The Fog (1980)

“There’s something in the fog!”  29 July 2021

A mysterious, thick fog rolls into a small seaside community.  However, this is no ordinary fog.  This fog brings death in the form of ghostly apparitions.  A century ago, the townsfolk of Antonio Bay deliberately lured a ship too close to shore.  The dead are out for revenge.  

I re-watched John Carpenter's The Fog yesterday and found it as effective as I did 40 years ago.  Whether it’s the actors (what a cast!), the music, or Dean Cundy’s cinematography,, it all works.  But for me, it’s the atmosphere Carpenter created that’s key to the movie’s effectiveness.  There’s a real sense of dread and menace in the ever encroaching fog that makes this one super creepy.  While there are a few well placed jump scares, the foreboding atmosphere of The Fog is what I remember.  While it’s not my favorite movie in Carpenter’s filmography, it’s a solid entry.

A few random thoughts about The Fog:

1. I love Carpenter’s score.  It’s like a mixture of his brilliant music from Halloween with a touch of Goblin’s Suspiria score.  

2. When Adrienne Barbeau’s character, Stevie (who never appears on-screen with the rest of the main cast), starts alerting the town to the danger of the fog - why?  She’s got no firsthand knowledge of any danger.  It’s all wild speculation.  This is one of my biggest complaints with The Fog.

3. It only takes Tom Atkins’ character, Nick Castle (I love Carpenter’s use of these names), 45 minutes to end up in the sack with Jamie Lee Curtis.  Nice work if you can get it.

4. The fog (and other practical effects) in The Fog is impressive.  I’m not sure how they actually made that much fog.  There are literal walls of thick fog.  It reminded me of that episode of Scooby Doo when they use a knife to cut a hole in the fog.  

7/10