Frank Darabont, the screenwriter and director ofThe Mist, had been a fan ofStephen King’s workfor a long time before he sat down, put pen to paper, and adapted the legendary author’s eponymous 1980 novella into a script. Previously, in the ’90s, Darabont adapted and directed two of King’s other works,The Shawshank RedemptionandThe Green Mile, so when he finally had the time and opportunity to tackleThe Mist, he was ready.
The Mistis a science-fiction horror film that follows David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and several others as they find themselves trapped in a local grocery store after a heavy mist descends on their town. After some back and forth with one another, people who are brave enough to venture outside the store soon discover that deadly creatures are lurking about. Seeing how those within the supermarket are beginning to lose their humanity and empathy, David decides that he needs to get his son to a safer location. He then leaves with a small group; however, their fate is not what anyone would expect.
Here is a full explanation of the ending ofThe Mist.
Stephen King’s The Mist
What Caused the Mist?
The mysterious mist is noticed within the first few minutes of the film by David, his wife Stephanie, and their son Billy as they look around the property at the damage done by a storm the night before. It is not until more than halfway through the film — when David and Billy are a long way away from Stephanie — that audiences (and, for that matter, the characters) get an explanation as to what actually caused the mist anddeadly supernatural creaturesto descend upon the town.
Among those trapped in the store are three soldiers from the military base up in the nearby mountains. After several deaths have occurred, two of the soldiers decide to take their own lives by hanging themselves. The third, in shock and disbelief, tells the civilians that the circumstances are the fault of the government. The U.S. government was trying to discover other dimensions, and scientists accidentally opened a portal that allowed the deadly creatures to walk through and inhabit the Earth. Unable to close the doorway, military personnel fled from the mountains as the creatures began to roam.
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This “known yet unknown” situation enhances the characters' fear because, while they are now aware of the cause of the problem, they have no real idea how to solve it. This effectively puts everyone into a survival-mode mindset. As such, the group splits into two parties: one that believes God’s wrath is upon everyone, and the other (David’s group) that believes the circumstances are scientific and able to be handled. The latter group is the one willing to risk their lives as they still want to fight for their livelihoods and freedom, while the former group makes sacrifices for what they believe is “the greater good.”
David’s Group Chose Their Fate
After escaping a potentially horrible fate in the supermarket — Mrs. Carmody (played by Marcia Gay Harden) and the others were sacrificing people one by one to the monsters in hopes of being spared — David, his son, and three others find themselves driving away in search of a safer location.
Rather than letting a fast-forming cult decide their fate, this group chose to take matters into their own hands, even though they knew they had no idea what dangers they would face. When their car runs out of gas, the adults make a hard decision and agree to take their own lives. Looking at his sleeping son, David decides that the four bullets in the gun will put an end to everyone’s life except his own. He quietly mentions that he will make do and find another way for himself.
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This scene inThe Mistis powerful, devastating, and, in many different ways, conflicting, as the characters believe their two options are to die quickly on their own terms or be brutally killed by a monster. The characters' deaths happen off-camera, but audiences can imagine that David was the one to pull the trigger on everyone, making him a murderer rather than them committing suicide. David is then left alone and in agony as he has just shot and killed his own son.
Stephen King’s Ending vs the Film’s Ending
While Darabont loves and respects King’s work, he felt like the ending ofThe Mistnovella needed to be changed in the screenplay for a better reaction from the audience. Originally, in King’s version of the story, David’s wife’s fate remains unknown. There are too many fallen trees on their property for the group to drive up to the house, so they carry on. Rather than running out of gas and agreeing to a group suicide like in the film, they hear someone on the radio say “Hartford.” This gives them hope that they will find safety or at least people to help them.
In Darabont’s film version, theending is much darker. Darabont did not want the ambiguous ending that suggested even an ounce of hope. Instead, after he writes David killing his own son and the others, he creates anticipation by making viewers expect a creature to come out of nowhere and kill David. Instead, the mist begins to lift, and military personnel walk and drive past him. He sees convoys of civilians being taken to safety, including a former distressed woman, who was with him in the supermarket alongside her children. It essentially dawns on him that, if he had just waited another minute, his son and wife would still be alive.
The Mistconcludes with David on his knees crying and screaming. He’s alive, but every parent knows that his life is over. After losing his wife and son, he will carry on as an empty shell — if he chooses to live at all. King himself approved of Darabont’s change as he admitted to liking how “it was so anti-Hollywood” and “nihilistic” (viaFar Out Magazine). It is a hard truth to swallow, but, stylistically, Darabont made the right call by finishing the story with a fatal and disturbing ending.RentThe Miston Prime Video
If you likedThe Mist’s ending, check out our video below about other dark endings in Stephen King movies.
