The Fog
| release date | February 8 1980 |
| studio | MGM |
| director | John Carpenter |
| writer | John Carpenter, Deborah Hill |
| starring | Adrienne Barbeau, Janet Leigh, Jamie Lee Curtis |
| rating | R |
| tagline | What you can't see won't hurt you... it'll kill you! |
| site | mgm.com/title_title.do?title_star=FOG |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
2 Comments
This is one of my all time favorites. It’s EXTREMELY underrated!!! This is definitely one of the best John Carpenter movies. An absolute MUST for horror fans!
For starters this is a very underrated film. And Carpenter is probably the best at using a camera for different shots in a film that actually make the hair on your neck stand up! This is a great atmospheric film that IMO is so well done and is right there with most of his films. Carpenter took a ghost story and made it creepy and fun at the same time. Loved this film!
A very creepy and cool movie. I saw this movie when I was a kid and it freaked me out. Very inventive and cool idea. The remake sucks ass though.
“While celebrating its centenary birthday, a small Californian coastal town is visited by a ghostly fog containing an army of murderous spirits who take revenge for a terrible injustice.
Released on a wave of expectation following the worldwide success of John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN (1978), THE FOG surprised everyone by generating only moderate returns at the US box-office, though it’s arguably the better of the two films. Beautifully photographed by Carpenter stalwart Dean Cundey (BACK TO THE FUTURE, JURASSIC PARK, etc.), this unassuming ‘ghost story’ opens on a lonely clifftop at midnight, where crusty old sea dog John Houseman tells an audience of wide-eyed children how their home town was built on the foundations of tragedy. As with HALLOWEEN, the pace is slow but steady, punctuated by a series of well-judged scares, and there’s a relentless accumulation of details which belies the script’s modest ambitions.
Jamie Lee Curtis headlines the movie opposite her real life mother Janet Leigh, though Hal Holbrook takes the acting honors as a frightened priest who realizes the town was founded on deception and murder. As the fog rolls in, the narrative reaches an apocalyptic crescendo, as the film’s principal cast are besieged by zombie-like phantoms inside an antiquated church, in scenes reminiscent of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968). Scary stuff, to be sure, though Carpenter was forced to add new material during post-production in an effort to ‘beef up’ the movie’s horror quotient, including a memorable late-night encounter between a fishing boat and the occupants of a ghostly schooner which looms out of the swirling fog (similar scenes would be added to HALLOWEEN II in 1981 for the same reasons, though under less agreeable circumstances). Production values are solid, and Carpenter cranks up the tension throughout, resulting in a small masterpiece of American Gothic. Highly recommended.” –Libretio, imdb.com
Why was it, all the best classic horror movies were made in the early 80″s. I rest my case.
Watch it for the theme song, haunting stuff.
It had a couple suspensful parts, but overall a very slow movie. I know all of you are going to say “Oh it’s a classic you have to love you have no appreciation for good horror”. And yes, I do, I just don’t care for this movie too much.
I loved this film, I’ve never seen that teeny bopper PG-13 bullshit of a remake and don’t plan on it either. The pirates in this movie are so fuckin freaky to me. Those eyes are just haunting. One of my favorite Carpenter films by far. There was absolutely no reason to remake this, but then again over half the remakes that are made don’t need to be made either.
John Carpenter, 1980′s. Now go see it.
A classic Carpenter-masterpiece and undoubtedly one of the best, creepiest and most atmospheric horror movies ever made. Damn, this film is so atmospheric, it’s hard to believe. Apart from that, there’s a pretty good cast (Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, Adrienne Barbeau…), an amazing soundtrack, beautiful cinematography and lots of suspense and tension. Simply amazing.
very good
i was at a convention like 2 years ago and talkin to these 2 guys who both said they never saw this movie. i was shocked by this when some guy beside us and his girlfriend jumped in and claimed they never watched it either…. what the fuck! most under rated awsome movie ever. this was creepy as hell when your a little kid and just plain badass when your grown. carpenter just had it right, and still does no matter what people have to say, although there no arguing ghost of mars…..yikes
One of my personal favorite films of all time, its simple and a little aged, but a very well told ghost story that stood the test of time and still delivers chills and a bunch of genuine scares. A great little gem that was embarrassed by a horrific remark. This is the original and it cannot be remade or copied.
AWESOME! Soooo much better than that motherfuckin’
remake they did a while back, what the hell were
they thinking?
Great, classic horror! One of John Carpenters best in my opinion…an easy third place behind The Thing and Halloween. A well made movie, with a good cast and story. Be sure to watch this one, and not the ridiculous remake…
I like most of John Carpenters films, but this isn’t one of them. At a mere hour and a half long it feels like it goes on forever. The whole movie is a build-up to the last 10 minutes and the payoff isn’t worth it. Simply put: It’s boring.
“Is all that we see or seem, but a dream within a dream?” -Edgar Allen Poe
What a great way to open a great Ghost story!
As Carpenter said, quote “What if there was something in that fog?” to Debra Hill while they were at Stonehenge. An idea was born…!
The Fog is a tale of Nocturnal terror. That’s what the cover says and it’s true! It’s wonderful as the film starts with a classic ghost story. Only then to we find out that it has some basis to a true story. Ghosts reek havoc on this small sea side town to collect 6 victims. The number is important but you’ll have to watch!
The film has a great duel main character story that shifts from one person to another! Two main characters experiencing the same terror.
It’s also the first time that Janiet Leigh and her daughter Jamie Lee are together in a film. (well at that time)
This is a wonderful ride of dark shadows and creepy tales of pirates that makes you remember what it’s like to be scared as a kid.
i loved this film when i was a kid i used to run off home when the fog started the film is realy dark and creepy with great acting and story would say watch this version instead of the remake this one is well better
Classic!! one of the best horror movies great story and excllnt acting nice lil ghost story
One of the most intense Carpenter atmospheres in all this films. I lived by the beach. From Housman to Holbrook and the golden cross at the end, there’s a million reasons to love this film. If you havent seen it, what are you doing?
Good, not great. It’s Carpenter, so it’s better than a LOT, and even Carpenter at his worst is better than some people at their best. Are they ghosts? Are they zombies? Is there something IN the fog, or is the fog just creepy? These questions are raised, but only somewhat answered. Still better than a lot of other movies out there. More information here:
http://thewolfmancometh.com/2010/11/05/the-fog-1980/
I don’t imagine it’s the best work of John Carpenter, but I do admire the visual craft that went into this movie.
But I do have many problems with the film as well. It’s entertaining and ambitious, but never ingenious or particularly scary. It leaves a lot up to the imagination, which is nice, but it doesn’t have enough substance to do that much justice. It may please some horror fans, but it kind of felt heartlessly entertaining to me. But that’s better than nothing.
Pirate Zombie/Ghosts act as the villains for the story. They travel through a thick fog; looking for people to murder in the name of vengeance. I’m not in the mood to spoil anything, but all you need to know is that the entire plot involves the villains, the heroes and heroines, and a very thick fog, indeed. Kind of fun; kind of entertaining, but nothing remains consistent, and nothing surprises.
Decent film differently better than the 2005 remake.
I watched “The Fog” last night, and I didn’t expect that much to be honest, even if it is the master that is John Carpenter! It certainly isn’t his best but definitely works as a classic 70′s supernatural slasher and it is actually really enjoyable.
The atmosphere has to be the best thing in this film. If you watched this on a foggy night then you really would be quite scared! The direction is brilliant as it builds up this really unerving tension throughout the film and so when the fog comes it’s actually quite terrifying, even if it is just a really powerful smoke machine with a torch shining on it!
The score is another higlight, it’s so creepy and catchy like the “Halloween” score, both actually composed by John himself! In fact the music does really well to keep the tension and atmosphere to its thickest.
However, it isn’t all rosy. “The Fog” has a lot of problems that restrain it from being a proper classic. Although it is quite violent, it isn’t bloody enough. John should’ve been much more brave with the use of gore. Most is left to our imagination and so it isn’t particulary memorable.
None of the characters are particulary likable either. Jamie Lee and her hitchhiker pal aren’t particulary useful or memorable for that fact. In fact the characters aren’t particulary well written at all! John decides to put in too many characters so we can’t connect deeply with them as we would’ve liked to.
The ending was also a bit of a cop-out, I won’t ruin it for you but it’s a little childish if you get what I mean. However the direct ending before the credits is superb! In the end (no pun intended) we have not-quite-so Carpenter classsic but nevertheless a certainly enjoyable and memorable film with guaranteed scares if you watch it during a foggy night. The plot and idea is certainly original and so I would definitely recommend!
Not one of Carpenters big classic, but it has his trademarks, such as big suspense and a scary villain, who is never entirely explained.
It’s no masterpiece, but an entertaining horror movie, you might want to check out if you like other Carpenter movies like Halloween.
another classic JC. The use of the fog was downright creepy.
While nowhere near a favorite of mine, its definitely a movie Iâe(TM)ll watch a few times here and there over the years. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys 1980âe(TM)s horror flicks or ghosts seeking revenge sort of films. Make no mistake though, its not a âeoeghosts haunting your houseâe sort of film at all. Check out a more in depth review at my Horror Movie/Book review site @ ShiversOfHorror.com