The Fog (1980)
Review by Voodoun Romance
The Fog is tamer than John Carpenter’s other horror ventures, and doesn’t seem to gain as much love as, let’s say The Thing or Halloween. Where the latter gave birth to Shatner-faced Boogieman, Michael Myers and churned out seven sequels (not to mention Rob Zombie’s inferior remake in 2007), The Fog didn’t initially garner the same level of popularity with audiences, who were perhaps hungry for another iconic slasher villain. Nor did it necessarily offer the mind-bending and gory special effects witnessed in The Thing. That’s not to say that The Fog doesn’t deliver – it does, but on a different level entirely. An old-fashioned American ghost-story, The Fog is a campfire tale brought to life, bathed in swirling mist and darkness. Its origins deal with an ancient crime, and the sweet promise of retribution. It’s subject matter ripe for a horror film.
It’s the centenary celebrations of desolate town Antonio Bay, and strange occurrences have already happened. A small boat, bobbing on liquorice waters in the dead of night is attacked, surrounded by a fog bank that shouldn’t be there – there’s the glimpse of a huge, tattered sail as a ship drifts by, and then there’s the figures that emerge; thin, wraith-like men, armed with hooks. The bodies of the three men onboard are found the next day, looking like they’ve spent a month under water. It’s a mystery that’s gripped many members of the community, but few are ready to acknowledge the strange goings on and how they coincide with Antonio Bay’s grisly past and the anniversary of the town. You see, a hundred years ago, a wealthy leper named Blake traveled with several members of his colony, hoping to settle just north of Antonio Bay. But, the town founders weren’t happy with the idea of “a leper colony a mile away,” and devised a plan. In the night, and amongst a heavy patch of fog, they purposely misguided Blake’s ship by campfire, guiding it into the rocks. The ship was destroyed and everyone on board was killed. The town founders, “the six conspirators,” plundered the ship, stealing Blake’s wealth and invested it in Antonio Bay, including its church. Now, on the 100th year anniversary, Blake and his crew have returned, wanting to take back what is rightfully theirs, and the lives in place of the six conspirators, who were responsible for their deaths. It’s like Father Malone garbles; “The celebration tonight is a travesty! We’re honoring murders.” And indeed they are! But it’s not all doom an’ gloom, oh no – their misfortune makes for a very fine ghost story, and a creepy one at that.
Despite its relatively short running time, The Fog is multi-layered, specifically in relation to its characters. In a sense, the close community of Antonio Bay and variety of characters with their different backgrounds and contrasting ideas is slightly reminiscent of a soap-opera. And I mean no disrespect when saying that; the actors feel like they’ve been playing their characters for ages; you believe they’ve actually got a background, a life outside and beyond the town. Stevie (Adrienne Barbeau) is a single mother, a lonely woman who owns the local radio station; Father Malone (Hal Holbrook) is an equally isolated preacher with a drinking problem; Elizabeth (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a drifter, fleeting from one place to another without a passing glance – until she winds up in Antonio Bay, coming across Nick (Tom Atkins), who’s desperate to solve the mystery of his small town. Acting is top-notch, and it’s lovely to see the late Janet Leigh working onscreen with real-life daughter Jamie Lee Curtis (with Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night, and Terror Train under her belt, her 80s scream queen title is justified). It’s also nice that Carpenter and the late Debra Hill have included some subtle nods to horror fans within the script – the mention of Bodega Bay, for example, (which is center stage for Hitchcock’s The Birds). Also, when discussing Carpenter’s films, you cannot – I repeat, you cannot ignore his knack for producing these truly iconic soundtracks which just seem to anchor everything on screen. The soundtrack for The Fog is no different and for me, it is equally as essential as the well-known Halloween theme. Creeping amongst the background, the theme for The Fog really creates the foreboding image of something getting closer, drifting through the silent streets. Simply put, I love this score.
I do wish the film had been longer; I think it’s a shame that Barbeau and Curtis never actually appear on screen together, even though they’re the two lead females. Aside from this, another gripe is the notion that the body count is tied specifically to the idea of the six conspirators. I’ll argue that a larger body count would have upped the suspense, particularly when it came to the climatic scene, and we know, theoretically that only one character is at risk. I’d have felt more on-the-edge-of-my-seat if there was larger risk for the group. The ‘ghosts’ themselves are more like conscious zombies – corporeal, but decayed and maggot-infested (they’re quite a lovely bunch, actually . . .) and suitably bathed in shadow, haloed by a glowing fog. Although they’re not exactly bustling with character, they are a somewhat sympathetic bunch – their past told in snippets of campfire stories and the pages of a rather grotty looking journal.
An odd, blend of fantasy-horror and ghost story, The Fog is an enjoyable, if light horror affair. Sure, it’s the kind of film that scares you as a kid, but watching it now, I’m more interested in dissecting Carpenter’s shots, the script he co-wrote with Debra Hill – the man’s growth as a director, really. It makes me pine for ‘classic Carpenter’ – even though I respect him as a filmmaker, I haven’t enjoyed his most recent efforts. With the recent spurt of Blu-ray releases, I guess it gives me another excuse to check out his previous films another time. But with such an interesting, lively back-catalog, is an excuse really necessary?
Available on Amazon
Watch the trailer:
Popularity: 6% [?]
[ ‹‹ Video for James Morrow’s Novel “Shambling Towards Hiroshima” Exclusive Midnight Movie Stills! ›› ]
2006 2007 2008 2009 awesome 80s bad movies Best of bloody book review boring brutal campy creepy disturbing Fatally Yours film festival fun ghosts gore haunted horror comedy Horror Literature humorous independent insanity interview low-budget madness monsters murders News psychological release info revenge sequel serial killer short film slasher supernatural unique vampires violent Women in Horror Worst of Zombies