Movies - TV
The Mist Ending Explained: 15 Years Later
By MAX EVRY
Based on Stephen King’s novella, “The Mist” follows David Drayton and his son, who are trapped inside a supermarket while a mysterious fog hiding deadly creatures covers the town. The novella ends abruptly and inconclusively as Drayton, his son, and three others escape the madness, and after seeing the Behemoth, they follow a weak radio signal that broadcasts the word “Hartford.”
Director Frank Darabont felt that the movie's ending needed a little more “oomph,” and added scenes, including one where Drayton (Thomas Jane) discovers his dead wife cocooned. Hopeless and trapped within the mist, Drayton uses his remaining bullets to shoot his son and the three others before exiting the car — only to find the military approaching, not the monsters.
This ironic dark ending is made worse with the reveal of a rescued woman — who earlier left the supermarket to walk home to her children — cradling her kids in a military truck, showing that fear in many ways is an illusion. Darabont told Yahoo that after showing King the script with his ending, King said “Oh, I love this ending. I wish I'd thought of it.”