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Directed by John Carpenter
Written by
John Carpenter, Debra Hill
Starring Adrienne Barbeau, Tom Atkins, Hal Holbrook
R • 1980 • 89 minutes
Some weather phenomena are frightening. Tornadoes, for example, have got their fair share of cinematic mileage, from The Wizard of Oz to Twister. (Though, the scariest things about those films are the flying monkeys and Bill Paxton's performance, respectively.) Floods, hurricanes, pouring rain, twelve feet of snow, those will all do the trick.
But fog is not inherently scary. Personally, I don't like driving in it, but that has nothing to do with fear of punishment at the hands of Mother Nature. Mostly I worry a big moose is going to come lumbering out of the mist in front of me and total the vehicle. But I don't even own a car, so it's something of a non-issue for me.
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Six must die, these ghosts have a very specific agenda. | |
Despite the un-scariness of the subject matter, John Carpenter has produced a solid film, and one with plenty of frights. It's tightly paced and well acted. The scares come quick, and often, with Carpenter laying them on from the very beginning and not letting up until the final frame.
The plot involves the ghosts of leprous sailors who were led to their doom 100 years ago by Antonio Bay's founding fathers. They've returned from the depths seeking revenge on the town that killed them and stole their loot. They aren't too particular about who they slash up either, working their way through three drunken fisherman, a lonely weatherman and some kid's nanny.
The Fog is a good, solid thriller. Carpenter was at his peak as a director during the early 80s (back before he met Roddy Piper), as this film clearly shows.
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