I have mentioned before that since becoming a dad several years back I have found myself changed when watching media. Stephen King's "The Mist" pricked my fatherly nerve quickly and often.This suspenseful and tragic tale follows a father and son in a small Northeastern town suddenly crippled by a mysterious mist. A eclectic band representing a cross-cut of culture (the artist, the blue collar mechanic, gnarled Harley rider, teacher, lawyer, military man and religious nut job) is trapped inside the local A&P as this mist descends and begins its devastation. Suspense and drama abound as various plans are hatched to escape from their progressively desperate position. The religious nut spouts Jim Jones-type theology, a weird hybrid of the Old Testament and Revelation sans Jesus, getting scores of followers as the tale moves on. Eventually stirring the crowd to scream for "expiation" to calm the beast.
"The Mist" explores the heights and depths of the human condition under great duress, but in all this lies what many critics have called "one of the most daring endings in recent history". This ending has stuck with me almost a day later and mainly for its darkness and virtual nihilistic approach. While I understand the actions of the heroes, it is nonetheless pessimistic and depressing.
2 comments:
wow, I wonder by they changed the ending so much (from the book; in the book they drive off knowing that the Mist has gone on before them; but there's not suicide pact). that is depressing; and pretty f'ed up.
What about the Beowulf ...what gives.
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