The Mist 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Mist 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 7, 2023

What could be more terrifying than mist, at least for your average video compressionist? Joking aside, kind of interestingly Frank Darabont is on hand in some archival supplements included in this release giving a bit of history of his long fascination with Stephen King and the "fear factor" the author so easily generates, a fascination which at one point was split between this property and The Shawshank Redemption*, and in fact it was the success of The Shawshank Redemption which gave Darabont a certain freedom to pursue The Mist when he was perhaps a bit more firmly ensconced on the so-called A List. Still, as Darabont gets into in both his commentary track and some of the other supplements, The Mist was not hugely budgeted and it's at least arguable that its large and admittedly impressive ensemble cast didn't feature any huge "marquee stars", despite the participation of notables including Thomas Jane and Marcia Gay Harden. That may actually redound to the film's benefit since there's a kind of built in ambivalence as to whether a so-called "character actor" might be expendable for plot purposes, as in fact does happen as the story unfolds. Darabont has gone on record offering parallels to any number of other offerings that ply this same general territory of an isolated and confined group of people facing an (at least initially) unknown menace, and how different people respond differently, but The Mist doesn't just intelligently mine that particular aspect, it builds on a basic "monster movie" premise to finally deliver one of the most devastating final sequences in horror movie history, one that will surely leave a lasting impression on most viewers.

*Note that the link points to the UK release by The Film Vault, since I reviewed that version, though that said, the discs in the release are region free and for anyone who loves swag, the Film Vault releases in general may be of some interest.

The Mist had a two disc 1080 release that came out so long ago it was distributed by Genius / Dimension, which I don't think is in business any longer in that particular configuration. You'll get no better assessment of the film than Martin Liebman's The Mist Blu-ray review of that long ago release. Marty's review also offers a bunch of screenshots of the 1080 versions (one in color, one in black and white) as well as offering a list of the supplements (which are also on the 1080 discs in this set). As my evidently ceaseless mantra goes, different reviewers means different opinions, and so you may note some minor differences in our scores.

The Mist 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 discs included in this release.

The Mist is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfers (in either color or black and white) in 1.85:1. This may be a field day for videophiles frankly whether or not you're particularly impressed with the results of either and/or both transfers here simply because it's often so interesting to compare them. I'll just start out by stating generally that in both versions there are some clear upticks in detail on both "mundane" items like fabrics on costumes or even labels in the store, but also with regard to some of the texturing on both the practical puppets and other visual effects in the film. Now here's where things got kind of unexpected for me in terms of looking at an effect in black and white versus in color. While I concur with Darabont's preference for the black and white version in general, I have to say some of the mist effects in the black and white version in particular struck me as patently less real looking than in the color version. While there's not actual banding at play, I could spot more of a clear delineation between tonal values in the kind of neutral white to off white range in the black and white version than I could in the color version. The flip side of that reaction is that I was much less pleased with the overall look of grain and especially how it interacts with some of the mist effects in the color version, where it just looked considerably chunkier and understandably more yellow (it being color and all) than in the black and white version. Interestingly, I'd say detail levels are remarkably consistent when stacking the versions up against each other, though there may be slightly more shadow detail available in the color version at times. HDR and/or Dolby Vision actually seemed to have cooled things down somewhat in the color version, which doesn't have the same flushed quality that Marty mentions with regard to the 1080 presentation, and while there are definitely improvements in both blacks and grayscale in the 4K UHD version, I'm frankly not sure HDR has actually changed things as noticeably as it does in the color version.

The Mist 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Mist features a really effective Dolby Atmos track that announces its "weather report" from the get go with thunderclaps that clearly emanate from the Atmos speakers, just the first of several nice placements that offer often fun and spooky "swirling" sounds as the mist starts invading. Kind of interestingly, though, the surround activity seems more consistent to my ears throughout the Atmos rendering even in some of the less "showy" scenes, as in the cacophonous sequences in the store as panic and chaos start breaking out. As Marty mentioned in his review of the 1080 version, on the "low end" of things there is some really aggressive LFE scattered throughout the track, starting with the startle effect of a giant tree crashing through a window. There are some very fun and scary panning noises as various slimy creatures (and/or their tentacles) start wreaking havoc. Marty had some issues with the dialogue in the early going of the 1080 version, but I didn't notice anything overly untoward, though I have to say both video and audio in the first scenes have always had a kind of oddly rough look and sound to them in my estimation. Another cool score by Mark Isham is also well placed throughout the surround channels. Optional English, French and Spanish subtitles are available.

The Mist 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This four disc set offers the prior two disc 1080 release with two 2160 discs presenting the film in color or black and white, per the 1080 release. The 1080 discs contain all of the supplements detailed by Marty in his The Mist Blu-ray review while the two 4K UHD discs offer the commentary track by Frank Darabont and Denise Huth. Additionally a digital copy is included and packaging features a slipcover.

The Mist 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Mist is absolutely unrelenting, and in my considered opinion it delivers one of the most unsettling gut punches in horror film history in its closing seconds. This nice new release from Lionsgate offers both Darabont's preferred black and white and the theatrical release color versions, and the 1080 discs provide all of the previously released supplemental content. Technical merits are generally solid, especially and outstanding new Atmos track. Highly recommended.