This is of course a classic formula, in King tales and in general. It requires a lot of stereotypes about small towns and the prejudices that abound in them, and “The Mist” (which was created by Christian Torpe) doesn’t seem as if it intends to freshen those conceits. It’s hard not to think of “The Mist” as “Under the Dome 2,” though the special effects here are cheesy rather than impressive, as they were in the premiere of that CBS series in 2013.

Whether this kind of premise can sustain itself in a TV series is open to question. “Under the Dome,” which was also based on a book by Mr. King, started off strong but overstayed its welcome, petering out after three seasons. On the other hand, there’s the example of Frank Darabont, who in 2007 made a pretty good movie, also titled “The Mist,” from this same source material. He went on to create a TV show you might have heard of called “The Walking Dead” that has shown just how good a well-executed horror series can be.