The Fog (DVD, 2002, Widescreen and Full Frame)

The Fog (1979) is set in Antonio Bay, a small seaside fishing town which is set to celebrate its 100th anniversary. As the anniversary date approaches townspeople start dying in gruesome ways. Secrets about the town are learned and revealed by the town's priest, played by Hal Holbrook. The town's founders apparently lured a clipper ship, filled with lepers, to their doom so that the town could recover their gold. Now, on the 100th anniversary of the shipwreck, a mysterious fog covers the town and with it comes the crew of the clipper ship to wreak their revenge upon Antonio Bay.

The movie is directed by John Carpenter while he was in his movie making prime. He creates what is basically an old-fashioned ghost story complete with an introduction by Academy Award Winner John Houseman. This was Houseman's only appearance in the movie but he was brilliant and set the mood of the movie right away. Leading the cast is Adrienne Barbeau, who plays the owner of a lighthouse and the owner of the local AM radio station. Barbeau gives a solid performance as she tries to save her son, warn her town about the Fog, all the while fighting rotting leper sailors. Hal Holbrook's performance is also quite good as the priest who learns that his relative was involved in the original sinister plot to kill the sailors. Rounding out the cast is Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays a loose hitchhiker who screams a lot, and Janet Leigh as the town's mayor.

The Fog was re-released in 2002 as a Special Edition and has some nice extras. It contains a new documentary with Carpenter and some of the original actors. It also contains a 1980 documentary, storyboards, some great outtakes, and more.

The Fog is classic John Carpenter. His movies during this time have a certain style and create an atmosphere that is just plain scary. Great sound effects and decent special effects add to this tension. Carpenter, unlike many other 70's directors, used darkness and vague shapes to add to the mood of the movie while keeping the gore to a minimum. Solid acting, good cast, scary plot, and great directing, make The Fog an excellent movie which every horror fan should own.

First off, I love this movie. Have seen it a million times and when there is nothing on tv I pop in this dvd.
That having been said, this movie is not perfect. There are a couple of unanswered questions and some things that just don't make sense. But the story, acting and special effect make up for it!

Antonio Bay looks like the perfect little coastal town and everyone is excited about the upcoming centennial celebration. Except that the founding fathers were not the nicest people in the world - backstabbing jerks is more like it - and their victims came back for some justice.

Jamie Lee Curtis plays a hitchhiker at the wrong place & time. Tom Atkins gives Jamie Lee a ride and gets a rewarded for his kindness. Adrienne Barbeau is the lighthouse radio station owner/dj - she is awesome! Janet Leigh is one of the town officials and recent widow at the hands of the ghostly settlers and the great Hal Holbrook as Father Malone, who actually owns up to his ancestor's deeds.

This movie is all about mood. The location is amazing, when the music starts (Carpenter is a genius at using music to set the mood) and you see the fog engulfing the town - well that is just scary!

By no means is it the best horror movie to come out of that era (late 70's/early 80's), that would probably be the other Carpenter classic "Halloween". But this movie has its charm and is a must for horror fans!

P.S. Avoid at ALL costs the remake, now that is one of the worst movie remakes I've ever seen!

And will for a long time to come..This movie scared the hell out of me when I first saw it as a little Girl and now as a grown woman I still have nightmares, unfortunately for me I love this great film it stars one of my fav male actors...Hal Holbrook..Mr Holbrook is fantastic as Father Malone..Film starts out scary with a eerie ghost story told by a old fisherman played by John Houseman another brilliant actor..in the beginning we find out about a ship known as the Elizabeth Dane that was led to its doom by a campfire..believing they were being led to shore by the friendly locals they instead crashed on the rocks and went down..according to legend the ghosts of the ill fated passengers return with the fog to exact their revenge..the film makers did a great job setting up this classic ghost story giving us viewers chills as the movie prgresses and we see the ghost story come to life viewers can't help but feel like they are actually present during the return of the fog and it's undead inhabitants..pop that popcorn, break out the soda, turn off the lights, turn up the volumn and enjoy..I give this film 5 out of 5 bars..

These B-horror movies can be a lot of fun sometimes, especially with your friends. I have to say this actually can be creepy at times and is better than its remake. Old school genre actors make this one a cult classic in its own right. Not Carpenter's best but certainly entertaining for a 'foggy' night, LOL. Great for Carpenter or B-horror fans. Others should settle for a rental at the most. 3/5

The Fog is a John Carpenter classic! It's suspenseful and a very good thriller. No gore at all really, but it keep you at the edge of your seat waiting to find out why The Elizabeth Dane has come back for revenge!