Last October, I read Stephen King’s 1980 novella ‘The Mist‘ for the first time. I thought it was a strong piece, as King’s shorter works often are. It was original, hard-edged, very male, tense and menacing.

After I reviewed it, I was told that it had been made into a movie in 2007 and that, for once, the adaptation was a good one. I let Santa Claus know this and I received the DVD for Christmas. I watched it last night and I was impressed. The cast was very strong with Thomas Jane as David Drayton, from whose perspective the novella was told and (surprisingly but very effectively) with Toby Jones as Olly Weeks, the quiet man everyone underestimates but who has what it takes in a crisis. Marcia Gay Harden did a great job of making the unhinged and dangerous religious zealot, Mrs Carmody, credible and scary. The supporting cast were all faces I recognised and everyone gave it their best.

The script stayed close to the novella’s plot except for the ending, which I loved in the book but which wouldn’t have worked in a movie. The ending they went with was startling: tough, unexpected and very appropriate. It made this tense tale even darker.

I recommend this one to any horror fan looking for something different from the normal Creature Feature. Take a look at the trailer below and see if it’s for you.