The Fog (1980)

The Fog is a 1980 American supernatural horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and created the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Janet Leigh and Hal Holbrook. It tells the story of a strange, glowing fog that sweeps over a small coastal town in California, bringing with it the vengeful ghosts of mariners who were killed in a shipwreck there 100 years before.

The film was not well received by critics upon release but was a hit at the box office, making over $21 million domestically on a $1.1 million budget. However, it re-received positive retrospective reviews from critics, and audiences alike and has become a cult classic.

Plot
In 1980, 100 years after a ship Elizabeth Dane mysteriously sinks somewhere in the sea in 1880, a coastal town of Antonio Bay, in Northern California is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary, but the paranormal activity begins occurring at midnight, and many had suffered due to crimes that founded this town. Now, they rise from the sea, under the cover of the fog, to claim retribution.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The idea of a horror film about a fog towards a coastal town with mysterious creatures is very original.
 * 2) Director John Carpenter still gave amazing direction.
 * 3) Tons of likable, and memorable characters, such as Stevie Wayne, and Nick Castle.
 * 4) The movie's poster is very chilling to look at, especially the scene where Elizabeth Solley blocking the door from ghosts is very iconic.
 * 5) Most vengeful revenants creatures of mariners, especially the ghost ship Elizabeth Dane are very scary, and creative, especially when he really appeared in the third act of the film.
 * 6) Well-done pacing, which fits very well in a horror film.
 * 7) Very creepy soundtrack that was composed by John Carpenter, who is a director, and soundtrack composer at the same time.
 * 8) Creepy, and chilling cinematography.
 * 9) The film gave an inspiration of the 1980's Steven King book, and the 2007 film, The Mist though it is very similar to the film's premise.
 * 10) The setting of the coastal town of Antonio Bay in Nothern California is scary, and it is a perfect fit for the film's premise.
 * 11) There are some horrifying moments, such as the opening strange phenomena scene at midnight, especially whenever people getting killed, or murdered by revenants creatures in the fog.
 * 12) A horrifying cinematic horror scene where the power goes out in the coastal town of Antonio Bay causes more fog, and revenants to appear, epsically the church and the lighthouse scenes is very epic, scary, and intense.
 * 13) The scene where Blake seizes the gold cross, which begins to glow. Nick pulls Malone away from the cross seconds before it disappears in a blinding flash of light along with Blake and his crew at near the end of the film is very intense.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Even though Antonio Bay is set in the West Coast, but throughout the movie, characters reference the fog as moving west, toward the town - sometimes against a due east wind. That would mean the fog was actually moving away from the coast, not toward it, although it is fictional.

Reception
On release, it received negative reviews from critics. In the years since its release, later reviews were more positive regarding the film. It later came to be considered, as Carpenter opined regarding his creation, "a minor horror classic" though he also stated it was not his favorite film due to re-shoots and low production values. This is one of the reasons he agreed to the 2005 remake.

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 75% approval rating with a "Certified Fresh", with an average rating of 6.6/10 based on 67 reviews. The consensus reads, "A well-crafted return to horror for genre giant John Carpenter, The Fog rolls in and wraps viewers in suitably slow-building chills."

In his 1980 review, Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars, commenting, "This isn't a great movie but it does show great promise from Carpenter". In a 2002 review (for the DVD release of the film), Slant Magazine reviewer Ed Gonzalez gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4 and stated that "Carpenter's use of 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen is beyond legendary and his compositions evoke a town that may as well be the last remaining one on the face of the earth."

Trivia

 * John Carpenter originally intended to secure this movie with a PG rating but ended up with an R rating instead.
 * The movie was shot in a month in the anamorphic 2:35.1 format.
 * Despite this being a horror movie and having its share of violent moments, there's no blood or gore.

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