Reviews
[Review] “The Mist” Weaves a Web of Drama and Paranoia
Dimension and Spike TV’s “The Mist” opens with a shot of a spider, which is a metaphor for the web the residents of Bridgeville, Maine are trapped in. It’s also instant foreshadowing that becomes a reoccurring theme throughout the show.
“The Mist”, adapted from Stephen King‘s novel, spends the opening moments of the series intercutting between a soldier and the residents of Bridgeville. The soldier awakens with amnesia but catches a glimpse of a terrifying fog rolling into town. Meanwhile, Eve (Alyssa Sutherland) and Kevin (Morgan Spector) Copeland fight over letting their daughter, Alex (Gus Birney), attend a party.
The pilot takes its time introducing the town’s characters and setting up their series arcs. Penned by Amanda Segel and Christian Torpe, “The Mist” fights hard to wedge in social commentary, from drugs to bullying, sexual preference, and even rape. Yes, the major conflict in the first episode begins when Alex alleges that Jay (Luke Cosgrove), the town football star, raped her. A rift is formed between her parents being that Kevin allowed her to go to the party behind Eve’s back. While the social commentary is commendable, I see many having an issue with how it’s presented; not only do the locals not believe her, but the show eludes to the idea that maybe she’s lying. This, of course, isn’t socially acceptable, yet it’s impossible to know where the writers are taking this arc over the course of the season.
But I digress, the point is that the writers are working overtime to insert drama, conflict and add more than one dimension to a story that needs to be more than a horror show. That’s the difficult task at hand; how do they expand on King’s story without blowing the load too early? “The Mist” is more about people being monsters than the show’s creatures. This hearkens back to George A. Romero’s initial zombie trilogy, especially Dawn of the Dead.
Once the mist actually rolls in, the town’s people are caught in a web and unable to move. One group find themselves trapped in a mall, where they’re fighting fear and paranoia, while unseen horrors outside drive their insanity. Here, shit hits the fan, and it never slows down. Those hoping for monsters are going to have to wait being that it appears the first season will torment the town with “normal” insects. Still, these bugs are vicious as they devour anyone who crosses their path; it’s violent, bloody and absolutely bonkers. The hope is that the filmmakers are able to continually deliver the goods over the course of ten episodes, which will have to be deluded by more character work.
Speaking of, Frances Conroy‘s performance is enough to warrant a weekly return to Bridgeville. She’s being set up as one of the town’s antagonists and single-handedly elevates the quality of the pilot episode. Just wait until you see what comes next…
And while the debut does a solid job of setting up various mysteries, the one thing that bothers me is the opening sequence with the soldier and his dog; it’s a constant reminder that the military has something to do with the mist. With that said, “The Mist” is a beautiful blend of drama and horror that delivers on its immediate promise. Feeling like an episode of “Friday Night Lights” with man-eating insects, “The Mist” is as dense as it’s terrifying and promises to be one of the best new genre shows on television.
“The Mist” premieres Thursday, June 22 at 10 PM, ET/PT on Spike.
Life’s a beach and then someone dies in Slaughter Beach, a low budget horror-comedy slasher from the crew at Clockout Films. Last week, the film’s official premiere was hosted by Delco Horror Haven, a new non-profit horror organization dedicated to supporting indie horror in the greater Philadelphia area.
Director Daniel C. Davis (Same Dance) takes a different approach with his take on the serial killer subgenre. When two underachievers are unable to land jobs due to a serial killer ruining their beach town’s tourism and economy, the duo become low rent superhero crime fighters to end the murderer’s reign of terror. Ralph (Jon McKoy) and Barry (Ethan Han) develop their new personas, Awesome Boy and Bludgeon Man respectively, to form the Defender Benders and clean up the streets in their Bender Mobile.
The film’s main antagonist causing havoc in their coastal town is a killer fisherman who yields a murderous hook. From that description, you’d might think it’s a nod to I Know What You Did Last Summer, but our yellow slicker-wearing killer resembles the Gorton Seafood’s fisherman mascot more than Ben Willis. Especially since there is no mystery to the killer’s identity by the midway point of the proceedings. Our villain also rocks a tackle box filled with body parts from his victims that he uses as bait for his fishing adventures in between kills. So as you can see, our villain is indeed a unique one, or as unique as you can be following the thousands of slasher film villains that have come beforehand.
The film’s first act really focuses on developing our two main characters as we follow their bizarre foray into crimefighting via some silly scenarios. But once they cross paths with Fish Man Sam (Jim Cannatelli) spouting his Moby Dick-esque tale of Lulu the giant Horseshoe crab, which I recently learned is a medicinal crab, the killings become plentiful, and things start to take off.
Can Ralph prove his dad wrong by rising above his slacker status with Barry to defend his turf from the evil fisherman on a serious murder bender? Or can he at least just get some form of employment and help pay their bills? Is Lulu really a horseshoe crab or just a horse shit tale? You’ll have to walk in the sands of Slaughter Beach to find out.
As you can tell by that premise, the emphasis of this horror-comedy leans more to the comedic side of the field, but there are enough creative kills and surprisingly great practical gore effects for such a humble budget to scratch that horror itch. Ever see an’80s-inspired murder spree montage set to upbeat music in a film before? Slaughter Beach checks that box rather entertainingly. Again, the montage is played for laughs versus scares, but it is nonetheless effective with its use of gore while still maintaining the film’s intended zany, off the wall tone.
Director Davis employs many slasher flick tropes such as a folklore legend used to drive the narrative, the villain casting some one-liners during their kills, ineffective and incompetent local law enforcement, and a killer mainly using a signature weapon on their prey. However, it’s all played with tongue firmly jammed in cheek, which is the right play for this type of film.
The best way to gauge your interest for whether you should watch this film or not is how you feel about Troma films. Because Slaughter Beach most certainly feels inspired by some of the older throwback films within Lloyd Kauffman’s cinematic playground in many ways. Watch this film if you see that as complimentary statement, or steer clear if you are on the opposite side of Troma’s very polarizing spectrum.
This 78-minute affair was produced with little budget, but also noticeably with a lot of heart. Not to mention a pretty killer soundtrack that really sticks out in a good way, especially during the beach scenes. It is also short enough with the right balance of levity to offer up some quick, mindless fun. And isn’t that something we all need more of in life?
Slaughter Beach can be viewed for free online right now at Tubi.
Delco Horror Haven is planning more independent film premieres throughout 2024. You can keep up to date with all their events over on the official Delco Horror Haven Facebook page.
‘Infested’ Review – One of the Best Spiders Attack Horror Movies in Years
‘The King Tide’: An Island Town Rots with Moral Decay in Canadian Folk Horror Fable [Review]
Rated “R” ‘The Little Mermaid’ Horror Movie Coming Soon; Watch the Trailer
TWO New ‘Evil Dead’ Movies Now in the Works; Sébastien Vaniček & Francis Galluppi Directing
Limited Edition Morticia & Wednesday Addams ‘Monster High’ Dolls Releasing Next Week!
You must be logged in to post a comment.