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The Fog (Special Edition)

The Fog (Special Edition)

List Price: $14.95
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Revenge from the grave drives fog shrouded tale.
Review: "It is told by the fisherman, and their fathers and grandfathers, that when the fog returns to Antonio Bay, the men at the bottom of the sea will rise up and search for the campfire that led to their dark and icy death." So ends the campfire tale told by Mr. Machen (the wonderful John Houseman) that begins John Carpenter's The Fog. But this is no ordinary ghost yarn to entertain children, it is part history and part prophecy...for as the chruch bell tolls the midnight hour, and the town of Antonio Bay turns one hundred years old, a thick, glowing fog bank forms on the horizon and drifts towards land.

The Fog is one of my personal favorite Carpenter films. It's well written for its kind (low budget horror), well acted by its cast of seasoned character actors, beautifully photographed by Dean Cundy, and director John Carpenter creates more than a few effective set pieces while contributing what may be, in my opinion, one of his finest film scores.

One can certainly grumble that the movie is guilty of replicating the cheap scares and story arc of Halloween (anonymous figures lunging through doors, a town haunted by a traumatic event in its past that, on the anniversary of said event, is forced to relive it yet again), but it's a formula that works and The Fog (like Romero's zombie sequels) presents the material in a fresh and invigorating way. The only flaw I can find in the video is that it is pan and scanned, which spoils some of Carpenter/Cundy's beautiful images (as well as hampering Carpenter's trademarked 'they are sneaking up behind you' shots) the biggest letdown is the great shot of the fog swooping in on and engulfing Stevie Wayne's house. See this film letterboxed for its full effect. I have the laserdisc release, but where is that DVD edition MGM/UA has been promising? Required viewing for horror buffs.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: One Of John Carpenter's Best!
Review: Director John Carpenter creates an old-fashioned campfire ghost story with THE FOG. Antonio Bay, a quaint, small seaside town is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding. That night a heavy, mysterious fog rolls through the town and people begin to die in savage ways. Rumors of a secret as old as the town begin to surface and the people of Antonio Bay realize they are victims of long dead sailors who have come to revenge their own murders at the hands of the town's founding fathers. The townspeople can only wait for the fog to roll in and pray that they are not the next to die.

Carpenter creates a chilling film with THE FOG and gets fine performances out of Adrienne Barbeau, Hal Holbrook, and the fog itself, which creeps and crawls around as if it were alive. The film elicits its scares out of what is not seen rather than what is, and Carpenter exploits that style perfectly. Vauge shapes move within the fog, while strange noises heard in the distance grow louder, and no one can say exactly what they are up against. THE FOG is one of Carpenter's earlier films and helped to establish his reputation as a master filmmaker.

I find this movie very original. The idea of the fog was original itself and John Carpenter put a good plot together. This has to be one of his best horror movies ever made, eventhough HALLOWEEN is better.

If you notice, John Carpenter's character's names are names of people John Carpenter has worked with. Names like Nick Castle and a few others like Dan O'Bannon. That is mainly the most noticable part of the film.

At first when you're watching the film, it seems like it's going to be boring, but then it gets really good when Jamie Lee Curtis is picked up by Tom Atkins. This film has a load of suspense and shouldn't be missed by anyone!

I originally would have given this movie three and a half stars. That's how good I think it is. But if you're a younger person, then you may not like it too much. I would suggest this film for a teenager at least.

I hope my review was helpful to you!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Unique, absorbing, eerie thriller......
Review: A small California seaside town is about to celebrate its centennial birthday, when an eerie, unearthly fog rolls in bringing murderous ghosts from the town's past to wreak vengeance upon the present-day inhabitants. John Carpenter's follow-up to HALLOWEEN has many similarities to its predecessor: a claustrophobic sense of mounting dread, leisurely introductions to its main characters which allows us to know them before they start fighting for their lives, and, finally, a striking and memorably creepy score. THE FOG has been deemed by many to be not as good as HALLOWEEN. In my opinion, the two are completely different films and should be judged separately. HALLOWEEN was the grandaddy of modern slasher flicks, and THE FOG is a stellar example of a scary ghost story. The cast in this film is excellent, consisting of Adrienne Barbeau as a resourceful DJ and Jamie Lee Curtis as a wealthy hitchhiker who is drawn unwittingly into the terror. Tom Atkins, Janet Leigh, Hal Holbrook and Nancy Loomis (playing my favorite character, the sardonic yet caring Sandy Fadel) are also memorable. John Carpenter should make more movies like this and HALLOWEEN. It's just too bad that he seems to have forgotten his roots. His last decent film was IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS. I haven't seen GHOST OF MARS yet, but everyone tells me to save my money. I think John Carpenter has been trying too hard to make "hip" films recently (VAMPIRES, ESCAPE FROM L.A.) instead of trying to make good ones. He should look to his first and second-born films to remember how to tell a good scary story. He's a talented man who seems to have forgotten he has talent. What a shame....

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Fog Is An Overlooked Classic
Review: The Fog is an insanely creepy film that will make you feel differently towards bad weather. A sinister fog that invades a small, fishing town brings the ghosts of dead sailors looking for gold. They will get anybody out of the way to get it too!. This movie is horribly overlooked. That's a crime. This is one of John Carpenter's best work, which, by the way, hasn't been stellar recently. The movie has a eerie, creepy look and feel to it that I haven't noticed in a horror film besides "Halloween". The killer sailors themselves, are very scary. In fact, most of the film is. Jamie Lee Curtis doesn't get enough scare time in this film than "Halloween", which is a shame. Adrienne Barbeau is more of the heroine in this film. It's also a hoot to see an ecclectic cast that also includes John Houseman, Hal Holbrook, Janet Leigh, and "Halloween" veteran Nancy Loomis. This is one spooky classic that's destined to leave you creeped out. Don't watch it on cloudy days with the lights off!. The Fog is coming...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "The Fog" -- One of Carpenter's Best
Review: Along with Halloween, and Escape From New York, this is Carpenter at his very best. Perhaps the success comes from such a solid story for a feature length film-- devoid of the "Twilight Zone" cheesiness of "Village of the Damned" or "They Live." This one's truly scary, and creepy... keeping the monsters enshrouded in mist most of the time, when we DO see of them it's extremely effective. The cast is first rate, the suspense is HEAVY, the ending is one of the best of any horror film. If only John Carpenter would make more like this one...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Wonderful Movie
Review: This movie cannot be mistaking for any other but John Carpenter I loved this movie.Jamie Lee Curtis was wonderful,Was always wondering what was going to happen next And what was in the Fog.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An Often Overlooked Excursion into Creepiness
Review: Unfortunately, this film is generally compared with the over-praised "Halloween" (also made by Carpenter and released preceding this film) which is a shame because it's a terrific look at the style and atmosphere that is sorely lacking from several of today's horror films. Admittedly, the story is slow and may leave viewers hanging from time to time, but it's overall effectiveness is chilling because of it's attention to visual detail (enhanced by an appropriately creepy score). The scenes in which the fog becomes a character in and of itself when it rolls ever so slowly into town still gives me the willies whenever it is viewed even today. Most of the action (read: splatter parts) occur offscreen and are only represented by sound. Some may complain about this, but I feel it makes the film that much better. The mind can come up with a lot worse than what it sees on the screen. Most of the scares come from anticipation and nervousness. For example, who doesn't start biting their nails with the scenes where the fog's inhabitants begin to knock at the doors? The dim silhouettes and the shadow play of the ghostly inhabitants do more to enhance tension than just some maniacal serial killer running around and jumping out of bushes. It seems as though Carpenter decided to depart from "Halloween"'s formula and emphasize more of the fear of the unknown. What better way than to encapsulate that unknown in a dense mist of shrouded fog? Basically, what I'm saying is watch this film if you're in the mood more for a creepy, atmospheric horror film and less for the traditional "jump cuts" that have been assosciated with horror films. It's not a splatter film and it's not psychological horror; it is, at it's roots, a traditional and well-envisioned ghost story. Let your rational senses go and get lost in The Fog...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Barbeau rocks!
Review: I was disappointed by this movie when it opened. The ending just didn't seem right...you know?

But over the years I have never forgotten Adrienne Barbeau as the dj in that strange lighthouse; she is the first to begin to understand the horror that lives in the fog that is moving toward the town. She is so low key and believable when she starts that her growing awareness ratchets up the fear to primal levels. From playing her low-key music late at night and chatting with the guys out in the boats, kidding the weather guys cause they don't see the fog on their radars, getting progressively anxious as she can't understand the phenomenon to yelling at her son to hide and then dealing with the fog creatures one to one - well, its a performance to remember and to my mind it holds the movie together.

I still have a few problems with the end, but that's just me. The delight in getting there overcomes all complaints. Jamie Lee is superb as always. Janet Leigh has enough to do so that she is not just another Star cameo. And my goodness, its terrific to have another great ghost movie to add to the limited list of such works. The Fog is creepy, scary, and perfect for a cool autumn evening when the sun goes down red and the mists start to rise. Yeah, it may be a kid's story like we've all outgrown, but it sure can raise the goosebumps in a totally modern adult! Genuinely scary and not a bit ironic or campy. A great addition to the ghost genere.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Carpenter Rules!
Review: What a gem of a movie! It is very underrated. Carpenter has great mood and tension, as usual. More impressive (especially for a horror flick) is that it is acted wonderfully and I love the entire cast! Furthermore, there is not a lot of gore and most of the good characters actually survive. The Fog is a token from the era of classy horror.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: GOOD SPOOKY MOVIE
Review: IT IS DEFINETLY A CLASSIC SPOOKY MOVIE. IT PULLS YOU IN FROM THE BEGINNING AND PULLS YOU IN DEEPER AND DEEPER UNTIL THE END. IT IS A LOW BUDGET MOVIE, BUT TRULY SPOOKY. JAMIE LEE CURTIS AND ADRIENNE BARBEAU ARE TERRIFIC IN THIS MOVIE. ONE OF JOHN CARPENTER'S BEST.


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