Summary:
A mysterious fog rolls in over a small coastal town 100 years after a ship sank just off the shore.
My Thoughts:
Long ago in my high school years I watched through many of Carpenter’s more famous films like “Halloween”, “Big Trouble in Little China”, and my personal favorite “The Thing”, but it wasn’t really until this year’s 31 Night’s of Thrill series that I decided to check out some of his ‘lesser’ films. After watching “In the Mouth of Madness”, and mostly enjoying myself, I checked out “Prince of Darkness” and found that I almost liked that one as much as “Madness”. Last night, I decided to check out “The Fog”, and once again, I enjoyed myself, though, I wouldn’t say this film was particularly frightening nor was the story remarkably compelling. The film sets up what will happen, and pretty much exactly what you think will happen happens; still, there’s enough creepy imagery and atmosphere to warrant a watch, and this wouldn’t be a bad film to throw on in the background at a Halloween party.
“Beware the fog.”
As Antonio Bay prepares for a centennial celebration of the wreck of the vessel Elizabeth Dane, the residents of the town are plagued by mysterious happenings. Father Malone (Hal Holbrook, “Creepshow”) finds a diary left by his grandfather detailing how six residents of Antonio Bay purposefully sunk the ship to stop the ship’s captain Blake from landing near them and establishing a leper colony. As a mysterious glowing fog sweeps over the town, Kathy Williams (Janet Leigh, “Psycho”) tries to get preparations for the celebration in order; DJ Stevie Wayne (Adrianne Barbeau, “Two Evil Eyes”) continues to read news and broadcast music; and Nick Castle (Tom Atkins, “Escape from New York”) picks up hitchhiker Elizabeth (Jamie Lee Curtis, “Halloween”) only to experience some troubling things.
So first, let me get my qualms out of the way with this film, because I honestly mostly enjoyed myself. As soon as the film begins, we hear a story being told to us about a ship that sank and ghosts that rise around midnight, and that scene when paired with the priest finding his grandfather’s diary tells us every plot point we need to know: vengeful ghosts/spirits/ghouls will rise from their watery graves to terrorize this town. There aren’t any twists or turns; you get exactly what is advertised. This element of non-surprise in it of itself isn’t terrible, but it keeps me from championing Carpenter as the great horror director so many people claim him to be.
I would never go so far as to call Carpenter a hack because I do think he has some cool ideas, but he also owes so much to Italian filmmakers like Bava (“Kill Baby…Kill”), Fulci (“Don’t Torture a Duckling”), and Argento (“Suspiria (1977)”) that I find it hard to really think of him as a cinematic treasure. I know that’s an unpopular opinion as Carpenter is often touted as the one whom helped bring the slasher genre to America, but hey, that’s my opinion. If I’m going to sit down to watch a 70s/80s horror film, I’d much rather watch something from Argento, because at least I know I will be completely surprised by the twists and turns he throw in, even if they are ridiculously farfetched and often implausible. I come back to the horror genre again and again because I think it’s fun to have bizarrely horrific situations that thrill me and make me laugh, and in Carpenter’s films I always feel as if he almost reaches the level of craziness that I want, but he never quite gets there.
Alright, enough of my complaining, on to the good stuff.
Carpenter is great at crafting atmosphere, and this film delivers atmosphere in droves. The eerie look of the fog combined with the unusual phenomenon popping up over town works well to provide a genuinely creepy landscape; for horror fans, settings like these are warm blankets that we can cuddle up in and just enjoy. There are plenty of great visual effects mixed beautifully with practical effects, and many of them still hold up. The plot itself, while remarkably simply, feels like a ghost story one might tell around a campfire, and that makes the opening scene of this film, where children gather round an old sailor to hear his story, feel even more apropos.
I actually loved the way this story was told. As we weren’t really given one specific main character, the POV shifted around from various members of Antonio Bay and we were given little vignettes of horror. Sometimes these vignettes work really well and add to the overall atmosphere, and sometimes they end up being a touch cheesy, but it’s an eighties movie, so I can forgive a little schmaltz. I do have to comment that many of the kills feel very similar; A character thinks they see something in the fog; they approach the door to open it even though someone else is begging them not to open it; they open the door to find nothing there and turn around to say “There’s nothing there,” and then BAM! The killer ghost sailors strike again!
Verdict:
Overall this is an enjoyable entry into Carpenter’s oeuvre, but it is no way his best. For fans of 70s/80s horror films with plenty of creepy images, a few cool plot points, and some rather fun (though similar) kills this film will probably satisfy your cravings. For people who are looking for a genuinely terrifying film, this isn’t it. Also, this is incredibly tame for an R rating, and in my opinion if this had been released today a PG-13 rating wouldn’t have been out of the question.
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