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Hope, Darabont and King

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Mark Kermode | 15:43 UK time, Thursday, 26 June 2008

Frankie D and Stevie K dump their old friend Hope in 'The Mist'.

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  • 1. At 7:19pm on 26 Jun 2008, duncanmccurdie wrote:

    It sounds like my hope and prayers about this film have been answered, Hallelujah, bless Frank Darabont.

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  • 2. At 1:48pm on 27 Jun 2008, cineshaun wrote:

    I've been waiting for this film to be released in the UK for ages, ever since I heard a review on 'Flimspotting'.

    So when is this film at the cinema?

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  • 3. At 5:10pm on 27 Jun 2008, notanotherdrugstore wrote:

    I watched the US DVD of this and it's a real gut punch of an ending. It's out on July 20th and. It has the usual Stephen King problems of under-written characters but the horror is scary and violent and it will leave you stunned at the end.

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  • 4. At 04:36am on 01 Jul 2008, Perless wrote:

    Hey Mark, is it true you will regenerate into the 11th doctor (who) this Saturday? :)

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  • 5. At 10:24am on 01 Jul 2008, Takethree wrote:

    It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.

    I suggest you read The Road by Cormac McCarthy it will help you through the pain.

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  • 6. At 5:42pm on 01 Jul 2008, notanotherdrugstore wrote:

    Tell a lie, it's out this Friday. As you where

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  • 7. At 10:03am on 04 Jul 2008, Nootlin wrote:

    This is a terrible movie from an impossible short story. Cheap CGI, badly drawn characters, over-acting, under-acting, you name it. Tag onto that a thouroughly depressing ending for the simple reason that Frank Darabont has been accused of happy ones in the past... There is no hope, I've lost my faith in Frank, it's charity to allow this a big screen release.

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  • 8. At 2:52pm on 04 Jul 2008, jimborae wrote:

    I'd hardly call The Mist a horror film. Supsense thriller maybe but it's no way a horror film....unless of course you're under the age of 12 then you may find it a bit scary.

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  • 9. At 8:06pm on 13 Jul 2008, lanceywilf wrote:

    I saw 'The Mist' last night and the ending IS as desolate as it could possibly be. I defy any parent to not feel a sense of despair. Maybe the film doesn't hang together but for me, it worked.

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  • 10. At 01:42am on 27 Jul 2008, TheConciseStatement wrote:

    The Mist is about hope Mark. It's made me think of Darabont as The Hope Fundamentalist. In Shawshank he rewards his main characters for holding onto it throughout extended suffering. In The Mist, Darabont brutally punishes those who become enraptured in hopelessness. I think of The Mist as Shawshank's evil little brother but their message remains the same - an advocacy for holding onto hope through the most dire circumstances. It's a terrific ending, and I hope Castle Rock don't hold any grudges for making them lose money twice - that poor guy's had a hard enough time trying to go mainstream and being rejected by Lucas and Cruise. He's like the unlucky Paul Haggis.

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  • 11. At 6:41pm on 02 Aug 2008, thedudabides wrote:


    Don't wanna give it away, BUT...The end is realistic. ultra realistic... upsettingly real... this is not escapism.. Things like this are happening all over the world right now, not the creepy monsters, but what happens at the end!!!I can watch movies and forget that the world is a mess, families are being devistated, people are left alone etc... im saying too much!!

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  • 12. At 11:44pm on 08 Aug 2008, fung00 wrote:

    I actually joined just to warn people off this film. Kermode must have been feeling awfully jolly the day he saw it, to be so forgiving. True, it's got some style; but that's just not enough. The situation is promising: a bunch of regular people trapped in a supermarket by horrible creatures, and forced to get along in order to survive. But characters persist in acting with total disregard for logic; for example, they bed down in blissful slumber, *knowing* full well that others are about to come for them at any moment. (The term "idiot plot" was invented just for The Mist.) The ending is merely the capper: not so much depressing, or clever, or even mildly interesting, as utterly pointless. It essentially slaps you in the face and says: "There! Now wasn't THAT a waste of two hours?"

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  • 13. At 10:43pm on 19 Aug 2008, Mr_Duff wrote:

    I really wanted to see this in th UK, but struggled to find a cinema where it was on... Admittedly I was away for the first couple of weeks, but all the same.

    I really want to see it still so will probably end up buying it on DVD on the basis of Mark's review here and on Radio 5.

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