I didn't find the movie ending very believable

[snagswolf]

*** spoilers for The Mist (movie) follow ***

A decision like that wouldn't be made lightly, and I really don't think it would be carried out so quickly. They weren't really desperate yet, since there weren't any creatures attacking them at the moment.

If it was your son's life, wouldn't you wait until the last possible moment to take that action? Hoping that something would happen to make it not necessary?

Plus, if they were running out of gas, why didn't they just siphon gas from all the abandoned vehicles they were passing?

The ending disturbed me, but only because I found the actions of the characters frustrating.

[karcreat2]

Same here, I must agree.

In fact, as a 'partial therapy' for my dealing with the ending, I created two spoof versions of the ending (Im a cartoonist for a living, and a 'Family Guy' fan...;)

Take One...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Mg1xITmfQ

Take Two...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KPSi9ue_Vs

K

[Netslayerette]

I loved everything about the movie but that ending kills me. I watched it a couple of times I guess thinking it would grow on me. I would have fought till the end I wouldn't have given up like that.

[AndyDufresne]

They weren't desperate? Excuse me? They were desperate when they tried to leave the store.
They say they would rather die out there than in the store. That sounds pretty desperate to me. The son also begs, promises his father to not let the bugs get to him. The father keeps that promise.

[tracie]

*** spoilers for The Mist (movie) follow ***

A decision like that wouldn't be made lightly, and I really don't think it would be carried out so quickly. They weren't really desperate yet, since there weren't any creatures attacking them at the moment.

If it was your son's life, wouldn't you wait until the last possible moment to take that action? Hoping that something would happen to make it not necessary?

Plus, if they were running out of gas, why didn't they just siphon gas from all the abandoned vehicles they were passing?

The ending disturbed me, but only because I found the actions of the characters frustrating.
well i like to believe that they didn't actually get all of the insects spiders that there was still a few left hiding in the woods that helps me accept the ending it's all imagination

[JRM]

I'ma have to agree with AndyDefresne. If anything, I may have waited a little longer. But it's difficult to judge how "desperate" they actually were; we have never -- and may never -- be in that situation (thank god). How would I have been if I were to be in that situation? I cannot say for sure, but I do know I'd be scared @#%#less and I'd do what I can to keep monsters away from my son.

[CaseyM]

***Spoiler***

I liked the ending. I do agree that I would have held off a little longer, maybe walked a while if need be...but it was probably a time constraints thing in the movie. It might be kind of boring to watch people walk forever before they kill themselves. I am a fan of unhappy endings though, since they happen so rarely. The ending evoked so many different conflicting emotions that it made it great to watch.

[Ilian]

I totally agree with you. The ending of the story was by far better than the movie, more hopeful

[karcreat2]

I totally agree with you. The ending of the story was by far better than the movie, more hopeful

Check this out, brand new DVD quality version (including new ending, all done for fun, 'natch...;) as of 10-25-09...

http://www.karcreat.com/MistNovellaCut.html

-K

[DelvianBlue]

I really didn't like the ending myself.It was too much of a cheat, having the cavalry show up out of nowhere like that. One minute the characters were surounded by fog and couldn't see a thing, then all of a sudden the mist is gone and there are lots of people? It doesn't work for me. It's too forced.

[Mr Nobody]

Well, all I can say is, if I was ever in that position, I'd make it quick. And let's not forget they'd had a lengthy old trip before the fuel ran out. I guess you'd get to thinking 'If it's not lifted by now, maybe it never will...and even then, maybe the creatures will be left behind.'
Given some of the themes in the film (and book), it's my belief that he HAD to do what he did as the price of the mist lifting and his own survival.
In any case, I also got the idea that they'd sat there for a time once they conked out.

[peaceluvnsploosh]

Hmmm... the endoing had a major twist an di liked it for that reason but i dont quite think they were at the point where had to shoot ur own son ... i mean that would ahve to be last resort right.. I can see maybe the son was grabbed by one of ht emonsters and instead of aving ur son suffer through that u shoot him. But they were in their car .. maybe the creatures wouldnt bother to try and get them if they stayed quiet enough .. IDK i jus think they werent down to the point to where it was a one shot life or death situation.?>?>?>?>

[BigJimVt]

I for one actually liked the ending of the movie more than the ending in the book. I actually said out loud at the end of the movie "WOW!" I didn't come close to seeing it coming.

For those that don't like it because you don't think they were at a point of desperation or a certain degree of desperation, it's hard to judge in the movie exactly how much time has passed. How far does than tank of gas get them? It could have been a few hours or more than a day, it's an unknown.

I will say it was one of the better SK movies and one of the better movies I have seen recently. I have noticed over the last few years that movies that have fewer BIG name stars seem to be better than the big blockbusters with a bunch of high priced household names.

[JRM]

I really didn't like the ending myself.It was too much of a cheat, having the cavalry show up out of nowhere like that. One minute the characters were surounded by fog and couldn't see a thing, then all of a sudden the mist is gone and there are lots of people? It doesn't work for me. It's too forced.

SPOILER ALERT.





You know, I think I remember HEARING the military coming, even as they waited in the vehicle. A lot of the sounds were not of the monsters but of the military (choppers, tanks, etc), and those that were of the monsters were cries of pain as the military exterminated them. So, technically, they didn't just come out of no where. Unfortunately, in their desperation to get out of the nightmare, they ended their lives seconds before rescue arrived.

[Kimmar]

This is by far my favorite short story of Mr. King's and I was so looking forward to the movie. Enjoyed the movie until the ending and then it was like someone let the air out of my balloon...major disappointment.

As someone said...the orginal ending was full of hope and promise...this ending made no sense to me whatever...and sadly..I will never watch the movie again.

[AlexTuis]

I did not loved this movie, I hated it!

In this movie, every nice character will die. It is like an eradication, there is no possibility to be saved, and I am sorry but when it is so much visible, it becames stupid.

I hate the end, I hate every deaths in this movie.

But the effects where amazing.

Now I am waiting for a Lovecraft movie with gigantic monsters!

[NDFan4ever]

There are pros and cons to the ending. Also, don't forget that it wasn't SK's ending - he just agreed to it to give the movie an ending.

I personally hated the ending...I could not imagine killing my own child, even if to save them...although, the point made above, if the monster actually had my child and was going to eat him...maybe.

A technical glitch in the movie: in the supermarket, when the man is accidentally set on fire, he doesn't scream or make any noise at all. I watched the "making of" part of the movie, and thought they'd add in the screams later, but they didn't.

[JRM]

Also, I prefer the movie ending because, to be honest, I would have felt cheated if it ended the way the novella did. In fact, I believe most of the non-King fans will feel the same way. I just don't think it would have been a good idea to end the movie the way the novella ended it.

[NDFan4ever]

The difference between hope and horror.

[michal]

Plus, if they were running out of gas, why didn't they just siphon gas from all the abandoned vehicles they were passing?

Or stop at a freaking gas station the way they did in the book....!

[dori]

I personally thought the ending was heart-breaking, and the actor did a great job showing the agony the character was feeling - not only by his actions, but also by the revelation that he did not have to do it, and he couldn't take it back.

That's the beauty in a good story. It makes you think about what the characters could have - or should have done differently, and it draws you in. If it wasn't a "good" ending, you have just said "Meh.." and reached for the remote control, and we would not be having this discussion/message-board-group thingy.

Think about this, too. Not all of Mr. King's stories have "and they lived happily after" endings. That's just part of his charm.

...Like it or hate it, we were hooked and reeled in.

[smerdyakov]

I don't know. Throughout the movie, if you go outside you're dead. Yes, they survived going outside a couple of times, but that was when they were going a. to the pharmacy (a door down) b. the car (the parking lot). There's no where for them to go (that they can be certain of) outside of the car. Plus, just before they break down they see a behemoth dimension monster thing, so it's safe to assume there are others. So I think the movie sets up a pretty desperate situation. What were they supposed to do? Get out and push the car to the gas station? Walk around in the mist and get lost? Both would have made them a meal.

I really didn't have a problem with that part. What I found hokey was the army coming one minute later, clearing the mist away, and all that. Yeah, so I agree it was a pretty dumb ending (though I liked the movie) but for a different reason (because I found him killing his family plausable given the situation).

[pam welisevich]

I have never in my life been so bothered by the ending of a movie. The Mist is one of my favorite stories and it has been completely ruined by the movie. I felt betrayed by the ending. I thought I knew what whould happen and when the movie took such a turn from the book ending I was horrified. I had thought the book ended so hopefully and the movie just destroyed all the enjoyment I have gotten from reading this story . I have read The Mist over a dozen times and it is now left a bad taste forever in my head.

[Bryan James]

I've thought about the ending of the movie for a while. I have an earlier post somewhere here in the interether. No remembrance of what I wrote.

The movie ended horribly, and it worked very well. We are here yammering on about it, right?

I prefer the ambiguous ending of the written version...I like that kind of ending. BUT (it's a big butt, so I capitalized it), it was a HORROR story. What could be more horrible for the protagonist than what happened at the end of the movie? Imagine carrying such a moral dilemma along with the guilt and shame...

It works, good movie, good ending...I might watch it again someday. I doubt that I'll watch the end, though. WHY THE F didn't they do an alternate (Original) ending on the disc? Grrr.

(I don't watch the end of "Braveheart" either.)

~BJS

[Selena_Kitt]

This is like the opposite of the Cujo movie ending (as opposed to the book). In the movie, the kid lives, but in the book, the kid dies. Which was a better ending?

I'm a horror reader... I don't necessarily believe every story has to have a happy ending. It ends how it ends. And if, as SK says, you have to drop a refrigerator (or was it a safe?) on an old lady, he'll do it if he has to. You gotta respect that! :wink2:

The Mist, the movie, had an apropos ending. Shocking as all get out, but it worked, it was logical and believable (and at the same time totally unbelievable and ironic and horribly twisted... which was the point...)

That said, I can't watch it again. I simply can't. I get to that point in the movie (it's been on cable a million times now...) and I have to turn it off. It's rare a movie will elicit that response in me, but that one does.

[daniellemartindale]

i found the ending of this film to be the most tear jerking thing i have ever watched, i found it so believable.
He heard noises in the distance of what sounded like these monsters coming towards them, he was out of gas, and left with four bullets for 5 people. I didnt see it coming at all, i thought someone was going to get out of the car and get eaten (almost sacrifice themselves to save a bullet sort of thing), so as it panned away and you heard the gun shots and him screaming you just knew what he had done. he had no choice, he promised his son he wouldnt let the monsters get him so he didnt. then when he gets out of the car and you see the mist subsiding, and the army coming, your heart just breaks all over again because you think "if only he would of held out 10 minutes more".
but with having 2 boys myself, i know i would have done it in a heartbeat, and quickly, to keep a promise, and to save him the pain of being tore appart.
i've not read the book, but im certainly going to be purchasing it soon. i found the film so powerful, and as alot of books are better than films, i cant wait to read it!

[eaglpaul]

One thing that I am finding that people at this post seem to be forgetting is that they couldn't get out of the vehicle. Not to siphon gas, not to walk, not to do anything. The creatures in the mist hunted by smell, that is why they were safe in the car. Does anyone remember when David was trying to get the pistol off the hood of his car and that spider thing was coming after him? As soon as he closed the door the spider left, it could no longer detect him because it lost the scent. The novella explains this, and SK himself said that he personally likes the ending, that it is disturbing and that people won't be expecting it.

I personally am a fan of unpleasant or "non-hollywood" endings where the good guy doesn't always win. That is one of the reasons that I like SK so much, he puts the ending in there that a lot of people know is what would probably happen in real life. As for why David did it, he was in every major creature attack in the movie, he saw what would happen if one of those things got his son. I know if it was my son, I would rather have him die quickly and painlessly than allow one of those things to take him.

[mouse213]

I agree the ending paralleled choices made in life. Some we are satisfied with and others no matter how hard we wish we cannot change what has already been said or done. I loved the movie.

[yggdrasil]

the ending for the movie was bulls**t. and time constraints had nothing to do with it, they could have made the book's ending in the exact same timespace.

[ally88]

The thing I didn't understand about the ending was why he didn't suffocate the kid during his sleep and use the bullets for each adult? That way everyone dies together. That would be too logical though, and wouldn't have the same impact. We were meant to be left thinking he would be tortured by the guilt of being the "survivor". Yet could he really survive after killing his son? I believe even though the Mist had dispersed he still went on to kill himself. He could not have chosen any other option.

I really love the ending to the movie--but hate how the mist disappears immediately after the shootings--it's very thought provoking. And the closing music is haunting. I can hear it now in my head as I'm typing this. (I'm slightly cuckoo though. :eek2:)

[blunthead]

*** spoilers for The Mist (movie) follow ***

A decision like that wouldn't be made lightly, and I really don't think it would be carried out so quickly. They weren't really desperate yet, since there weren't any creatures attacking them at the moment.

If it was your son's life, wouldn't you wait until the last possible moment to take that action? Hoping that something would happen to make it not necessary?

Plus, if they were running out of gas, why didn't they just siphon gas from all the abandoned vehicles they were passing?

The ending disturbed me, but only because I found the actions of the characters frustrating. I agree 100%. It just would not have happened, they would not have done it. They'd have waited, a long time, would have to have. Anyway, I prefer the ending in the novella. Hollywood just thinks it knows best and it does not.

The rest of the movie I really loved, though.

[armadillo]

I loved the story The Mist and I couldn't wait to see the movie. I loved every bit of it right up until the very end and then I went into shock. I hated it, too. I knew the movie was going to have to have an ending because the book didn't have one, but I just hated the one that it was given. Not by SK, it wasn't his ending. It was just too pat, how the army showed up 2 seconds after he shot all everyone. The first thing that went through my mind was, "oh wow, now he'll have to go to jail for murder." It was just stupid, I thought.

[Dan is Dead]

i absolutely loved the mist movie and thought the ending was awesome. it was so intense and it went well with the whole movie. It might not be completely believable but it didnt feel contrived. I mean the whole movie i thought that everyone was being so dumb and that real people wouldn't act like that, but then again i realized that alot of ppl are stupid. Just when they've fought as hard as they could and been hit and attacked from all sides, left with no hope, the accept death. and just when ur still in shock about him killing that hot chick and his own son, the calvary rolls in...ahhhhh if you just waited like 5 minutes!!!

[jpino98]

loved the ending. haunting. Maybe they could've held out longer, but heck the movie had to wrap up at some point! IMO those creatures just popped out of the mist and grabbed people, so in the car, in the mist, they heard the sound of what they thought were the creatures. In that situation, after seeing what happened at the grocery store, who would know when a tentacle was about to whip out and grab ya? not me.