The Fog: Nebel des Grauens

THE FOG

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Panavision)

Sound format: Mono

While celebrating its centenary birthday, a small Californian coastal town is visited by a ghostly fog containing an army of murderous spirits who take revenge for a terrible injustice.

Released on a wave of expectation following the worldwide success of John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN (1978), THE FOG surprised everyone by generating only moderate returns at the US box-office, though it's arguably the better of the two films. Beautifully photographed by Carpenter stalwart Dean Cundey (BACK TO THE FUTURE, JURASSIC PARK, etc.), this unassuming 'ghost story' opens on a lonely clifftop at midnight, where crusty old sea dog John Houseman tells an audience of wide-eyed children how their home town was built on the foundations of tragedy. As with HALLOWEEN, the pace is slow but steady, punctuated by a series of well-judged scares, and there's a relentless accumulation of details which belies the script's modest ambitions.

Jamie Lee Curtis headlines the movie opposite her real life mother Janet Leigh, though Hal Holbrook takes the acting honors as a frightened priest who realizes the town was founded on deception and murder. As the fog rolls in, the narrative reaches an apocalyptic crescendo, as the film's principal cast are besieged by zombie-like phantoms inside an antiquated church, in scenes reminiscent of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968). Scary stuff, to be sure, though Carpenter was forced to add new material during post-production in an effort to 'beef up' the movie's horror quotient, including a memorable late-night encounter between a fishing boat and the occupants of a ghostly schooner which looms out of the swirling fog (similar scenes would be added to HALLOWEEN II in 1981 for the same reasons, though under less agreeable circumstances). Production values are solid, and Carpenter cranks up the tension throughout, resulting in a small masterpiece of American Gothic. Highly recommended.

John Houseman sits around a campfire telling children about the story of a ship that went down near their home Antonio Bay and how the drowned sailors will reappear 100 years to that very night in the fog. It is a wonderful beginning to a very chilling film, directed by the modern horror meister John Carpenter. As with most of his films, Carpenter creates a scary atmosphere through moody settings(the California coastline, a lighthouse, an old Church), relentless mood music as in Halloween, good character acting(Holbrook, Houseman, Curtis, Leigh), and a claustrophobic feeling of something vice-like gripping you. The story has some plot problems, but none enough to detract from the overall enjoyment of the film. Adrienne Barbeau is as lovely as ever in the lead, and the film is credible amidst the background of supernatural actions.

It's surprising that John Carpenter followed up Halloween with such a different tale of terror, but he did just that with 1980's The Fog. It's a urban legend-simple ghost story about a small coastal town celebrating its anniversary, forgetting that they only claimed the town because they murdered a shipful of lepers. The lepers are back and they want revenge.

The Fog has an excellent ensemble cast which is one of its strong suits and also, perhaps, one of its downfalls. There's really no major main character (even Adrienne Barbeau's Stevie Wayne - a radio DJ - disappears for large chunks of the film and never interacts with most of the other characters in the film). It's almost like if Robert Altman decided to make an ensemble horror film. Even more surprising is that Jamie Lee Curtis, Carpenter's star of Halloween, is in only about 15 to 20 minutes of the film and has no real character to speak of.

Dean Cundey's cinematography stuns and Carpenter's eerie synth score spooks, but one can't help feel that something is missing. It does lack that visceral thrill that made Halloween so special. The Fog seems content to just creep its audience out and not truly scare them. It's hard to complain, though, since The Fog does creepy better than just about any other film I can think of. It won't make you come back home and turn all the lights on before bed, but it still stays with you.

One hundred years ago, on April 21st, the wealthy leper Blake bought the vessel Elizabeth Dane and moved with his friends from a leper colony to California to build a town for them to live with more comfort. However, while crossing a fog in Spivey Point, they were misguided by a campfire onshore, steering the course of the vessel toward the light and crashing her against the rocks. On the present days, on the celebration of the centenary of the fishing town Antonio Bay, a glowing fog appears, bringing the zombies of Blake and his crew to kill the residents. Father Robert Malone (Hal HolbrooK) finds the hidden journal of his grandfather in the wall of his church, and discloses that Antonio Bay was built with Blake's gold. Further, a group of conspirators including his grandfather lighted the fire to sink Elizabeth Dane and robber Blake's fortune and now the ghosts of Blake and his crew are seeking for revenge on the locals.

"The Fog" is a dark ghost story of this master of horror John Carpenter, who deserves an Oscar his great filmography. The cinematography and special effects are great, giving a scary atmosphere without the need of gore. It is nice to see again a gorgeous twenty-three- year- old Jamie Lee Curtis acting with her mother Janet Leigh. The screenplay builds the horror in a low pace, but increasing the tension. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Bruma Assassina" ("The Assassin Fog")

Note: On 14 September 2020, I saw this film again.

Note: On 25 February 2025, I saw this film again.

This movie is on par with halloween but is not as widely talk about as halloween. This movie has great atmosphere, good to decent acting and fantastic directing from Carpenter. But the best part about this movie is blake. Everything about blake they did 100 % right. His backstory is intriguing and very well written and when the priest is reading his diary, i get chills every time. The special effects by rob bottin are top notch. The scenes in the fog with blake and his fellow ghost crew are some of the best scenes carpenter has done. The opening scene setts the tone of this movie perfectly i think. Everything outside blake and the great directing by carpenter is decent and thats it. The acting is desent. They have some really great actors and actresses like Jamie Lee Curtis, janet leigh and hal holbrook but i never feel that the acting goes outside decent. But the scenes with blake, the opening scene and the scene when hal hoolbrok reading the diary is enough to put this movie on the same level as halloween, the thing and christine. 9/10