The Mist, based on the Stephen King book of the same name so you know its scary, is one of those films that has gained a huge amount of notoriety thanks to both its incredible bleakness and its terrifying monsters that lurk just outside of our field of vision. After a massive thunderstorm, protagonist David and his family go to the local supermarket to check out the damage and pick up some food where they bump into lots of neighbours doing the same thing. At that point a tornado alarm sounds, and the store is quickly surrounded by an impenetrable mist. Everyone decides to stay in the store until it seems safer out, and a few people investigate the generator at the back. Thats when you first realise that the mist is just cover for giant horrendous tentacle beasts that eat human flesh. The people trapped in the shop have to stay there overnight, and whilst the audience is treated to an onslaught of huge and foul insects, you never actually see the big bad tentacle monsters. The careless quickly get snatched by the toothy tentacles (thats right, as if tentacles werent bad enough, these ones are covered in teeth), but you never see what happens to the unfortunately grabbed, or what grabs them. If these monsters were seen throughout the film, they'd probably appear ridiculous and immensely underwhelming. However, with just a hint of grotesque extremity you can put together the rest. And that rest is as incredibly grim as the ending to this film. What other iconic movie terrors are hardly ever seen? Share your favourites in the comments below.
