The Ghosts - A hundred years ago, before Antonio Bay was officially founded, a ship full of lepers sank off the coast due to the conspiring of six men, who were revolted by the idea of having a leper colony nearby. Because of this heinous act, Antonio Bay is under a curse. Now the townspeople are "doomed. They're all doooomed!"

The Fog is a movie that rarely gets mentioned in most conversations, even when they revolve around the films of John Carpenter. I find this to be a total shame because this is one damned fine supernatural thriller, and if you haven't seen it yet, you are definitely missing out! This movie has a great, creepy atmosphere throughout and showcases some of John Carpenter's finest work. (Too bad he's recently lost his touch, but at least John hasn't hit the skids like Wes Craven. I lie awake in bed some nights just wondering... what the hell happened?! Where did all their talent go?!)

The film opens with a group of children crowded around a seaside campfire. The youngsters listen intently as an aged mariner spins a tale about a tragic boating accident that took place near Antonio Bay. A hundred years to the day, a clipper ship wrecked just off the coast on a foggy night due to mysterious circumstances. By the time the old salt finishes his tale, it's midnight and weird things start happening all around town. In true poltergeist fashion, car alarms go off, objects move on their own, windows shatter, dogs are sent into frenzied barking, lights flicker on and off, and needless to say, the townsfolk have a rather restless night. Obviously, something just isn't right in the quiet seaside town of Antonio Bay.

Of significant importance is the brief and vaguely supernatural incident that occurs at Father Malone's church further inland. A chunk of stone falls out of place in his study, revealing a hidden journal written by Malone's grandfather. (Sure it seems trivial now, but said journal holds the key to the town's curse and salvation!) In the meantime, we begin meeting the rest of the film's key players. First up is Stevie Wayne, the owner and operator of San Antonio's only radio station, KAB, the home of the worst music I have ever heard. However, Stevie's horrible taste in music is forgivable because she is downright gorgeous. (Note to the younger generations: Adrienne Barbeau in her prime was one of the greatest, boner-inducing actresses of her time. Sadly she remains clothed in this film, but you can see her beautiful bare breasts in Wes Craven's Swamp Thing (1982)!)

Also wandering around past midnight is Nick Castle, a local guy on his way home from... somewhere. Ok, time out movie. Why have you thrown Tom Atkins into a somewhat heroic lead role in this film, without developing his character or lifestyle even one bit?! What does Nick do for a living? Is he a washed up ex-con with a heart of gold and running from his troubled past?! Is he a recovering alcoholic that is haunted by memories of his dark past?! I haven't a single clue! All I know is that he drives a crappy truck and is a smooth operator when it comes to the ladies. Speaking of which, Nick picks up a hitchhiker on his way home, namely Elizabeth Solley. This young lass is trekking across the country on her way to Vancouver, Canada. She's been hitchhiking along the way (Nick is unlucky thirteen), and making a few dollars here and there by selling some of her artwork. (So a hitchhiker gets more character development than Nick! What gives?!)

Meanwhile, Stevie Wayne is live on the air and gives a shout-out to Dick Baxter, Al Williams, and Tommy Wallace who are currently chugging along at sea. (And yes, chugging carries two meanings here.) Stevie gives them a warning about the fog bank that's heading their way. The drunken sailors are skeptical about the fog bank until is suddenly appears. Before they know it, their entire ship is engulfed in a dense, glowing fog. Tom and Al go out on the deck to get a closer look at this weather phenomenon and catch a quick glimpse of an ancient clipper ship. (The ship looks awesome by the way and it's a total shame that we never see it again.) Then both men are quickly dispatched of by the silent crew of the ghostly vessel. The deaths of Tommy and Al are a bit gruesome, but bloodless. Still, this in no way detracts from the scene and should still elicit a few cheers from horror fans.

Back inside the ship, Dick Baxter is nervously watching the radar and waiting for his pals. Unfortunately for Dick, he doesn't have a "spider-sense" and becomes the third victim of the murderous wraiths. The fog-enshrouded ghosts then move on to Nick Castle's house and politely knock on the door. (Wait huh? Why not just burst in, or turn into mist and go under the door, then materialize inside the house? Hell, why not "pull a Landshark" and pretend you're delivering a candygram?!) Nick as it turns out, is under the sheets with Elizabeth Solley and basking in the afterglow of sex. Nick is a bit perturbed by his late night visitor and slowly makes his way to the front door. As he is about to unlock the door and angrily greet his late-night visitor, fate steps in and distracts Nick long enough for the ghosts to suddenly vanish. (Apparently the ghosts can only murder people between midnight and one a.m.)

At this point, the story starts to diverge into three different plotlines that will eventually culminate into the discovery of the town's dark past. Kathy Williams and her assistant Sandy visit Father Malone's church to ask if he's going to do the benediction for the town's centennial celebration. They soon discover that Father Malone isn't up to the task and to reinforce his decision, he reads them passages from his grandfather's journal. It turns out that Father Malone's grandpa and five others conspired to murder a man named Blake who intended to move an entire leper colony within a mile of the current location of Antonio Bay. To make sure that the lepers didn't make it to their destination, the conspirators built a faux signal fire and forced the ship, the Elizabeth Dane, to crash and sink, thus killing everyone on board. This sort of puts a damper on the days events (since the celebration is in fact honoring murderers), but Kathy still plans on going full steam ahead.

In the meantime, Nick and Elizabeth hop in a boat and search for the trio of sailors that were murdered earlier in the film, and succeed in finding their boat. However, the ship is eerily vacant and (according to Nick), the boat seemed like it was actually underwater for an extended period of time. Things are rusted, the engine is filled with water, but the decks are completely dry. Nick and Liz go inside the boat after the Coast Guard is radioed and eventually discover the corpse of Dick Baxter, moments after a "red herring scare." Later, some creepiness occurs with the dead body at a coroner's office. The body is looked over by Dr. Phibes, and he insists to Nick that the body has been underwater for at least a month, despite Nick's claims that Dick's body was found high and dry within the boat.

While they chat outside of the room, Elizabeth is left alone with the stiff. Liz is weirded out by the cadaver and turns her back on it. Suddenly, the body begins to rise from the slab and arms itself with a scalpel. The eyeless corpse quietly lurches across the room and lunges at Liz with the scalpel, but the attack misses entirely. Nick and Doc Phibes hear the resulting scream and come to the rescue. Nick consoles his lady friend while Phibes incredulously checks over the body. The main thing of interest in this scene, is what the dead man managed to carve into the floor: The number three! What does this mystery number mean? Was it carved coincidentally when the corpse fell to the floor? Is it the ghosts giving a tally of how many victims they have killed? The mind boggles at the possibilities!

On the opposite side of Antonio Bay, Stevie Wayne is experiencing some supernatural occurrences of her own. Said spooky moments revolve around her son's discovery of a piece of wood with the word "DANE" carved into it. While that in itself is not very odd, I should point out that said piece of wood was originally a gold doubloon (according to Stevie's son, Andy), and has the ability to suddenly "leak" water, and possess tape recorders. The haunted driftwood utilizes this possession ability and delivers a bit of poetry from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" before bursting into flame. Needless to say, Stevie is a bit shaken up by the self-igniting timber and is further panicked when a dense fogbank appears at midnight and moves against the wind toward the sleepy seaside village!

At this point, we're at the film's final act and the aforementioned fog is slowly blanketing the entire town. The avenging spirits within the fog snag their first kill of the night at the local weather station. Dan O'Bannon is on duty and thinks that the glowing fog is some sort of prank. He foolishly opens his office door and investigates the source of the lights in the fog. Seconds later, he gets a hook through his neck and a yank out the door. While Dan bites the dust, Stevie happens to be waiting on the phone and hears Dan's final gargles of death. Then she completely freaks out and begins issuing a warning to everyone listening to her show, and begs the local sheriff to get to her house and rescue her son, Andy.

Her cries for help on the radio waves are only heard (conveniently enough) by Nick and Elizabeth. They quickly head to Stevie's house and arrive just in time to save Andy. (However, Andy's babysitter Mrs. Kobritz wasn't so lucky. She was yanked into the fog by the undead crew of the Elizabeth Dane and slain.) After a little vehicle trouble (damn mud pit), Nick, Liz, and Andy drive away from certain death and head for the sanctuary of Father Malone's church. On the other side of town, Kathy Williams and Sandy have left San Antonio's birthday bash, and decide to turn on the radio to listen to the latest musical torture that Stevie Wayne has to offer. Instead of third-rate Muzak, they hear "DJ MILF" rambling on about "something in the fog." After a fog bank rolls across the road in front of them, the two women decide to heed Stevie's advice and make for Father Malone's church.

The film then boils down to a fight for survival between the main characters and the Fog. Stevie continues her broadcasts about the movements of the ghostly fog bank until her radio station is invaded. She climbs to the top of the lighthouse and fends for her life against two ghostly marauders. Back at the church, everyone has barricaded themselves into Father Malone's study, and this is where the rest of the story falls into place. According to the guilt-ridden clergyman, the ghosts have come to avenge their deaths by killing six people (one for each conspirator).He also surmises that they want their stolen gold returned. (So repayment in full and six deaths for collateral? Sounds fair enough to me.) But where is the stolen gold at? It's in the same exact spot the journal was hidden. Father Malone walks over to the hole in the wall and rips away some stones to reveal a solid gold cross. He takes the cross and leaves the study to face the ghosts outside.

Father Malone enters the chapel to face the congregation of angry spirits, and calls upon Blake to step forward. Father Malone quickly finds himself standing face-to-face with the ghostly leader and apologizes (and takes full responsibility) for the actions of his grandfather. With that out of the way, Father Malone returns the gold to Blake and breaks the curse on Antonio Bay, causing he ghosts and the Fog to quickly withdraw from the church, Stevie Wayne's lighthouse, and the rest of the town. With things supposedly back to normal, everyone exits the church except for Father Malone. He is completely perplexed by the sudden departure of the vengeful apparitions, and is even more confused as to why he wasn't killed by Blake. He continues to think more on the situation ("Why not six Blake? Why not me?"), and fails to notice the fog billowing back into the church. When he finally realizes that he's not alone, it's too late; Father Malone becomes Blake's final victim and officially ends the town's curse.

Film Review: The Fog is an excellently made supernatural thriller and has been overlooked for years. John Carpenter managed to create an incredibly creepy atmosphere in this film and shows off his ability to create, build, and maintain a growing sense of dread. And by the time we arrive at the film's climax, Carpenter has built up so much tension that viewers should be on the edge of their seats and totally immersed in the film. (To the point where they begin shouting at the screen and telling characters to "look out!") John Carpenter, being the jack-of-all-trades that he is, also did the musical score for this film, and it is somewhat reminiscent of the main theme from his previous movie, Halloween (1978). While it isn't his best work as a composer, the music is more than fitting and adds to the film's eerie atmosphere.

The Fog boasts an incredible cast of cult veterans, the most notable being Adrienne Barbeau, who is one of my favorite b-movie actresses. She definitely needed more screen time in this movie because she is an excellent performer, and it probably wouldn't have hurt if she flashed a bit of skin either. The remainder of the acting stable is comprised of several cast members from Halloween (including Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy "Loomis," and Charles Cyphers) and other recognizable genre performers, such as Janet Leigh (mother of Jamie Lee Curtis and star of Alfred Hitchcock's classic, Psycho (1960)), Tom Atkins (Maniac Cop (1988), Night of the Creeps (1986), and Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)), and Hal Holbrook (Creepshow (1982) and The Unholy (1988)). This amazing ensemble is what holds The Fog together and puts it a cut above many other supernatural revenge flicks.

One thing I feel that I must comment on is the opinion of a handful of reviewers and critics (yes, there is a difference) in regards to this movie. Several have complained about numerous (seemingly) random events in the film, namely the scene involving the haunted piece of lumber from the Elizabeth Dane, and the scene where Dick Baxter's corpse takes a stroll in the coroner's office. I personally think that these "random events" further enhance the growing feeling of unease that the characters are experiencing. While these incidents may not add much to the actual storyline, they do succeed in keeping the audience on their toes. If a dead body can suddenly get up and menacingly stroll toward an unsuspecting victim, then almost anything can happen!

As you can clearly see, I truly adore The Fog. It is easily one of the best horror offerings from the 1980s and I happily recommend it to any, and all, horror fans. The film builds up slowly (something that isn't done much anymore) and maintains a very spooky atmosphere throughout, and features a little twist at the end that will catch the uninitiated off guard. If you're a fan of Carpenter's early work, and you haven't seen this yet, then what are you waiting for?! You owe it to yourself to see this movie, which was made when John was in his prime! (Now if he could just recapture that old magic in one or two of his newer productions. Then he could become a household name again.)

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So how radioactive is this tale of supernatural revenge?

Geiger Counter Reading:

- FOUR 'RADS' -

WARNING: This film is very radioactive! An all-star cast of
cult movie faves, vengeful ghosts, and an unbeatably
creepy atmosphere make this John Carpenter classic a must see!

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DVD Review: MGM's Special Edition DVD release of The Fog is (or rather was) a very worthwhile disc to pick up! The movie comes in a plastic keepcase and has rather simplistic, yet effective, cover art that features a group of ghostly figures standing amidst a green fog. (CLICK HERE to view the cover.) The disc itself is double-sided with a full-screen transfer on one side and a nice 2.35:1 widescreen transfer on the other. Both sides also include the original English Mono track, and a digitally enhanced Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track.

The DVD is packed with a good assortment of extra features that I have yet to go through, including: An audio commentary with John Carpenter and producer/co-writer Debra Hill (who sadly passed away in March 2005), two documentaries, outtakes, a storyboard to film comparison, an advertising gallery, liner notes by John Carpenter, and an Easter Egg. To unlock said hidden feature, go to the "Special Features Menu," then click over to the right and highlight a pair of eyes. When you accomplish this, hit 'Enter' and you will be treated to some behind-the-scenes special effects footage. (Thanks to Eccentric Cinema for the tip!)

I must note however that the disc I am reviewing is currently out of print and has since been replaced with a "new" special edition that was released to go along with the theatrical premiere of the atrocious remake of The Fog. The only differences between the two discs are the cover art (which is pretty much the same except that it is blue, instead of green) and the addition of multiple film trailers that have little or nothing to do with the feature film.

Regardless of which DVD release you come across, I can assure you that the cost won't surpass fifteen dollars. In fact, you can probably snag either special edition for ten bucks or less and that's a small price to pay for such a high quality DVD!

Tommy Wallace: "There's no fog bank out there." [Pause.] "Hey, there's fog bank out there."
(Reviewer's Note: Hahahaha. I don't blame Tommy for missing the fog at first. He was drunk and everything probably looked foggy to him.)

Kathy Williams: "Sandy, you're the only person I know who can make Yes ma'am sound like screw you."
Sandy Fadel: "Yes ma'am."

Blake: "Something like an albatross around the neck. No. More like a millstone.
A plumbing stone. By God. Damn them all!"
(Reviewer's Note: Just to sound smart - This quote was borrowed from "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," a poem that I read in high school. If this quote doesn't ring a bell, then how about this one: "Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.")

• Beginning - "Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream?" - Edgar Allen Poe
• 00:39 - "Good Evening. I'm John Carpenter, and this is 60 Minutes."
• 05:16 - Hey look everyone! It's a cameo by director John Carpenter!
• 13:56 - I guess Nick can explain this as an "act of God" to his car insurance agency?
• 16:45 - "Hey, there's a fog bank out there."
• 19:05 - Swordfighting lessons gone horribly wrong!
• 24:14 - Warning, bad pun ahead: The clock struck one, just in the Nick of time!
• 40:02 - Ok folks, here's the "red herring" scare...
• 40:09 - And now here's the real one! AHHHHH!!!
• 45:42 - Gasp! Stevie's possessed tape recorder quotes from "Rime of the Ancient Mariner." The horror!
• 51:46 - Jamie Lee Curtis has got to be having some Halloween flashbacks right now.
• 57:18 - Egads! This fellow is the only black man in the film. If he doesn't die within the next five minutes I'll be shocked! (Note: I'm making this assumption based on the old joke that "the black guy always dies first" in a horror movie. We never do see if anything does happen to him, so I'll assume that he was inadvertently killed by the ghosts. Perhaps he took a drive off the cliff because he couldn't see in the fog?)
• 67:58 - Whoa, no mercy! Three ghosts yank Mrs. Kobritz into the Fog and eviscerate her!
• 86:35 - Blake bags his sixth man! Good bye Father Malone!
• 86:37 - The End Credits.

Recommended Viewing:

• While I don't really recommend it, there is a remake of The Fog that was released in 2005. It was a worthless and uninspired film that may one day rear its ugly head right here on this site. (Whose idea was it to cast Selma Blair as Stevie Wayne? I liked Selma in Hellboy (2004), but that's because she wasn't trying to copy a better actress' performance.)
  
  
• The supernatural revenge subgenre has had some huge hits over the years, but not all vengeful ghost films are created equal. Probably the best overall supernatural revenge film is The Crow (1994) which featured the late Brandon Lee. In this film, a murder victim named Eric Draven comes back from the dead to avenge his death and the death of his beloved. (Sadly the film would be followed by three terrible sequels.) A similar tale is depicted in 1986's The Wraith in which a young Charlie Sheen returns from the dead with a Dodge M4S. The undead hero uses his awesome car to drag-race against, and systematically wipe out the gang that killed him.
  
  Conversely, in Sometimes They Come Back (1991) (based on the Stephen King short story) the avenging spirits are the bad guys and "come back" to terrorize the brother of a kid they killed twenty-seven years before. (This film is followed by two lackluster sequels that have nothing to do with the original.) John Carpenter would venture into the realm of supernatural revenge again in 1983's Christine which features a demonically possessed car that brutally takes "her" revenge out on the gang of teenagers who "trashed her." Fellow "master of horror" Wes Craven would also contribute to the genre with A Nightmare on Elm St. (1984) (which needs no introduction) and Shocker (1989) which boasts a vengeful serial killing ghost that is made of electricity! (It's a terribly cheesy flick, but is very fun to watch.)
  
  
• Director John Carpenter has had a varied career full of hits and misses. Some of his better films include: Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) (which was turned into a lousy remake in 2005), Halloween (1978) (which has also been remade), Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Prince of Darkness (1987), They Live (1988), and Body Bags (1993). There are a few other notable films on his resume, but the ones above are, in my opinion, his best work.
  
  
• Adrienne Barbeau and Tom Atkins are probably two of my all-time favorite cult movie stars. Adrienne has worked with Fog director John Carpenter on several other genre films, including Someone's Watching Me (1978) and Escape from New York (1981). She has also had memorable roles in other genre fare, such as Swamp Thing and Creepshow, both of which came out in 1982! Tom Atkins has made a career of playing doctors or police officers/detectives in film, and while he's managed to obtain roles in A-list movies, he is definitely no stranger to the b-movie world. Tom has starred in several b-movie favorites, such as Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), Night of the Creeps (1986), and Maniac Cop (1988).

Useless Trivia:

• John Carpenter likes to have fun with his films, especially when it comes to naming his characters. In The Fog, three characters are named specifically after three of his collaborators, namely Dan O'Bannon (the director of Return of the Living Dead (1985)), Nick Castle (who aided Carpenter during Dark Star (1974) and starred as "The Shape" in Halloween (1978)), and Tommy Lee Wallace (director of Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)). And let's not forget about the coroner, Dr. Phibes, who is named after the Vincent Price character from The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) and its sequel, Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972).
  
  
• John Carpenter has an unaccredited role in The Fog as Bennett, the caretaker at Father Malone's church. (Check the "Play by Play" section above to see when Johnny pops up on the screen!)
  
  
• To make The Fog look like it was made on a much bigger budget, Carpenter shot it in anamorphic widescreen Panavision.
  
  
• John Carpenter has admitted that part of his inspiration for The Fog came from watching 1958's The Trollenberg Terror (a.k.a. The Crawling Eye) which featured giant, one-eyed tentacled monsters that hide within dense clouds of fog.
  
  
• "Captain Blake," the lead ghost at the film's finale, is played by makeup and effects artist Rob Bottin. Bottin would work with Carpenter again in 1982 on The Thing and create some of the greatest (and most horrific) special effects in film history!
  
  
• The quote at the beginning of the film is taken from the last two lines of Edgar Allen Poe's poem, "A Dream Within a Dream."
  
  
• Adrienne Barbeau had to act out her final scene on the lighthouse roof in reverse. Her "reverse acting" was shot in reverse (wow, that's a bit confusing) and gives the illusion that the fog is rolling away from her location once the town's curse is broken.
  
  
• The Fog had a running time of about eighty minutes after the rough cut of the film was completed. To beef up the movie to its current ninety-minute running time (and to please studio executives), John Carpenter shot additional footage for the movie including: Close-ups of the film's death scenes, the opening campfire prologue, Jamie Lee Curtis' scene with the walking corpse in the morgue, and Adrienne Barbeau's scenes on top of the lighthouse.

Point(s) to Ponder:

• Why do the ghosts knock on people's doors before they kill them? If I were an evil vaporous entity, I would either burst violently through the door or just quietly pass beneath it and appear behind my victim.
  
  
• During the climax, when the fog invades Antonio Bay and covers the town, what happens to the rest of the townsfolk?! We see the ghosts terrorize the main cast members, but is this supernatural invasion limited to a select few, or is the entire community battling the ghostly marauders?

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Review posted on September 16, 2005.
(Review last updated on December 10, 2007.)

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