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John Carpenter's The Fog (1980)

The Fog starts with the classic picture of kids camping down on the beach, log fire burning and ghost stories being shared. A wizened old man is currently terrifying the young kids with the "real" story of how Antonia Bay, the residence of most of these kids, was founded 100 years ago "this very night". Local legend has it that Antonio bay was founded when a ship ran aground on the rocks and gold recovered from the ship was used to build the town. The storyteller has the kids riveted to his every word as tells them the alternative version, the "real version" of how Antonio Bay was founded all those years ago.

The opening credits of the fog show the town in the early hours of the morning, the day before the anniversary. All of a sudden machines start coming to life, car horns sound and lights flash on and off. Something scary is coming, we know it because this is a JC film.
Out to sea a lone trawler is anchored, its crew getting drunk. They are warned of a fog by the local DJ (Adrienne Barbeau). Looking out of the window they see a strange glowing fog rushing towards them. On further investigation they see an old ship drifting in the fog.

The opening scene montage continues with Father Malone (Hal Holbrook) working late in his study. At the culmination of the strange occurences depicted in the scenes a rock falls out of his wall. Startled, he notices a diary in a hole in the wall, the diary of his grandfather, one of the towns founders. Upon reading he discovers that the legend of how the town was created is not quite the truth and just maybe the old crazy man on the beach knew the real truth.

The Fog is another terrifying film from JC, following close on the heels of the massive success of Halloween. The terror this time is a glowing fog that hides a vengeful spirit from the past. Jamie Lee Curtis is back as a hitchiker who unluckily gets caught up in the events of that night. Curtis' mother Janet Leigh also has a role, Leigh was the original horror victim killed in the shower in that memorable scene in Psycho. Adrienne Barbeau (Carpenters ex-wife, then his wife) stars as the husky voiced local DJ.

The fog was an attempt by JC and his team to go back to "classic" ghost stories - M.R. James and Lovecraft type stuff about great mythical horrors where the terror is implied rather than more overtly presented as it was in Halloween. Debra Hill and JC collaborated again on the story, creating the myth of this sleepy little coastal town with the dark secret. Not the most original of ideas but to me this film is all about mood. A major contributor to this mood is another of Carpenters spooky electronic compositions. Yet again JC delivers the whole package of music,story and direction to create a film that many people rank as JCs scariest.

The Fog was another critical and commercial success, consolidating Carpenters place as the master of terror. The image of the unearthly fog rolling into the bay, watched over by Barbeau, is a lasting one. Each push of the fog unleashes another attack by the vengeful spirits culminating in a last stand at the church that has echoes of Carpenters Assault On Precinct 13 as the survivors try to ward off the attack of the vengeful horde.

The Fog has also stood the test of time well; it remains a tight and effective movie that is great for delivering a scare on Halloween or any dark night.

Note : Early on in the film the thurch caretaker has a few words with the priest about his money. This caretaker (his name is Bennet) is none other than JC pulling a speaking cameo stunt.

Fog Special Edition Region1 DVD Review

First up is an excellent review from Don M. followed by some of my own thoughts on this fantastic DVD:

I'll start by saying that this is the best looking version of the Fog ever. I have the Laserdisc that was released in the 90's and it doesn't come close to the picture quality of the DVD. You have the option of viewing the movie in either standard or the preferred widescreen format. The 2:35:1 version is without a doubt superior in quality (No J.C. film should be viewed any other way). There are absolutely no artifacts and the contrast is exceptional. The darks are dark and completely clear of any film grain or spots on the print. I don't know where they found the master for this DVD, but it's flawless. Color separation is excellent and the flesh tones look great. The sound is also very impressive. There is a new 5.1 Dolby Digital surround mix and it sounds great. The dialogue is much clearer and the music and sound effects are well placed. The original mono soundtrack is also available as well as a French soundtrack. The extras included on the DVD include the never before released original documentary of the film from 1980, a new documentary created specifically for the DVD, Outtakes, storyboard to film comparison, liner notes by J.C., an advertising gallery (which includes a trailer and teaser and t.v. spots), and the audio commentary by J.C. and Debra Hill from the 90's laserdisc. The original documentary is interesting. We get to see J.C., Jamie Lee Curtis, Debra Hill and Janet Leigh at the time the film was released. It's great to see the enthusiasm for the film displayed in the documentary. Also, the new documentary is excellent as well. J.C. is in it as well as Debra Hill and even Janet Leigh. Jamie Lee Curtis is only included using the clips from the 1980 documentary. The other extras are great and most are from the laserdisc version.
To sum it all up, the Fog Special Edition DVD is a must have for any John Carpenter fan. Even if you're just a fan of horror, it still is a must have title. Finally, a John Carpenter classic gets the release it deserves. Take Care, Don in the States

I have to second Don's endorsement, I felt like I was watching The Fog for the first time with this DVD as I had never seen it in widescreen. The remaster is a fantastic job for such an old low budget film. I particularly liked the new documentary for this as well, revisiting a lot of the old scenes and giving a great breakdown on the stuff that was changed after the infamous 1st cut bombed with JC and the audience alike. You really, really have to get hold of this disc.

Technical Details:

Studio: MGM/UA Video
Theatrical Release Date: February 8, 1980
DVD Release Date: August 27, 2002
Run Time: 90 minutes

DVD Encoding: Region 1
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Available subtitles: English, Spanish, French

• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• New documentary "Tales from the Mist: Inside The Fog"
• Original 1980 documentary: "Fear on Film: Inside The Fog"
• Storyboard to film comparison
• Outtakes
• Advertising gallery
• Liner notes by John Carpenter
• Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats
Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1
Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1

Note: As of Dec 2002 this disc is only available as a region 1 disc, it is meant to have a region 2 release in 2003.

Fog Special Edition Soundtrack CD

As one of his best and most effective scores it is fitting that The Fog has recently had a fully remastered release on CD. As well as presenting the original audio in fanatastci remastered sound it starts off with John Houseman's creepy ghost story from the opening scenes, excellently setting the mood for what follows. The end of the disc is filled up with some of Adrienne Barbeau's radio station announcements and a Jamie Lee Curtis interview. The interview is a bit interesting but feels like a clunky addition to the overall mood of the film.