"...you throw people in the dark, you scare the shit out of them - no more rules."

What a week it has been, America! Half of you have spent the entire week yelling at each other about who to vote for and what would be good for your country.

You know what would be good for America? You getting a job!

This week's Thursday Thriller is The Mist.

This 2007 Frank Darabont adaptation of a Stephen King tragedy dares to ask what might feel like too relevant a question in these chaotic times: If you've only got a short time left anyway, do you stay indoors to get carved up by a bunch of religious whackos, or do you take your chances outside where it's very likely you will get eaten by gigantic, trans-dimensional, Lovecraftian bug-monsters designed by legendary horror illustrator Bernie Wrightson?

As amazing as the creatures look, the story focuses more on the human drama that might occur if a bunch of people are trapped inside a grocery store as a dense fog swallows a small New England town. They soon learn that the fog is just swimming with terrible monsters that will rip people to shreds or even use their bodies as nests in which to lay thousands of eggs. David Drayton (Thomas Jane) is one of the cooler heads who try to find a rational solution to the problem while the town Bible-thumper Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden) whips the other yokels into a bloodthirsty frenzy.

The Mist is a good, solid creature-feature that relies more heavily on good character development than guts and gore. In fact, one of the scariest moments in the first act includes almost a full minute of character close-ups while an air raid siren blares.

The Mist streams on Amazon Prime.