"The Mist"

*****

This is one of those wonderful movies that's not really about what it's about. As a straight-up monster flick it's pretty good. Big beasties and creepy crawlies alternately attack our main characters, making for some nicely bothersome moments.

That said, this is not a straight-up monster flick. This movie is about us. It's about what we can become when we are scared, truly and madly terrified. The truth is, we, as a species, are very irrational creatures. As the film moves along and hope is lost to more and more, the irrational seems logical. People go mad, and it turns out the bigger, badder monsters are within the store, not without. It speaks of the human condition.

And as for the ending, without giving anything away, it is harsh, and upsetting, and perfect; a final act of desperation at the very brink of redemption.