The Mist

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Fear reigns in so-so Stephen King monster flick.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this Stephen King-inspired horror film features monsters (who proceed to rip up bodies), unseen threats, and bloody injuries and deaths. People use axes and guns against the monsters and also hurt each other (shooting, hitting, stabbing). There's intense suspense that could make younger kids very anxious, as well as several suicides -- and the final scene is especially upsetting. One scene shows cigarette smoking, and a few characters get visibly drunk. Language includes multiple uses of "f--k," plus other profanity.

  • Characters have a range of responses to the mist/monsters, including nobility, selfishness, fear, and courageousness. Teachers and parents are brave, a militantly religious woman rouses the crowd to blame and attack others.
  • Lots of bloody violence, most committed by monsters against humans (the reptilian, buggy, dinosaur-like baddies are fond of ripping victims' guts out and faces off). Man with bloody face describes scary encounter, causing a young boy to cry and go into shock. Several scenes show parents holding frightened children. Young man is dragged out a door, screaming and fearful, bloodied and wounded during the process. Man on fire later appears badly burned. Man is cut in half, his bloody legs and entrails left behind. Monster spiders wrap victims in webs; one body breaks open to let loose cascades of creepy baby spiders. Man stabs another repeatedly. Suicide victims (hanging). Woman urges crowd to deliver a horrified victim to the monsters. Woman bitten by a giant bug swells up horrifically before she dies. Weapons wielded by humans -- against each other and the monsters -- include axe, gun, and fire (torches and aerosol can). A couple of alarming shooting scenes resulting in bloody injuries, splatter, and upsetting deaths.
  • Brief cleavage shot. Brief kissing between designated cute young couple, in close-up.
  • Includes several uses of "f--k" (some with "mother"), lots of "s--t"s and fewer instances of "ass," "hell," "bitch" (with "son of a"), and anatomically inspired expletives ("c--ksucker," "p---y").
  • Assorted products visible in the grocery store, including Budweiser beer and Snyder's pretzels, as well as generic cans and paper.
  • Soldier smokes a cigarette, indicating his worry. Addled mechanics drink beer and get visibly drunk.

What's the story?

THE MIST begins with a conflict between neighbors in Castle Rock, Maine. Following a raucous storm, neighbors David (Thomas Jane) and (Andre Braugher), who share a troubled past, agree to head into town together for supplies. At the store, they face more immediate danger, and their tenuous alliance breaks down. Dan (Jeffrey DeMunn) arrives bloody-nosed and stunned, announcing, "There's something in the mist!" The camera turns to show the scary, opaque wall rolling in. It brings monsters -- tentacled, big-jawed, and prone to ripping people apart. Afraid of what they can't see, the trapped shoppers begin to blame each other, looking for order in end-of-days pronouncements (courtesy of a local fundamentalist played by Marcia Gay Harden) or in secret experiments conducted at a nearby military base. Tensions rise and paranoia grows as the confined characters argue, plan, and worry about their homes and families. David reluctantly takes charge of one group of survivors, but he's got his work cut out for him as more and more terrified individuals make bad choices and turn on one another.


Is it any good?

 

The Mist's moral and physical geographies are familiar, if excessively literal. Divisions occur between inside and outside, good and deranged. David's choices at each moment are shaped by his belief in what he sees and his distrust of other people's rationalizations. He's the film's most reliable guide, showing how fear makes populations strangely obedient, willing to accept any explanation that exonerates them and blames someone else. Though The Mist indicts blind belief (and features a stunning ending that differs from Stephen King's source novella), it remains burdened by generic clichés.


What families can talk about

Families can talk about how people respond to being scared. Why do you think the characters react the way they do? How do you think you'd react in a high-stress situation? And, speaking of being scared, why do you think people are drawn to scary movies? What's the appeal of being frightened in the theater? What's scarier -- threats you can see, or those you can't? Why?


This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
Teen, 15 years old
May 27, 2011
 
A unique, and chilling creature feature.
Although it's quite far-fetched, The Mist is a movie that won't allow you to take your eyes off of the screen. The people in the grocery store fear the beings in the mist, but they're also afraid of who they can trust among the citizens trapped. Teens that don't mind gore and are not grossed out by insects will be able to watch this. 14+ for creature violence and gore, disturbing images and terror, strong language, and some alcohol and cigarette use.

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Adult
July 18, 2009
 
This movie is simply not for kids but I think that adults and teenagers will not be bored by any of the scary, violent, and obscene moments that happen throughout it.

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Kid, 12 years old
May 13, 2011
 
The endings nice. :)
THE ENDING WAS HEARTFELT AND IT GAVE ME A SEIZURE FROM THE CUTENESS ;o GUYHJUHY54ERTFY

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Teen, 17 years old
October 23, 2009
 
Dispite what you other people say
You may have noticed how many negative points I gave it, and one positive. Well it’s true. This movie I feel is not so much about fear; it’s more about the horror inside human beings being fueled by fear. The people in this movie do a “Lord of the Flies”, turning from normal everyday people to savage, violent, monsters. The movie starts out after a storm. A father and his son go into town to buy some groceries, when a mysterious mist sweeps through, heavier than in Silent Hill (videogame). The movie was meant to be scary from the excessive gore. At one point, you see half of a severed body, and a person that still alive when insects burst from inside and start to eat him. I don’t think that’s what made the movie scary; I mean sure, being fourteen and seeing this gore wasn’t exactly a walk in the park for me. But what really made me terrified was the way the people acted in this movie and their choices. This yet again points to lord of the flies, take away civilized influence, (but in this case inject in fear in the mixture), and people fall apart, following anyone who promises salvation, no matter how insane they are. The ending also made my mouth drop open. M’ not going to tell you what it was, but it wasn’t “and they lived happily ever after”. I think this movie is worth watching at least once.

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Educator
December 6, 2008
 
great movie

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Teen, 16 years old
August 10, 2009
 
Movie is pretty good throughout except for the ending. kinda ruins it. except tells to never give up. pretty scary. the monsters are not, but there is one lady who makes a couple scenes pretty scary. at least for me. pretty bloddy. matters how your kids can take scry movies. i would say a mature 13 year old could see it and a less mature starting at about age 16

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Teen, 17 years old
April 19, 2009
 
Cheesy but in a fun way!
the special effects in the movie were cheesy but its a very fun movie for teens to watch with friends

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Teen, 16 years old
January 9, 2010
 

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Adult
November 11, 2009
 
Great for kids 14+ up, make sure to point out the morals
This was a great film, I see that many of the reviews on this say that the ending was terrible, i would have to disagree. In the end a old couple a man and his son and girlfriend are escaping the city in their car only to run out of gas surrounded with monsters. Everyone believes that they are going to be killed slowly from the inside out as a man did earlier in the movie so he uses the four last bullets to kill (with consent) them. After killing his son and girlfriend he leaves the safety of his car to die at the hands of the monsters. Second later military vehicles roll past with soldiers. The moral people of the story that many people have seamed to miss is to never give up, even if only thing that awaits you is death.

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Teen, 16 years old
August 3, 2009
 
SUCKY ENDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WTF?!? Lol, JK. But seriously, the ending sucked.

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This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
Studio:Dimension
Director:Frank Darabont
Cast:Andre Braugher, Marcia Gay Harden, Thomas Jane
Genre:Horror
Run time:119 minutes
Theatrical release date:November 21, 2007
DVD release date:March 24, 2008
MPAA rating:R
MPAA explanation:violence, terror and gore, and language.

This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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