We’re in the thick of Halloween season and that means horror movie watching is at its annual peak. Fans of the genre are looking for new horror hits, or classics to revisit, and all of the major streaming services have loaded up on spooky titles to celebrate the season. Peacock has been one of the biggest proponents of horror additions this fall, and one of its newest arrivals features one of the darkest and most memorable endings of all time.
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On October 1st, Peacock added The Mist to its streaming lineup, bringing one of the most popular Stephen King adaptations to the service. Released in 2007, The Mist was directed by Frank Darabont (a frequent King adapter) and starred Thomas Jane. The film tells the story of a terrifying mist that starts spreading through a small town one morning. It’s unknown to the residents what resides within the mist, but it is immediately clear that getting caught outside in the mist will result in agonizing death.
Jane plays a father trying desperately to keep his family alive and either find a way through the mist, or wait for it to disappear. His goals all come to a head in the final minutes of the movie, which are genuinely gut-wrenching and downright brutal to watch. That ending scene is so powerful that it’s what most fans remember first when thinking about The Mist.
The Mist Ending Explained
It should go without saying, based on the whole “ending explained” title above, but we’re about to dive into serious spoiler territory here. If you haven’t seen The Mist before, and you want to preserve the ending, go watch it before reading the rest of this article.
Near the end of the movie, the town learns that horrifying monsters dwell within the mist. It also doesn’t seem as though the mist is going anywhere. Waiting for military help feels like a lost cause, so Jane’s character (David) gets his family and close allies loaded into a car and tries to drive as far through the mist as he can. The car runs out of gas and they know they are sitting ducks, and that they will eventually be killed by the monsters.
In the car is a gun loaded with four bullets — but there are five people in the group. David does what feels like the most selfless thing and kills everyone in the car, sparing them from the devastating fate that awaits them all in the mist. He shoots everyone, including his young son, leaving him alone as the only person who has to face the monsters. But when David exits the car, filled with horror after killing everyone he loves and ready to meet his doom, the mist starts to clear. Then the military shows up fully armed, taking out the monsters as they retreat into the shrinking mist.
So long story short: David shot his son and the rest of the people he cared about, only for the threat to disappear mere moments later. The sacrifice was basically for nothing and he was left to live a life knowing he was completely alone. The film ends with Jane screaming into the air as he collapses to the ground.
Talk about a real happy ending, right?
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
