16 years since the gloomy film adaption of Stephen King’s The Mist came out in cinemas worldwide, horror fans are still claiming the ending as one of the ‘most gut wrenching’ they’ve ever witnessed.
With Halloween set to take place at the end of this month, people have been indulging in new releases, such as Australian hit Talk to Me, but some have revisited some of the cult horrors that made waves over a decade ago, such as The Mist.
Released in 2007 and based on Stephen King’s novella of the same name, it appears The Mist is still taking the crown in producing one of the most unexpected and ‘brutal’ endings in the horror genre, according to fans.
The plot focuses on a quiet town in Maine that is hit by a severe storm – before a mysterious dense mist rolls in, enveloping the community.
Several of the town’s residents, who have sought shelter during the storm in a supermarket, soon realise they must barricade themselves in when a distressed local runs inside to warn of a danger lurking outside, while civil alert alarms blare.
Brutal: Since the film adaption of Stephen King’s The Mist came out in theaters in 2007, horror fans are still claiming the ending as one of the ‘most gut wrenching’ they’ve ever witnessed
Mysterious: Residents in The Mist are picked off one by one by mysterious creatures prowling in a blanket of fog engulfing a small town, leading to an ‘agonising’ conclusion to the film
As the residents are picked off one by one by the mysterious creatures prowling in the fog, the main character hatches a plan to escape the supermarket and seek safety, alongside his son, wife and some survivors.
The Mist has earned impressive 7.1 on IMDB and an applaudable 73 per cent on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, where it also holds a 65 per cent audience score.
Below a clip of the ending, uploaded on YouTube by user @THESSALONIAN31N in 2019, over 3000 people have since commented to express their unshakable shock over the conclusion.
The ending sees the main character take the lives of both his young son and fellow survivors when they assumed all hope was lost – only for him to run out of bullets for himself.
The brutal moment is immediately followed by the mist clearing, as swathes of soldiers from the US Army appear, who have started the process of exterminating the creatures, finally restoring order in the town.
YouTube users who have revisited the hit horror over recent years commented their thoughts on the film, with most agreeing the ending still precedes the endings from newer, more progressive releases.
One fan wrote: ‘One of the most haunting endings ever to put to film. AMAZING!’ while another said of the main character, ‘His anguished screams after killing his son and then seeing the army are acting perfection.’
Commenting on Stephen King’s approval of the ending, one person said: ‘When the author of the source material praises the ending to being better than what they originally created, you know it is special.’
Trapped: The plot focuses on a quiet Maine town hit by a severe storm – before a mysterious dense mist rolls in, enveloping the community and trapping several residents in a store
Cult classic: The Mist has become a fan favourite, with many horror enthusiasts claiming that the film’s ending quashes the original from the 1980 novel by Stephen King
Another fan wrote: ‘The sheer irony blew me away back when I saw this in theatres. Not all endings are happy, this one was brutal and hopelessly realistic.’
A fellow horror enthusiast said: ‘The ending is like a punch in the gut. The whole build-up to a perfect ending,’ while another wrote, ‘Absolutely gut-wrenching. How could a human live with themselves after going through that. Unreal.’
Speaking of their sibling’s cinema experience, one person commented: ‘My brother saw this at the theatre, he told me after this during the credits nobody said nothing, nobody left, they all just had their jaws dropped in disbelief.’
A final fan poured over a potential alternate ending to the film, writing, ‘This ending is an agonising one. If only David would’ve waited a few more seconds, his wife, friends and son would’ve made the cut.
‘That slo-mo of David falling to his knees realising what he has done is absolutely gut-wrenching to watch.’
According to IMDb, director Frank Darabont’s “controversial” ending actually comes directly from the material in Stephen King’s book.
Written in first-person, David entertains this notion in his mind as a possibility, noting there are three bullets and four people, but he closes his journal and leaves it in a restaurant that the survivors have sought refuge in before the car runs out of petrol.
Darabont felt this ending was too ambiguous and wrote the story to its finite climax, an ending that Darabont says in the DVD commentary was endorsed by King as the ending that King wished he would have thought of.
With the movie’s ending differing from the original written in King’s 1980 novel, horror enthusiasts claim that the film’s version quashes the original – reflected in the many award nominations and wins the film earned.
The Mist won Best Horror Movie in the 2007 Fright Meter Awards, as well as Frank Darabont winning Best Director.
The film was also crowned the winner of Best Horror or Science Fiction at the Internet Film Critic Society Awards.
High praise: YouTube users who have revisited the hit horror over recent years have been commenting to express their unshakable shock over the film’s conclusion
