Critical Condition: The Mist

The Mist | Netflix, from Friday

➢ “Stephen King’s 1980 novella about a strange fog that rolls into a small town (providing a shrouded habitat for bloodthirsty creatures) has already been tried on the movie screen in a 2007 adaptation, but creator Christian Torpe has some new ideas meant to turn the story into a 10-episode Walking Dead-type survival of the fittest. A more apt comparison might be Under the Dome, the convoluted CBS summertime series a few years back.” — The Washington Post.

➢ “Probably sensing that the premise of a small Maine town terrorised by a malevolent rolling fog and its concealed abominations isn’t bottomless, The Mist opts for a slow burn and introduces its characters in normal circumstances for at least two-thirds of its opening hour. That’s not the worst of ideas in principle, but in practice, if nobody in the cast initially seems all that likable, interesting, clever or appealing, asking viewers to root for their survival becomes much more difficult.” — The Hollywood Reporter.

➢ “It’s hard to judge where this newer, looser adaptation might progress from just the first hour, but … The Mist could be a satisfyingly complex chiller, scaring viewers not just with unexpected jumps and amped-up creepy crawlies, but with the more human monsters who are all trapped together inside, waiting out the weather.” — The Atlantic.

➢ “The Mist comes with a serious lack of comic relief — characters make cracks, but they are on the whole more bitter than funny. Still, it is a well-made, if somewhat dour, creep show that delivers the shocks and awfulness you would be watching for in the first place and manages some decent dialogue in between.” — The Los Angeles Times.

➢ “None of the horror scenes are constructed to evoke any sense of suspense. There are a few jump scares, but even timid viewers who hide behind their hands during PG-13 movies (perhaps this critic) have nothing to worry about here. It’s cartoonish when it’s not ethically gross–and sometimes it’s both.” — IndieWire.