Lilja's Library

by Hans-Ake Lilja

****

  The Mist

  Posted: November 29, 2007

  I have just seen what I think is one of the best movies so far this year. It’s called The Mist, based on King’s story with the same name and directed by none other than Frank Darabont.

  The Mist is the story of a group of people getting trapped in a grocery store during a strange mist. At first they don’t think much of it, but when a big tentacle grabs a local boy and drags him screaming out into the mist most people start to get scared. Some refuse to believe that there are monsters in the mist though, and that will prove to be their big mistake.

  As time passes people start forming different groups in the store. Some follow the religious Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden) and some just think she’s crazy. One of the groups that doesn’t really believe that it’s God’s fault that they are trapped in the mist includes the film’s main characters.

  The non-believers are led by our hero, David Drayton (Thomas Jane). He is trapped in the store with his son, Billy, and as the situation gets worse and worse he and the others decide that it might be better to try their luck out in the mist than in the store where Mrs. Carmody is starting to talk about human sacrifice to please the creatures outside. The only question is, will they be let out?

  As much as The Mist is a horror movie it’s also a movie about people and how they react in a difficult situation. A lot of the characters do things they would never do under normal circumstances, and the movie really captures how they struggle with the consequences of those actions.

  Besides Marcia Gay Haden and Thomas Jane we see Laurie Holden, Toby Jones (perfectly cast as Ollie), Frances Sternhagen, William Sadler and Jeffery DeMunn (the latter two can be seen in Frank’s other King adaptations, The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption). And, the biggest surprise of them all, Andre Braugher as Brent Norton. This is the biggest change in character compared to the written version, but I’m glad to say it works very well.

  All involved do a superb job, and even though this sounds like a pure horror movie at first, it’s a really character-driven movie…and a very good one as well.

  The only thing I’m not totally satisfied with is the special effects. The effects in the tentacle scene feel a little, for lack of a better word, unsynced. It’s like the tentacles are over the victim instead of on him. The monsters themselves look very good and I really like them. Their only problem is that they also are a little unsynced when they interact with the living characters…

  But, except for the tentacle scene, the effects scenes are short and not something that really bothers me that much. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire movie and I must give Frank credit for his new ending. It’s so good that I actually prefer it over King’s…I actually still have goosebumps from seeing it!

  Lilja’s final words about The Mist

  If you haven’t already seen The Mist, please do! It’s one of the best, if not the best, adaptation based on a King story so far. I will actually go as far as saying that it’s probably the best movie I have seen during 2007, and being a movie reviewer, I have seen well over two hundred movies this year.

  ****

  The Mist (DVD)

  Posted: March 26, 2008

  The Mist (for those of you who don’t know already) is based on King’s story of the same name (you can find it in the collection Skeleton Crew) and is about a group of people captured in a store when a strange mist roles in and covers the world around them. Also, creatures start moving in the mist and trying to get into the store one way or another…

  It may sound like The Mist is a regular horror movie, but actually that’s far from the truth—The Mist is a horror movie and then some. It’s a very character-driven movie and it really shows how people react in stressful situations—situations that may very well end up costing them their lives.

  The lead character, David Drayton, is excellently played by Thomas Jane and he finds himself being the leader of a small group of people who decide to try to leave the store. This is something that the religious Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden) really doesn’t want to see happening though. Using religion she tries to lead the people in the store to salvation by claiming it’s God who’s punishing them with the mist and the creatures. By doing this she gets the role as the villain of the movie, a role she’s very good in.

  We also see Laurie Holden, Toby Jones (perfectly cast as Ollie), Frances Sternhagen, William Sadler and Jeffery DeMunn (both Sadler and DeMunn can also be seen in The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption) in different roles.

  The biggest surprise when it comes to the casting though is Andre Braugher as David’s angry neighbor, Brent Norton. Andre’s version of Norton is quite different from the written character, but it still works extremely well. Andre really gives the character a lot of credibility.

  Everyone involved in the movie does a good job, and the only problem I have with it is the special effects. The bugs themselves are very cool and scary as hell, but the problem is that when the CGI creatures interact with the real people they don’t really interact. Unfortunately, they aren’t quite in sync with each other and that makes it look like the bugs aren’t really on the humans, but instead just above them.

  However, because The Mist is so much more than just monsters, I’m prepared to let this one slide. The movie has so much more and I still really, really enjoy watching it!

  Now that The Mist is coming to DVD, it’s being released in two different versions. One is a single disc that has a commentary track by Frank Darabont and, as on the The Green Mile DVD, it’s very interesting to listen to what Frank has to say.

  We also get a bunch of deleted scenes, also with commentaries, three behind-the-scenes webisodes that have been online earlier and three different trailers for the movie. In addition to that, you will also find a documentary about Drew Struzan called Drew Struzan: An Appreciation of an Artist.

  And for those of you who haven’t heard about him earlier, he is a very talented poster artist. He has done a lot of movie posters both for earlier King movies (like The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption) as well as other movies. I bet every one of you have seen one of his posters even if you’re not aware of it.

  Alongside the single disc there is also a double-disc version that has all the stuff that the single disc has. However, it also has a black-and-white version of the movie and personally, I realized (after just seeing it) that it’s actually quite a different experience to see The Mist in black-and-white compared to the color version. The black-and-white version is darker (and I don’t mean picture-wise) and gives the movie quite a different feeling, and does also include an introduction where Frank talks about why he originally wanted to do the movie in black and white.

  And that’s not all. We get a very good making-of documentary called When Darkness Comes: The Making of The Mist. It’s about forty minutes long and tells you a lot about how the movie was made. That one, together with Taming the Beast: The Making of Scene 35 (this is about the scene when the bugs enter the store), Monster Among Us: A Look at the Creature FX and The Horror of it All: The Visual FX on The Mist, really tells you all you need to know about how The Mist was done.

  We also get a small eight-page booklet in which Frank writes about The Mist. The booklet also has two quotes from King about his and Frank’s collaboration.

  Lilja’s final words about The Mist (DVD)

  The Mist is one of the best movies based on a King story ever made, and because of that I was very happy to see that they really used the full capacity of the DVD and got all the good stuff out there for us to see. Oh, and make sure you check out the black-and-white version of the movie. It’s really quite an interesting experience.

  Section 4—The “Dollar Babies”

  The Last Rung on the Ladder

  Posted: October 27, 2000

  The Last Rung on the Ladder is one of the so-called “Dollar Babies.” The “Dollar Babies” are movies that King has sold the rights to for one dollar, under the condit
ion that the buyer can make a movie based on the story, but not show it with a commercial purpose.

  James Cole made his “Dollar Baby”, The Last Rung on the Ladder, back in 1987. It’s based on the story in Night Shift with the same name. It’s about a brother and sister who, in their youth, used to play a game where they would climb high up in the barn on an old ladder, then fearlessly throw themselves out into the air…just to land way, way below in the haystack. On one occasion the ladder breaks and the sister is stuck way up in the air, hanging onto the last rung on the ladder. The brother then moves enough hay to save her from breaking every bone in her body, or even worse—getting killed. Years later when they are older, the sister jumps from a building and kills herself.

  Before she does, she writes her brother a letter, which contains a cry for help. This letter doesn’t reach the brother in time to save her though, since he moved around a lot and always forgot to send her his new address. Her letter is therefore forwarded to different address after address after address. It’s a very emotional story. It proves that King can write other types of stories just as well as he writes horror.

  So, this story is the one that James Cole chose to adapt and turn into a movie. I can see why. If you’re a young filmmaker with very little or no money it would be hard to do a movie that requires a lot of makeup and special effects; this one doesn’t! I don’t think that’s the whole reason that he chose this one though. I think he fell for it, well, I know he did. This is a story you feel for!

  I’m also glad to say that I feel that same feeling in the movie. It’s there, and you (the audience) can feel it from the first frame. The movie is low budget—it was shot with a Super-8 camera and with limited resources. But even still, the feeling is there.

  One thing I wished for though is that it should have been longer. As the movie stands now it’s a bit hard to fully understand. The part with the kids is great, but when it shows the kids as grownups that part is a bit short and I think you need to have read the story to get all the depth that is in King’s story. That’s nothing unusual, though, when it comes to movies based on King’s work.

  Lilja’s final words about The Last Rung on the Ladder

  This twelve-minute short film is totally worth seeing, and I don’t understand why King isn’t granting Cole the right to show it commercially. OK, it’s a low-budget movie, but it’s still a movie that all King fans should get the chance to see!

  In the movie he uses King’s old trick by letting characters from other works show up. In this movie it’s Miss Abigail from The Stand who is mentioned.

  I hope James Cole will soon be doing another King movie. I’m sure he would do a great job with it!

  ****

  Paranoid

  Posted: November 22, 2000

  So, is it true this greatly rumored movie really exists? Yes, it does…and yes, it’s based on King’s poem with the same name that has been published in Skeleton Crew. A movie based on a poem…is this really possible? Well, actually it is, and Jay Holben did a great job with the transformation.

  In many ways this isn’t an ordinary movie though. It’s a short film, only eight minutes long. It’s got no real dialogue. It’s filmed in a mix of black-and-white and color. As I said, it’s a different movie…

  The fact that it’s short is understandable. It would be both impossible and unnecessary to do a movie that is 1½ hours long based on a poem that is just a few pages long. That could never turn out good.

  Why doesn’t it have any dialogue, then? Well, to be honest it has one “real” dialogue at the end of the movie, but otherwise there isn’t any…sort of. It has no dialogue where people are talking to one another. The dialogue in Paranoid is actually a monologue: the poem itself. Let me explain. During the entire movie the female actress narrates King’s poem. On screen she doesn’t speak the words, but we still hear them in the background…got it? Her acting is a reflection of the poem.

  Jay has chosen to use black-and-white footage on the parts where we are in the woman’s fantasy and imagination and color when we see her as she really is. This is an excellent way to do it.

  So, how is the movie then? Well, I think that the people who watch it will either love it or hate it. I don’t think there will be any “it was rather good…” statements about this one since it’s not the usual movie (as I have already stated). To get the message of it you need to focus on both what is happening on the screen and what is said in the poem. If you concentrate on just one of the elements you will probably think Paranoid is one of the strangest movies you have ever seen; if, on the other hand, you focus on both you will probably love the movie.

  Lilja’s final words about Paranoid

  At first, when I heard about this movie, I was skeptical as to whether or not it could really be a good idea to turn a poem into a movie. After seeing it, all of my doubts are gone!

  As I said earlier, I think you will either love or hate this movie. Personally, I love it! It’s shot in a fantastic way and I really like Tonya Ivey (the actress who plays the paranoid woman). I really hope we will see her in another movie soon!

  Also, what is a bit special with this movie is that even though it’s a so-called “Dollar Baby,” it will be released to the general public. At this time no release date is set, but my guess is that it will be early next year. Thanks for that, Stephen King!

  ****

  The Lawnmower Man

  Posted: December 8, 2000

  The Lawnmower Man. I bet there are many people besides me who shudder when they hear the title The Lawnmower Man and the word “movie” in the same sentence. I know I do. This is because this wonderful story was trashed by Hollywood (big time) a couple of years ago.

  Lately though, instead of a shudder I get a smile on my face when I hear someone say “The movie version of The Lawnmower Man.” Why, you ask? Have I gone insane? No, I haven’t gone insane; I have seen James Gonis’s film version of The Lawnmower Man!

  This is a “Dollar Baby,” like The Last Rung on the Ladder. It was done back in 1987 and is only twelve minutes long. These twelve minutes are so good that they outweigh the “official” version any day, any time, anywhere. Well, some of you might say, “That can’t be too hard, right? You said it yourself a second ago. The ‘official’ version stinks.”

  Yes, you’re right! It’s not hard to be better than the “official” version, but James Gonis’s version would be great even if the other hadn’t been made. It’s a great little movie on its own.

  It’s a low-budget movie and recorded with simpler equipment than what they use in Hollywood today, no question about that. The story and feeling of the movie are great though! It follows King’s story almost to the word, and you get the same feeling when you watch the movie as you do when you read the story. And if that wasn’t enough, the actors who play The Lawnmower Man (Andy Clark) and Parkette (E.D. Phillips) both do a great job!

  The image of Clark (naked) running after the lawnmower, eating grass in big gulps, is a classic scene. It keeps popping up in my mind every so often now that I have seen the movie. It’s great!

  Gonis has also used King’s old trick (like many other filmmakers have) and let another King character visit the movie. This time it’s a young cop called Bannerman (you do know where he is from, right?) who enters the scene. I don’t know about you, but I love when this happens!

  Lilja’s final words about The Lawnmower Man

  So, how can I sum up this movie? Well, there is only one thing I can say really. It’s a great movie! I love it! James Gonis has created a masterpiece. OK, OK, it’s a low-budget movie and there aren’t any Matrix-FX in it, but is that really what’s important? I don’t think so.

  So, Mr. Stephen King, if you read this (which you probably won’t, but I can hope!) please let James Gonis release this movie so all your fans can enjoy it. Anything else is a crime!

  ****

  Strawberry Spring

  Posted: January 12, 2002

  Yesterday I got t
he chance to see last year’s most “least available” King movie, Strawberry Spring. It was never released to any cinemas, it wasn’t released on video and it wasn’t shown on TV. The only place it was shown was at the St. Louis Local Filmmaker Festival, which happened on July 29, 2001.

  Strawberry Spring is an eight-minute long movie based on King’s short story with the same name from Night Shift. The story is told by a student on campus and is about a killer named Springheel Jack. Springheel Jack is stalking the campus area and killing innocent girls. This is not enough though; he also takes their heads with him after the murder. As the story progresses it becomes clearer and clearer that the narrating student and Springheel Jack are one and the same.

  The movie is a bit shorter than the story in the fact that some of the story has been cut away, nothing major though. The essence of the story is still there.

  The look and feel of the movie is very modern and even though it’s only eight minutes long it’s a well-financed piece. There is an extreme amount of statistics in it and you can tell that it must have cost a big sum to make…or Doveed Linder is really good at making it look like it. I would say that Strawberry Spring (along with Paranoid) is quite clearly the best looking of all short films made from King’s work.

  Like the short story, the movie consists mostly of narration and there isn’t much dialogue (except at the end), and I think this was a great move from Linder. Partly because that is the way King told the story, but also because it would be extremely hard to tell the story in this short time with the help of dialogue. This way, the pace of the story moves along smoothly and the viewer gets all the information he/she needs to understand what is happening.

  As I said earlier, the movie looks extremely new and modern. Not that there is any reason that it wouldn’t, but my experience is that the short films done from King’s work are often low budget and don’t have that much financial backing. Strawberry Spring seems to have that though.