The Mist (2007)

Director: Frank Darabont · Genre: Thriller, Science Fiction, Horror

A storm cuts power in a small Maine town, and a dense mist soon envelops the area, forcing David Drayton and others to shelter inside a supermarket. They quickly discover that the mist conceals deadly creatures that attack anyone who ventures outside. As fear spreads, the trapped townspeople begin to turn against one another.

Narrative Score

Experimental 5-axis narrative score — not a critic rating.story6ending1visual7acting8expect3

Jump to Ending ↓

Full Plot & Ending Explained

Intro

In Bridgton, Maine, artist David Drayton, his wife Stephanie, and their young son Billy are hit by a violent thunderstorm that damages their lakeside home, and the next morning David goes into town with Billy and neighbor Brent Norton to buy supplies, only to find the town under military activity and a strange mist rolling in. Inside the supermarket, they are joined by other locals, including assistant manager Ollie Weeks, while David notices that the mist seems wrong and increasingly dangerous.

Turning Point 1

A terrified man, Dan Miller, bursts into the store warning that something in the mist took another man, and when the mist fully surrounds the supermarket, the store is sealed as a civil alert siren sounds. Bagger Norm goes outside to repair the generator vent, but a tentacled creature drags him into the mist, proving the threat is real and trapping everyone in panic.

Turning Point 2

As fear spreads, Mrs. Carmody turns the disaster into a religious sermon, insisting the mist is divine punishment and gaining followers through terror and guilt. Brent Norton refuses to believe David and leaves the store with a small group to seek help, but they are quickly killed outside, while David begins working with Ollie, Amanda Dunfrey, and Irene Reppler to keep the others calm and defend the store.

Turning Point 3

When giant insects swarm the store lights and are attacked by pterodactyl-like creatures, the windows become a battlefield and one creature even slips inside before being burned down in chaos. David leads a pharmacy run with Ollie, Amanda, Irene, Dan Miller, Jim, Jessup, and others to get medicine for an injured customer, but the group is attacked by huge spider-like creatures, several die, and the survivors return badly shaken and short on hope.

Turning Point 4

Carmody’s influence grows after the pharmacy disaster, and she demands a child sacrifice to appease the mist, turning the trapped survivors against one another. When a frightened crowd tries to kill Billy as the supposed offering, David shoots Carmody, Ollie helps him, and several of Carmody’s followers are exposed as the mob fractures further.

Turning Point 5

David later discovers that Jessup, one of the soldiers, reveals the truth behind the mist: the Arrowhead Project was an experiment to peer into other dimensions, and the breach unleashed the monsters. With the store nearly out of hope and the mist still full of deadly creatures, David decides that staying will only guarantee death for Billy and the others.

Ending

David, Billy, Amanda, and the remaining survivors flee the supermarket in David’s car and drive through the mist, only to run out of fuel with the creatures still everywhere. Believing there is no escape and unwilling to let Billy be eaten, David uses the gun on Billy, Amanda, and the others in the car, then steps out to face death—moments later the military arrives and clears the mist, revealing that his decision came just seconds too early.

Cross-checked against Wikipedia and other public film references. View on Letterboxd ↗ The Narrative Score above is an experimental 5-axis rating, not a critic score.