MovieChat Forums > The Mist (2007) Discussion > The Ending Explained Differently.

The Ending Explained Differently.

posted 7 years ago by EastVaner
4 replies | jump to latest

Many that didn't like the ending seem to be in disbelief that it would have happened like that, but after a couple of viewings, this is how I see it:
After they sat in the truck when the fuel ran out, the impending noises of the creatures, and the sound of the incoming military, which would have sounded scary as hell without knowing what it was, rushed them to conclude that they would rather die quickly rather than by the methods they had previously witnessed. This theory is backed up by David leaving the vehicle and yelling "C'mon!", expecting the creatures to finish him. The incoming noises they all heard rushed them to judgement and I think many people, if not all, that had gone through all that fear and stress, would probably prefer a bullet to the head instead of being torn apart. I don't think a discussion would have been necessary. I think if they weren't as scared, and they sat in silence, the instinct to survive would have kept them in the truck with hopes of a different outcome.

This makes perfect sense to me.

[–] debunkerboy 7 years ago

Differently than what? Yours is the usual interpretation.

Sorry, but noises thing fails badly. Consider all that they have faced! All that they have learned. We know the monsters don't invade closed structures, and they have driven unmolested for miles, would Drayton really assume they were in imminent danger in the car just because he heard ominous noises? Of course not. At the very least, knowing what HE KNOWS, you would at least wait to confirm. No, you are going to have to fall back on the idea that he was demoralized for other reasons and maybe the noises were just a disturbing reminder that the danger was still present.

And look how their predicament is framed. Where was the expected effort to avoid the empty gas tank by changing cars, or siphoning, or maybe looking for shelter as the gas got low? Your child is with you! Are you really going to assume that a hundred miles into Maine is a fair sample of what you might find a thousand miles away? "We could look for gas for our perfectly good car and our perfectly good people but nah, let's just shoot now! Yea! Let's shoot now and figure it out later!" But seriously, were we supposed to assume these expected efforts took place? All of this rushes through your mind as you try to deal with this. It is important, I believe, that you stop to properly process your incredulity before you leap to the conclusion that the writer must have known what he was doing and it is your own sensibility to blame. ("Damn if I will be the soft-stomached one to object. Maybe Darabont is just a very brave arteest and I'm a wimp"

That it took a second viewing to come to this (IMO) rationalization I find telling. Tells me you felt disconcerted too and had to start thinking about it to resolve the dissonance.

[–] Narcissist00 7 years ago

Unmolested

[–] debunkerboy 7 years ago

un·mo·lest·ed
ˌənməˈlestəd/
adjective
not pestered or molested; left in peace.
"they allowed him to pass unmolested"

[–] ExTechOp (2735) 5 years ago

Yeah, the closed space thing made their suicide lame.

I wonder if it would've worked if, hearing the unusual, loud, rumbling sound of the military approaching, David got ready to shoot his kid, and THEN they noticed the trucks?

They all survive, and still they see Melissa McBride drive by with their kids, and THAT's the end. Would it be worse than what happened? I don't think so, personally, but it's subject to endless debate.

What's NOT open to debate though: David was right to let Melissa McBride's character leave alone. Seeing her on the truck was, I assume, Darabont's way of sticking it to David: "see? you should've gone with her." But it's equally likely she survived because she was alone and moved quickly (because she knew the way and was motivated to save her kids). THAT little detail took me out of the movie, and made the ending just seem like the filmmaker's way of torturing David Drayton (like having him see his wife's corpse - in the novella he's left uncertain of her fate).