[spoiler] It didn’t ring true psychologically. Having gotten that far, they wouldn’t have just given up and shot themselves simply because they’d run out of gas. If they’d had the guts to make a dash for freedom out of the supermarket, they’d have had the guts to hold on until the very last shred of hope was gone. The whole thing felt like it was tacked on in a failed attempt to give the film an ironic twist ending.
Me, I’d have had them wait until they started hearing strange noises in the mist. They decide suicide is the best way to go but also to hold out until the very last second before making the plunge. Just as he’s about to pull the trigger, we see the tank emerge from the mist. They get out of the car, emotionally overwhelmed by their deliverance, music swells to a crescendo. Roll credits.
I saw this last Saturday, and thought it rocked. But I have to agree about
them just giving up after having made it that far. I’d figure that they’d maybe let serious dehydration start setting in before giving up. But that’s just me
And “Host of Seraphim” by Dead Can Dance was an inspired choice of music.
Most of this week in St. Louis has been misty/foggy, and coming out of the theater into a dark, gray, misty world was kinda spooky.
I just saw this tonight and I am really bummed with the ending. The thing that made the story when I read it was the hope aspect. They were well and truely fucked but there was hope.
The ending sucked. The rest of the movie was pretty good though it would have been nice if they fleshed out psyco-religous chick a bit more. It seemed that the whole going from sane to religous lynch mob thing went rather quickly.
I watched The Mist last night. I liked the ending, though I agree it was a little too cheaply ironic.
If the ending had to have stayed changed (even though the ambiguity of the original was intentional, I didn’t really care for it. If this makes me intellectually inferior, then so be it), I would have liked LonesomePolecat’s suggestion, but with on major difference – instead of them being saved by the Army, I’d have preferred there to be more bullets in the chamber, and a hard cut right after the fifth muzzle flash.
I felt really betrayed by the ending- it ended as a complete reversal of the entire movie. The main reason it bothered me so much is that I really enjoyed the movie right up until the last five minutes.
It really wouldn’t be hard to put the original ending into the movie, and I was kind of hoping that the DVD would do it. All you’d need is a bit of a re-edit on the last few scenes, and a voiceover by Dad and the kid.
The only thing I really liked about the film is that my cousin was an extra in it. So was her car. She wouldn’t let them put a Maine license plate on it, so they just shot it from the side. Zoom in on the firetrucks near the beginning, and you’ll see Caddo Parish Fire Department painted on the sides… must be long-distance responders. At one point inside the store, you’ll find a long-haired blonde shopper who walks across the background twice without changing direction… guess she’s an olympic sprinter when she’s off-camera! It’s amazing what you’ll see when you focus on just the background and extras in a movie…
But yeah, the ending was a cheap-out setup for the ironic twist. Didn’t buy it for a second. It was cool to finally see some of those beasties, though.