Day 22. Along with “Halloween” John Carpenter wrote, direct, and composed the music for “The Fog”, his 1980 cult hit. It is known, that originally he wasn’t satisfied with the first cut and added the intro and did a couple of reshoots. This movie is notable for starring both Janet Leigh and her daughter Jaime Lee Curtis. Horror fans will recognizes Janet Leigh from “Psycho”.
Adrienne Barbeau stars as ‘Stevie Wayne’. The film also features Hal Holbrook as ‘Father Malone’, along with Tom Atkins as ‘Nick’, Jaime Lee Curtis portrays Elizabeth’, and Janet Leigh as ‘Kathy Williams’. Ty Mitchell plays ‘Andy’, while Nancy Kyes rounds out the cast as ‘Sandy’.
A fisherman tells a story to a group of children around a campfire. His tale was regarding a group of people on land, who purposely caused a ship at sea to crash. I haven’t been camping since I was a child, so this brought back memories of my family telling their own ghost stories. The way the scene was framed and lit was good. After the title sequence, inside of a church we hear radio host Stevie’s broadcast and are introduced to Father Malone. As a piece of the wall suddenly comes apart, a journal left by one of his ancestors is found. Cut to various shots of the beach and the town of Antonio Bay, with Stevie’s radio broadcast about the upcoming 100th anniversary of their town, heard. All of the sudden the pay-phones in town start to ring simultaneously. A gas pump falls on the ground and begins to pump gas along with a few other strange occurrences. The little details are what creeped me out. We then meet Nick as he picks up the hitchhiking Elizabeth. During their drive something suddenly happens to the windows of the car. It came out of the blue and I wasn’t ready, causing me to jump out of my seat. I appreciate in horror movies when the characters are seemingly fine then, boom, the filmmakers throw in something shocking or unexpected.
Cut to Stevie in the radio station. She is working the night shift. She receives a call giving her a heads up about the incoming fog. As she broadcasts the warning, we are brought to a trio of fishermen out at sea listening to her. The use of red inside the ship let off a foreboding feeling of doom. Within the fog bright shinning lights are seen. Fully engulfed in the fog, the men witness a giant pirate or galleon type of ship pass by. A moment later vengeance is taken upon the fishermen. When one of them unfortunately was stabbed in the shoulder with a knife I completely cringed. John Carpenter had just come off of “Halloween”, so he possessed experience with shooting some excruciatingly brutal looking deaths. Back with Elizabeth and Nick at his place, their intimate encounter is interrupted by one of the pirates from the ship within the fog. Leaving without incident these characters were safe for the time being. The jump scares are pretty good in this movie. The next day Stevie’s son Andy finds a piece of driftwood on the beach. He brings home the wood and we see the name Dane etched onto it. Nick goes to the docks with Elizabeth to see if his friends boat had returned from their journey the night before. We already know their fates. Various preparations are then being made for the celebration of the town’s anniversary.
Filmed in 1980 it’s funny seeing the difference between the technology then and now, including the transistor radios. The performances were ok, they weren’t horrible but on par with what you would expect from other actors in the horror genre. Kathy Williams and Sandy, part of the town’s celebration committee, go to see Father Malone. He reads them the content of his ancestors journal. The story fills in the details to what the fisherman in the beginning was telling the children. Nick and Elizabeth find his friends boat but it is in shambles. Jaime Lee Curtis has an undeniable spark that radiates in each of her earlier films. As Nick and Elizabeth chat we get to know his character a little bit better. There are a couple of back to back scares in this scene which are pretty cool. Father Malone’s new found journal reveals the truth behind how the town was established. At Stevie’s radio station, water seeps out of the driftwood piece and the words “6 must die” replace “Dane”. The equipment malfunctions and a strange demonic voice is heard. Mysteriously everything suddenly goes back to normal. That night as the fog envelops the town we learn of the pirates motivation and what they are really after.
I recommend “The Fog”. Even though it’s approximately 31 years old, this movie is still chilling at certain points and doesn’t feel dated. There is a balance of jump scares and the slasher type of gore. The thick fog rolling over the beaches and landscape was very nicely shot. Overall it is a solid ghost story and a pretty good follow up for John Carpenter after the classic “Halloween”.
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