful! We are used to comfort, ready-made meals, cell phones, a lit fireplace with a wife pampering us, technology at our fingertips, and "everything ready," we are used to calling the police when the neighbor plays music too loudly or reporting our boss for a slap on the butt. We are good and dear until no one steps on our flower beds. Such a concept is also expressed within the film, in which one of the protagonists says that the church and the facade of well-being only serve to keep us in check and not make us feel like beasts abandoned in chaos on a floating sphere in the void; something is needed to distract us,  but all it takes is a cataclysm or, in this case, the advent of the supernatural to put man on the ropes, bringing him back to his true nature: a ruthless animal with the instinct for survival! This is the real horror of the film (and films like this), to see similar beings kill each other for the survival of the individual.  The aliens are just a pretext of chaos to make us reflect on these elements. 

The film is very well made, an Oscar-worthy sound and a well-developed scenic construction, filled with an increasing rhythm of tension and mystery, as well as a mystical-philosophical component highlighted by the character of the fanatical Catholic, who sees apocalyptic signs of a religious nature in everything that is happening, who are these monsters playing hide and seek in the mist? Rebellious nature? Aliens? Monsters from another dimension? (this is the explanation from the military in the film) or are they really divine beings descended to earth to punish us? Is the fanatical preacher just crazy, or is she telling the truth? She would seem off her rocker, naturally ending up killed by us humans, yet... the flying insect stands in front of her without killing her... why is that? Is there something religious in these beings? Or maybe the insect was already full? What is known is that these ordinary citizens, trapped in the supermarket due to force majeure, find themselves fighting more among themselves than with the monsters, the key line of the film is "try putting two individuals in a room... they will surely find a reason to kill each other," a line that encapsulates the meaning of life: we are animals!  Nothing less than those giant insects that feed on us to survive. No difference. We invented consciousness... but does it really exist? We can ponder this after seeing the brilliant ending, where for once not everyone lives happily ever after. A father does everything to protect his son... but in the end, he shoots him in the head and then tries to kill himself...  this is the theory of "as long as everything is fine, we are citizens with good values, but if we are cornered, we commit suicide because we don't want to suffer" what honestly unsettles me more is human nature than that of insects, which don't have this strange consciousness and go around eating, pooping, and sleeping (but I know that even the scorpion stings itself when cornered, a coward like us!!). 

A "sui generis" film (there's a bit of everything) that makes you think, and at the same time is technically of good quality, the CGI effects are not excessive and are not annoying, lots of acting and few computerized virtuosity. The only flaw... the final crying of the protagonist...  among the most forced and embarrassing cries ever done by an actor!

Not a masterpiece but certainly very interesting for its story and technical execution. To watch during a cataclysm.