I Read That Movie: The Mist

I  read that movie is a feature where we compare movies or TV series, and the books they're based on.

The Mist by Stephen King

Title: The Mist by Stephen King

Publisher: Signet

Publishing Date: 1980

Pages: 230

Length of Audio: 5 Hours and 19 Minutes

Genre: Horror Fantasy

Series:  Standalone

Source: Audio

  

It's a hot, lazy day, perfect for a cookout, until you see those strange dark clouds. Suddenly a violent storm sweeps across the lake and ends as abruptly and unexpectedly as it had begun. Then comes the mist...creeping slowly, inexorably into town, where it settles and waits, trapping you in the supermarket with dozens of others, cut off from your families and the world. The mist is alive, seething with unearthly sounds and movements. What unleashed this terror? Was it the Arrowhead Project---the top secret government operation that everyone has noticed but no one quite understands? And what happens when the provisions have run out and you're forced to make your escape, edging blindly through the dim light?

Mini review:

What made me read this book: 

I had been wanting to read a Stephen King book for a long while, and I had watched the TV show. Plus this book is one of his shortest.

What did I like the most: 

The whole thing of the mist is very scary. That creatures come out of it and that they're stuck? I think it's most people's worst nightmares.

Of course the book is written really well, I don't think we can expect less from Stephen King. 

I mostly liked the main character, he seemed to be doing what he could to protect his son and help everyone.

What didn't I like: 

There was a few things. the narrator seemed a little dry. He talked kind of monotone.

There was a scene in the book, where *Sorry spoilers* the main character sleeps with another woman. And I feel like it was so unnecessary. 

Release Date: November 21st, 2007

Cast: Thomas Jane, Laurie Holden, Marcia Gay Harden
Length: 2 Hours and 6 Minutes

Series: Standalone

A freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.

Mini Review:
A pretty good movie, it had me on the edge of my seat and feeling heebie jeebies. 2 stars because of the ending.

Let's compare:

Did I see the movie or read the book first?
Read the book. But I saw the TV show first.

Like the movie or the book better?
I think the movie better, just because with a lot of horror books it's easier to just watch them and feel than reading them. It's not as scary to read them, to me.

How does it compare?
Actually for the most part it's pretty close. I mean there are a few little things that are different. But all the big things are the same.

Do the actors match the characters in the book?
I think so. I didn't really picture many of the characters, except Amanda. He talked about her green eyes, and for some reason I pictured Laurie anyway. I can tell you I pictured Mrs. Carmody as an old lady.

Major differences?
The only MAJOR difference is the ending. The book ending is pretty positive, so it seems.

The movie ending... is heartbreaking and completely awful and kind of left me really angry.

What about the TV show?
The tv show is almost 100% different. The show is really really good. But don't go into it thinking it's going to be anything like the book or movie. The only thing the same is it has crazy mist.

Fun Facts?
Jeffrey DeMunn, Melissa McBride, Laurie Holden, Juan Gabriel Pareja, Cheri Dvorak, Sam Witwer, and Tiffany Morgan are all in The Walking Dead (2010), adapted to TV by Frank Darabont.

In the opening shot of the film, David is painting in his room. The picture he's drawing is a design from Stephen King's Dark Tower series of the gunslinger Roland, a Clint Eastwood-like character living in a Middle-Earth-like world. Another design in the room is that of the poster of John Carpenter's The Thing (1982). Carpenter also wrote and directed The Fog (1980), which shares obvious themes with The Mist, as well as Christine (1983), an adaptation of a Stephen King novel.