Stephen King explains why he loved the ending of ‘The Mist’
The 2007 horror thriller The Mist, directed by Frank Darabont, remains etched in the hearts of Stephen King fans. This chilling tale of reality warping and unspeakable beasts largely holds true to King’s 1980 novella, bar one major divergence – the film’s dramatic twist ending. The ending was an original aspect of the movie adaptation, not present in King’s original story. However, far from voicing displeasure at the alteration (as he has been known to do), King expressed his unfettered admiration for it.
King was particularly fond of the film’s conclusion, stating: “When Frank was interested in The Mist, one of the things that he insisted on was that it would have some kind of an ending, which the story doesn’t have.” The original novella “just sort of peters off into nothing”, where a group of people remain stranded in the mist, their vehicle out of fuel, with the relentless presence of monstrous creatures and a very uncertain future.
Speaking to CinemaBlend, King further clarified why he loved the ending: “When Frank said that he wanted to do the ending that he was going to do, I was totally down with that. I thought that was terrific.” The film’s ending delivered the closure that King’s story lacked. Rather than fading into ambiguity, it delivered a final, shocking twist that was particularly unorthodox by Hollywood standards.
Indeed, King declared, “It was so anti-Hollywood – anti-everything, really! It was nihilistic. I liked that.” In an industry where narratives often comply with predictable tropes, The Mist‘s ending stood out, breaking norms with its dark, fatalistic conclusion. According to King, this was its triumph, earning his hearty endorsement.
In The Mist, Thomas Jane portrays David Drayton, a father trapped with his young son and other townsfolk in a local supermarket. Their small Maine town is engulfed by a strange mist, bringing with it an escalating onslaught of otherworldly beasts. As tension grows amongst the survivors, Drayton battles the monstrous invaders as well as the mounting hostility amongst his fellow townsfolk.
The film culminates in an incredibly bleak ending. Drayton and a handful of survivors decide it’s better to die than continue their futile struggle. In a horrifying act of ‘mercy’, Drayton executes his companions, including his son, only for a cruel twist of fate to strike. Mere moments after his heinous act, the army arrives – and the movie ends with the terrible realisation that Drayton’s sacrifice was completely and utterly in vain.
There’s an even darker element to the meaning, too, if we analyse The Mist a little closer. The story’s antagonist, Mrs Carmody, insists that a human sacrifice is necessary to drive the monsters away. The fact that the death of Drayton’s son occurs right before the creatures are defeated adds an extra level of irony and horror to an already unbearably bleak ending.
