I genuinely liked the movie, but hated the ending enough that it was years before I watched it again.

Anyone who hasn't, go read the book. The ending is soooo much better and really had me hoping King would explore that whole world more... Easily one of my top five stories of his.

you are confusing the Mist with The Happening. which starred Mark Wahlberg.

they were vaguely similar. While the Mist was a lovecraftian horror story about a heavy fog taking over a region with unearthly horrors prowling the area after a tear in reality or something occured at a Military research facility,

the Happening was a bit more hacky. it was about Plants releasing a neurotoxin that made humans off themselves.

He's the main character in The Happening. Similar premise except its a plague that causes people to commit suicide

I was trying to work out what the joke was/why Wahlberg was replaced.

It must have been something happening.

Screen grab from the final scene of The Mist (2007).

The Mist

A Stephen King movie from 2007. It's worth a watch. You can find YouTube videos about the ending, but it's obviously going to spoil the movie if you're planning to watch it.

Oof

So cool an edgy

This is a scene from a movie called “The Mist” where in this photo, he and his family are on the run from monsters in the mist, they finally got a car and hit the road to escape, the never did get out of the mist.. the car runs out of gas and they sit there quietly in the mist.. they hear something approaching and the man, knowing damn well what was coming, looks at his wife as to say “sorry, I love you” before he shoots his wife and kids.. out of bullets he gets out of the vehicle only to discover the military is marching down the street clearing the mist.