The Fog (1980)

While not John Carepenter's best movie, "The Fog" is an atmospheric ghost story that delivers a few good chills. We can't expect our beloved horror movies from the 70's and 80's to hold up forever, and "The Fog" has become a little dated over time.

"The Fog" is very scenic and has a great ensemble cast including Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh (Jamie's real life mother), and a small cameo by John HousemanÂ… just to name a few.

I particularly liked the premise of Jamie Lee Curtis's character Elizabeth Solley, a solo hitchhiker on her way to Vancouver who gets picked up by local resident Nick Castle (Tom Atkins), sleeps with him the first night they meet, and then never leaves his side through the rest of the movie as the terror of "The Fog" unfolds.

Boy, you just HAVE to love the 80's!!!

The small coastal town of Antonio Bay is celebrating it's 100 year anniversary. However, also 100 years ago a ship sailed along its shores and a curse was born. Unbeknownst to the new residents, the sailors of that vessel have come back, walking through the nightly glowing fog to kill and avenge the loss of the treasure that was stolen from them.

I won't say more as not to give the movie away. For nostalgic purposes, this film is definitely worth a viewing. If it's been a very long time since you've watched "The Fog" and you don't remember it all too well (as was the case with me) it's worth a second look indeed.

"The Fog" is not bloodbath/slasher horror, but it does make for a good spooky late night film. With the current remake currently in production and to be released by 10-05, what better time to revisit the original!!

Recommend!

Fmovies: "Scary then and still scary now." That's what a lot of people say about this movie, and I have no argument against that. I'm not particularly a fan of "ghost stories" but this is well done and still looks good, which is why they keep coming out with DVDs on this film and a recent re-make. It's a classic.

Unfortunately, the re-make didn't have the cast this film had. Ladies go first in this "original" with Adrienne Barbeau in the lead as "Stevie Wayne," a small- town disc-jockey whose studio is a lighthouse. "Wayne" has a sexy voice that complements the story and adds a nice touch to it. Then there's the real life mother-daughter duo of Janet Leigh and Jamie Lee Curtis. The male lead is played by someone I am not familiar with, Charles Cyphers, but he does a fine job. John Houseman gets good billing here but he's only in the film the first three minutes!

The "star" of this film, however, is the silvery, luminescent fog....a special-effect that was eerie 25 years ago and still has that effect. The films only lasts 90 minutes to the story zips by, the violence is effective but not overdone and the suspense is terrific. The only annoying aspect of the film is the typically-weird theology mumbo-jumbo with another weak priest (Hal Holbrook, in this case) shown. Hollywood loves showing priests who are pathetic. The rest of the movie is fun to watch.

In "The Fog", John Carpenter manages to accomplish what few other directors are able to do: create a very chilling and spooky ghost film, a real rarity in Hollywood history. I have fond memories of watching this with my mother for the first time at night and remembering both of us having goosebumps. The movie begins with an old sea captain (played brilliantly by John Houseman) telling a group of children around a fire about a ship that crashed into the rocks because they saw a strange light in the area. All the men drowned, though their spirits never rested. Instead, they lie in wait for the day when they will take their revenge on those who wronged them. A very effective opening indeed. Though it does not end there. All around town, strange things begin to happen: car horns and lights start going off, glass is blown apart in local shops, and a strange fog seemly comes out of nowhere. Beware of this, because there's something very powerful in that fog. So many things make this movie what it is. First, the effects are simple but effective. Scenes are shot in a wide pan vision, giving the film a broader look, the fog is so simple but yet so intimidating at the same time. Then there is the acting. I don't think one could ask for a better cast then what we have here: Tom Atkins, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, Hal Holbrook, to name a few. But perhaps what really makes the movie what it is, is the fact that everyone loves a good ghost story, and John Carpenter, along with Debra Hill, manage to give us just that. PS. Remember to beware of the fog.

The Fog fmovies. "The Fog" has the special place in my heart-it is one of the first horror movies I have ever seen.Everyone knows the plot,so let's concentrate on the other things.First of all the photography by Dean Cundey is absolutely brilliant(Cundey worked together with Carpenter on "Halloween" and "The Thing")."The Fog" certainly delivers some scares-the ghostly sea crew appears as shadows and aren't seen much.Jamie Lee Curtis is perfect as one of the leads and it's nice to see her famous mother,Janet Leigh in the film!All in all if you haven't seen this one check it out as soon as possible.A must-see for horror fans.9 out of 10.

The Fog is an instant horror classic from the first scene- a salty, old sailor tells a group of young children the true story of a ghostly, wrecked ship. The scene was so simple yet so thrilling that the viewer is hooked (no pun intended) for the rest of the film. The cast is great and the music sets the tone just as it did for Halloween. The best part of the film is that it made no attempt to explain everything away in a hokey horror sense (Why are the bodies returning to life?). Things happen simply because they happen. Much like Night of the Living Dead, the characters are not concerned with why they are in danger, but more concerned with getting out of danger. On a side note, John Carpenter has the best endings of any filmmaker on the market. Just as Halloween and The Thing both ended with a sense of foreboding and silent terror, The Fog ends with style and allows the viewer one final scare. A definite hit!!!

"The Fog" is one of the very few real scary movies. For some reason phones that begin ringing on their own and car alarms that go off without any reason, is still much more scarier than a CGI-ghost appearing out of a wall. John Carpenter has always been a master in creating scary, creepy scene's with minimal resources but maximum scare. If you also liked this movies, I also recommend "In the Mouth of Madness" to you, a criminally underrated horror masterpiece, also directed by John Carpenter.

The movie has a good and original creepy story with awesome ghostly figures and gore, without any blood. It is notable that this movie had a low budget which works perfectly for the dark, depressing atmosphere. The movie is quite short and because of that the movie feels 'incomplete', if like not all of the events are covered in the story, this is also due to the fact that the movie has an open ending of course like almost every horror movie has. For some reason, because of this 'incomplete' feeling the movie feels even creepier.

The movie has some good actors in it. Remember this movie was made back in the days when it still was OK for well known actors to appear in horror movies. Present day, only young unknown actors seem to appear in horror movies. This movie stars; Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh ("Psycho") and Hal Holbrook. Not the worlds worst actors if you ask me. It's especially amazing that all of those three are in this one movie, considering the low budget of the movie.

This movie is perfect in what it tries to achieve. It creates a perfect horror atmosphere, with a typical creepy musical score by John Carpenter himself and has some good creepy moments in it. This is one of the rare real scary movies ever made. "The Fog" is an unique and original horror movie and sadly, horror movies like this will never be made again.

10/10

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