Welcome to a new year

its a new year that isn't stating off like i had hoped... Lord give me strength.

in any case heres a rough draft of my evaluation paper.

The Mist

The movie begins with a storm while David Drayton (Thomas Jane) is in a room painting several posters, he is interrupted when the power turns off and is forced to go to the basement with his family until the storm passes. In the morning it is discovered power lines have been knocked down along with trees and various other structures. David along with his son and next door neighborhood Brent Norton (Andre Braugher) head off to buy food and supplies from the local market. While there the place becomes surrounded by mist. Frank Darabont writer and director manages to show the proper way horror should be done.

The Mist starts off with an opening that has been used in almost all horror movies to date. This movie however leaves behind all cliche elements at the start of the movie and distinguishes itself among a plethora of badly done horror movies. It takes the audience on an emotional and horrific ride and leaves one pondering the ending for days.

According to IMDB.com Frank Darabont has directed several other adaptations of various Stephen King novels, which include the “Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile”. He uses his past experience to perfect his skill in creating a tense atmosphere. Even though a storm has been overdone the director uses it at the beginning of this film to immediately make the audience uneasy. He takes it a step further and introduces a loud siren, just as the market is surrounded by the mysterious mist while the locales watch in fright.

Most scares in this film come from the visual imagery and common fears that the director uses to prey on his audience. The mist itself providing one of the most common that being the fear of the unknown, and reinforces this fear with echoing screams that emanate form the mysterious thick cloud. As well as several panicked pedestrians who run into the market screaming that something is out there. Although the setting is a large market it is filled with several dozen people and will give the viewer a sense of claustrophobia.

Images are used to shock the audience into fear several scenes give a perfect example of this such as man screaming as hes dragged of into the mist by an unknown creature, as well as a scene that shows a bus full of dead schoolchildren covered in cob webs. The cob webs help to instill a fear of the giant spiders that roam around the mist, or any other bug for that matter. A scene where several soldiers commit suicide because the situation seems hopeless. As well as a scene where a man discovers his wife has been brutally killed by one of the creatures.

All the visual images in the world would have fallen flat if it were not for the terrific actors the director cast for the film to offer a deep sense of realism, despite the fact the movie includes other worldly creatures that roam around in the mist. Although the film includes a large cast of characters the director manages get the audience to care about each of the individuals safety. The characters act in a way that most viewers can relate to and even see themselves in characters, such as a mother who goes off into the mist in a desperate bid to find her children. As well as David Draytons next door neighbor Brent who refuses to believe that something is in the mist despite obvious proof. Some characters will frustrate the audience such as Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden) the town “crazy”begins to convince people that the mist is the end of days and requires the unbelievers to be sacrificed to it.

According to Imdb.com Director Frank Darabont recruited the crew responsible for filming the drama series “The Shield”. Their expertise in dramatic camera angles would help further atmosphere in the movie as well as the sanity that is slowly getting drained form the characters throughout the film. Audiences will see the obvious differences where at the beginning of the film the characters are well rested and at the near end of the film where the characters look haggard.

Throughout the film the audience only sees a couple locations those being the market and a drug store. Knowing the audiences curiosity at the end of the film the director satisfies us by giving a brief but powerful look at the destruction that has befallen the small town.

The mist offers audiences a sobering outlook on humanity and human. Just like his previous films Director Frank Darabont manages to make every scene intense and captivating and when the end credits roll he will have left the audience speechless and in shock. This is a movie highly recommended.