One of the scariest, grimmest Stephen King adaptations of all time is now streaming free. Frank Darabont’s (Mike Flanagan for millennials, trust me) The Mist is now streaming free on Hulu just in time for Halloween. A King acolyte perennial, Darabont’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novella of the same name has arguably the most depressing movie ending of all time. And, sure, the ending is absolutely, life-alteringly distressing, but luckily, the remainder of the movie is just as solid. In fact, it remains one of the best horror movies of the century, and certainly one of the greatest monster movies of all time. Whether you’ve seen it before or not, it’s worth seeking out on Hulu.
Per Hulu: When a mysterious mist, and the supernatural creatures within, falls across their town in the wake of a violent storm, a group of local citizens must fend for themselves while trapped inside a local supermarket.
In a five-star review of the film at the time—16 years ago, if you can believe it—we called The Mist, “A monster fest with no skimping on the blood flow and six fruity flavors of gore all wrapped around an ultra-realistic tale of human interaction to the nth degree” while adding, “It is nothing short of a remarkable piece of work and, in a world of remakes, is entirely unexpected.” Genuinely, it is one of the greatest Stephen King adaptations of all time, and with new adaptations arriving year after year, The Mist continues to look better in retrospect.
At the time of release, The Mist was additionally a critical and commercial success. Rotten Tomatoes, in a ranking of 65 (wow) different Stephen King adaptations, The Mist landed at number 13, beat principally by some of the most classic adaptations around, including Carrie (at number one) and The Shining (at number eight). I’d put The Mist even higher in my personal ranking, but, yeah—if you’re looking for some bonafide Stephen King, it rarely gets better than The Mist. It’s all the more impressive when you consider how challenging adapting King’s source material must have been. What works on the page doesn’t always work on the screen, though Darabont managed to show just enough without shattering the illusion entirely.
What do you think? Where does The Mist land for you? How does it compare to other Stephen King adaptations? Most importantly—have you seen it in black-and-white yet? Make sure to check the film out on Hulu, and let me know over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
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