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I thought that for my first horror review on this site that it should be for one of my favourites. Many would argue that Halloween (1978) is John Carpenters finest achievement in horror, but I have always veered more towards his follow up feature, the fantastic The Fog (1980).
This is in no way to take away from Halloween, just that The Fog appeals to me more. Perhaps it's the coastal town setting, the focus on a more supernatural terror or simply how well Carpenter builds the atmosphere and tension.
Much more of an ensemble piece than Halloween, The Fog is set in the fictional town of Antonio Bay, which is getting prepared to celebrate its 100 year anniversary.
Before the celebrations take place, Father Malone (Hal Holbrook) uncovers a devastating secret. It turns out that the town’s founders were responsible for the murder of a Mariner called Blake and his followers.
Suffering from Leprosy, they were looking for a safe haven to live only to be double crossed by so the founders could steal from them. Lulled into a false sense of security, they sunk Blake and his peoples ship, the Elizabeth Dane. They would go on to later retrieve their I'll gotten gains.
Unfortunately for Antonio Bay, the ghosts of Blake and his fellow Mariners have returned for revenge on this quiet town. Accompanied by a strange glowing fog that sweeps over the town, they begin their bloody trail of vengeance, starting with three fishermen who they violently murder.
As the film progresses, town DJ Stevie Wayne (Adrienne Barbeau) starts to become aware that there’s something seriously wrong. Stuck in a remote lighthouse, she is forced to try and assist the townsfolk from afar, speaking to them through the radio.
We also follow hitchhiker Elizabeth (Jamie Lee Curtis) and town resident Nick (Tom Atkins) who are investigating what happened to the missing fishermen.
As well as those, there are Mayor Elizabeth Solley (Janet Leigh) and her assistant Sandy (Nancy Loomis), who are informed by Father Malone of how their town was originally founded on blood, with the Mayor facing the dilemma of whether they should still hold the celebrations after what they have learned. The Mayor also has the added worry of her husband being one of the missing fishermen.
As the night goes on, they all become too aware of what is happening in town, with them all having to fight for their lives.
Originally opening to lackluster reviews, The Fog has rightfully gone on to become somewhat of a cult classic. Some reviewers felt that it was too much of a departure from the slasher delights of Halloween, but this is the very aspect that makes it more appealing.
Although working with a larger budget than Halloween, The Fog still could never be considered big budget fare. With this in mind, Carpenter does terrific work behind the camera, creating a film that looks more expensive than its $1.1 million budget would suggest.
It helps that Carpenter chose to shoot the film in anamorphic 2.35:1 format, with him and cinematographer Dean Cundey creating startling imagery, utilising the beautiful coastal town setting for all it's worth.
Considering it was shot in 1979 (released 1980), the special effects are well realised and haven't really dated at all, with the fog being especially well done. Due to the time period, there is more of a preference for practical effects which makes it standout in these days of over saturated CGI movies.
Carpenters previous Halloween may be perceived as being violent and bloody, but upon watching it you will realise there is very little blood or overt gore in use. In matter of fact, The Fog is a much more violent film, with a good deal of gore and creature effects.
The addition of the gore scenes was down to Carpenter and producer Debra Hill being unhappy with an early rough cut, and decided to do reshoots to insert more shocking violence so to be more in line with the horror films of the time.
Not all of the additional scenes were violent however, with Carpenter also including the new prologue where John Houseman tells a group of children the story of the Elizabeth Dane, which sets the film up perfectly.
Like his previous movies, Carpenter also wrote the script. Apparently influenced by British horror movie The Trollenberg terror (1958), as well as a visit to Stonehenge, where he had spotted an eerie fog in the distance, and wondered what if something lived in the fog.
The script is like the work of Carpenters hero Howard Hawks, fast moving and straight to the point. Like a number of Hawks movies, there is a focus on strong woman characters. Not all the credit show go to Carpenter though, as co-writer Debra Hill was responsible for a great deal of the completed script.
The Fog proved to be an especially difficult production for Hill, with Carpenter recently getting married to leading actress Adrienne Barbeau after he and Hill had finished their long term relationship. Hill commented herself that it was hard, as while Carpenter was on his honeymoon, she was home working on the script, writing dialogue for Barbeau's character.
As is the norm for most Carpenter films, he also contributes the music score, with The Fog being one of his very best, and a fitting accompaniment to the on screen action.
Carpenter had previously worked with Barbeau on the television movie Someone's Watching Me! (1978), but she was only a supporting player at the time. Here she is essentially the lead and she doesn’t disappoint, with Stevie Wayne being one of Barbeau's best and most memorable roles.
For the majority of the film she is alone in her studio/lighthouse, with an early scene between her and on screen son Ty Mitchell being the only instance of her sharing the screen with another actor. Well that is until the tense finale, when the ghostly Mariners show up at her door. Up until then, most of her communications with the cast is either through the telephone or radio.
This marked Jamie Lee Curtis second film with Carpenter. More of a supporting role this time, the character is quite different from Halloweens Laurie Strode, with Elizabeth seeming to have much more confidence than the repressed Miss Strode.
Most of Curtis' screen time is spent with the ever reliable Tom Atkins. The two work well together, especially during their scene on an abandoned fishing trawler which is creepily effective, with Atkins relaying a story about a deserted boat his father found. Slowly building the tension, Carpenter ends the scene with a particularly well timed jump scare.
Atkins has an every-man quality to him, being instantly relatable to the audience. He would bring those same qualities to future Carpenter production, Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), where he made his self-centered character likeable.
According to some accounts, Atkins role in the Fog was offered to none other than Kurt Russell who Carpenter had worked with the year previous on Elvis (1979). Thankfully Kurt Russell turned it down, paving the way for the more suitable Atkins.
Rounding out the cast are Hollywood screen veterans Janet Leigh and Hal Holbrook. Both of them add a sense of gravitas to the film.
Leigh is great, with the only drawback being that she doesn't get to share any proper screen time with real life daughter Jamie Lee Curtis, with only a few brief scenes towards and during the finale. Even then, they don't share and dialogue.
Although she kept herself busy with television appearances, this marked Leigh's last feature film for almost 20 years, unless you count The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal (1985), a documentary feature where she appeared as herself.
It wouldn’t be until Halloween: H20 (1998), where she got the chance to share the screen with her daughter once again, featuring in a nice cameo that not only paid tribute to their real life mother/daughter relationship but to Leigh's most iconic role, that of Marion Crane in Psycho (1960).
According to reports, Holbrook wasn't a fan of the film. As always the professional, he never lets that show in his performance, with the conflicted Father Malone being a major highlight.
Interestingly, he and his The Fog co-stars Adrienne Barbeau and Tom Atkins would go on to feature in George A. Romero's Creepshow (1982), another horror classic, albeit a different type then The Fog. Amazingly, Holbrook is still working, even at the grand age of 94, showing up most recently in television show Hawaii Five 0.
In addition to the main cast, keep your eyes peeled for Darwin Joston from Carpenters earlier hit, Assault on Precinct 13 (1977). He appears briefly as the hilariously named Dr Phibes.
Even though Carpenter has stated that it's not his favourite film, The Fog has stood the test of time and deserves to stand shoulder to shoulder alongside his higher regarded Halloween. To truly appreciate its greatness, one only has to watch the abysmal 2005 remake.
Rating: 5/5
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