



Dread is lurking inside the mist Photo: Spike/Netflix

"The Mist" is based on a short story by horror author Stephen King. The series was produced for the TV station "Spike", where it premiered at the end of June 2017. Since the 25th of August it is available on "Netflix" as an "Original".

The story is set in the small town Bridgeville, Maine. One day the drowsy village gets haunted by a mysterious, thick mist. At first the town people are a bit surprised by the sudden change of weather, but soon they discover it is deadly. The dull haze is causing hallucinations, which are way more massive than one might expect. Furthermore it contains a variety of gruesome monsters. The story concentrates on two settings: A church, where a handful of people has found shelter and the local mall, where dozens of people are stranded. Additionally there is a ragtag quartet - family man Kevin Copeland (Morgan Spector), teenager Adrian Garff (Russell Posner), the amnesic soldier Bryan Hunt (Okezie Morro) and the drug-addicted Mia Lambert (Danica Curcic), who are struggling to get to the mall in order to find Kevin's wife Eve (Alyssa Sutherland) and his daugther Alex (Gus Birney).





When did you become aware of the series and why did you want to watch it?

Laura: Some time ago I read that the short story is being made into a series. But I forgot about it until Katrin sent me the trailer. I liked the 2007 movie adaptation, so I was curious what the show would do with the material.





Katrin: Every month "Netflix" publishes a video, which advertises all new shows and movies airing within the next 30 days. "The Mist" was part of the video for August. The series looked interesting and I got pretty excited, when Laura told me, that it was based on a short story by Stephen King, because one of my favorite shows "Haven" is also premised on one of his stories ("The Colorado Kid").



Did the show live up to your expectations?

Does Mrs. Raven know what is inside the mist? Photo: Spike/Netflix Laura: Not even close! The series seemed to last an eternity and most of the time it was about the characters' problems and conflicts. The mist became a side issue pretty quickly and there were just a handful of scenes, in which it attacked or killed people. Not even close! The series seemed to last an eternity and most of the time it was about the characters' problems and conflicts. The mist became a side issue pretty quickly and there were just a handful of scenes, in which it attacked or killed people.





Katrin: I did not know the short story or research the series, so I had no expectations. But during the entire ten episodes I hoped all questions would be answered in the end. That was not the case.





Laura, you read the story the series is based on. What are the differences?

Laura: In Stephen King's novel it is explained to the readers what is lurking inside the mist: Disturbing monsters, who resemble creatures from our world, but are much bigger and deadlier. The show is much more vague about this issue: Hallucinations, insects (but normal-sized ones), a snake made out of mist and many more. Theoretically everything is possible and there are no explanations whatsoever. It is a weird alteration, that one of the monsters spares Alex. The creatures in Stephen King's story do not make exceptions, they just attack and kill. They also eat their victims afterwards instead of leaving the bodies all over the floor. Futhermore even though the short story contains interpersonal conflicts, they are not nearly as unnerving and dramatic as in the series. Additionally the show focuses way more on those dramas than the original. That is the challenge when you take a 50.000 word story and make an entire series out of it. King's monsters are the centerpiece and a tangible threat, while there are many people surving the mist in the show and the viewers are not even told how.





There are so many characters in "The Mist". Are they able to differentiate themselves from similar shows?

Bryan and Mia meet in a detention cell Photo: Spike/Netflix Katrin: No, absolutely not! You meet exactly the same charcters, you can find in any other series about a group of people, who are cut off from the outside world and struggle to survive. Like the great, brave dad, who goes on a heroic quest to find his family, winning every fight along the way, although he does not even know martial arts. I have also heard enough of teen drama and supervisors whose power goes to their heads. If those characters were sympathetic, I would have been able to ignore the lack of individuality, but almost all of the people are so inapproachable, frigid and stiff, that it was impossible for me to like them. The only exception are the soldier Bryan and drug addict Mia. First of all Okezie Morro and Danica Curcic have much more spark and eagerness than their fellow actors. Furthermore the two characters stand out from the mishmash of the others due to their mysterious past and their complexity.



Laura: I agree with Katrin. Most characters are one-dimensional and boring. Especially Kevin really annoyed me, because he is a walking stereotype: The family man, who struggles to get to his loved ones and wants to do everything right. That is so predictable and stale. I also think Mia and Bryan were the most sympathetic people, because they are multilayered and have more interesting back stories. It is quite sad there are only two interesting characters, considering how many are introduced. A story is less thrilling when there is a lack of great characters, because you simply do not care about them. I often thought about "The Walking Dead". This series has a similar idea: A group of people has to survive in a dangerous environment. It also has a lot of different characters, but they are deeper and more credible. No, absolutely not! You meet exactly the same charcters, you can find in any other series about a group of people, who are cut off from the outside world and struggle to survive. Like the great, brave dad, who goes on a heroic quest to find his family, winning every fight along the way, although he does not even know martial arts. I have also heard enough of teen drama and supervisors whose power goes to their heads. If those characters were sympathetic, I would have been able to ignore the lack of individuality, but almost all of the people are so inapproachable, frigid and stiff, that it was impossible for me to like them. The only exception are the soldier Bryan and drug addict Mia. First of all Okezie Morro and Danica Curcic have much more spark and eagerness than their fellow actors. Furthermore the two characters stand out from the mishmash of the others due to their mysterious past and their complexity.I agree with Katrin. Most characters are one-dimensional and boring. Especially Kevin really annoyed me, because he is a walking stereotype: The family man, who struggles to get to his loved ones and wants to do everything right. That is so predictable and stale. I also think Mia and Bryan were the most sympathetic people, because they are multilayered and have more interesting back stories. It is quite sad there are only two interesting characters, considering how many are introduced. A story is less thrilling when there is a lack of great characters, because you simply do not care about them. I often thought about "The Walking Dead". This series has a similar idea: A group of people has to survive in a dangerous environment. It also has a lot of different characters, but they are deeper and more credible.



Which scene did you like the least?

Lie and complain nonstop: Alex (l.) and Eve Photo: Spike/Netflix Laura: It is hard to only name one. But I think the most annoying one was at the end. Alex is attacked by a "mist snake", which enters her mouth. This goes on for about half a minute, while Alex' eyes slowly turn white. Suddenly her crush Jay (Luke Cosgrove) appears. Of course he survived outside on his own - howsoever - and finds the girl immediately although he did not know she was there. Alex cannot even scream due to the monster in her mouth. What is really unbelievable: She survives the attack somehow. The "snake" releases her and tackles Jay, who dies after about five seconds. Seriously???



It is hard to only name one. But I think the most annoying one was at the end. Alex is attacked by a "mist snake", which enters her mouth. This goes on for about half a minute, while Alex' eyes slowly turn white. Suddenly her crush Jay (Luke Cosgrove) appears. Of course he survived outside on his own - howsoever - and finds the girl immediately although he did not know she was there. Alex cannot even scream due to the monster in her mouth. What is really unbelievable: She survives the attack somehow. The "snake" releases her and tackles Jay, who dies after about five seconds. Seriously??? Katrin: Definitely every scene, that includes Kevin, Eve or Alex Copeland. Those three are so annoying! Only a car or glass door (By the way the mist is not moving through gaps, probably because otherwise the season would not be ten episodes long due to everyone dying quickly.) separates them from the deadly mist, but they have nothing better to do than to look back on their boring family history and make stupid decisions. I wanted to skip Mrs. Ravens's disturbing behavior and the constant discussions about God too, but was worried I might miss some answers (Turned out I would not have missed anything.).



Which scene did you like best?

Laura: When Mia enters her old home and meets a hallucination. Finally a real "confrontation" between a character and a threat from the mist, which lasts longer than the blink of an eye. This scene was really intense and Mia's struggle for survival made her character even more interesting.

Katrin: I almost forgot that scene, but Laura is right! It was very well made! Especially because all the other characters were physically attacked, while Mia was supposed to be talked into dying voluntarily. Apart from that I liked the sequence inside the hospital, when Bryan helps Mia to get off drugs quickly. I thought it was powerful how she is tied to her bed and screams for his help, while he ist torn, because Mia made him promise earlier not to untie her no matter what.



What would you have changed about the story? Cool poses inside the deadly mist: Great idea! Photo: Spike/Netflix Katrin: Most importantly I would have reduced the number of characters significantly. There are around ten main characters and about as many minor ones. Plus a lot of episode characters. Episode 5 was one of the best in my opinion, because the plot focuses on one setting. This way it was easier to get into the story and establish a connection with the characters. During the other episodes the focus constantly changes. Because of this I lost track of time within the story. At one point it is mentioned, that five days have passed. I was sure it had only been a few hours. Basic information like this would have been clearly defined, if I were the director. Answering all the key questions (Who was the man with the radio? Why did the mist monster spare Alex? What exactly happened to Bryan? Why did the soldiers commit suicide? To name just a few...) would have been important to me too. Most importantly I would have reduced the number of characters significantly. There are around ten main characters and about as many minor ones. Plus a lot of episode characters. Episode 5 was one of the best in my opinion, because the plot focuses on one setting. This way it was easier to get into the story and establish a connection with the characters. During the other episodes the focus constantly changes. Because of this I lost track of time within the story. At one point it is mentioned, that five days have passed. I was sure it had only been a few hours. Basic information like this would have been clearly defined, if I were the director. Answering all the key questions (Who was the man with the radio? Why did the mist monster spare Alex? What exactly happened to Bryan? Why did the soldiers commit suicide? To name just a few...) would have been important to me too.

Laura: I would have focused more on the mist with all its threats and the characters fighting actively against it. Also it would have been important to me to specify the actual danger - for example taking the monsters from the short story, because they are scarier than all the creatures from the TV series. Like Katrin I would have introduced less main characters and spent more time on developing them.





Last, but not least: What do you expect from a second season?