Movies

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.

"The Fog" has the special place in my heart-it is one of the first horror movies I have ever seen.Everyone knows the plot,so let's concentrate on the other things.First of all the photography by Dean Cundey is absolutely brilliant(Cundey worked together with Carpenter on "Halloween" and "The Thing")."The Fog" certainly delivers some scares-the ghostly sea crew appears as shadows and aren't seen much.Jamie Lee Curtis is perfect as one of the leads and it's nice to see her famous mother,Janet Leigh in the film!All in all if you haven't seen this one check it out as soon as possible.A must-see for horror fans.9 out of 10.

John Carpenter does a fairly good job in directing the material here, with some effective horror moments, even if they are too few, and an interesting visual and audio style. Otherwise, this is not good stuff. Fog as a horror monster is not really scary, the characters and events are run-of-the-mill, and the dialogue is lame, bridging on bad, with Adrienne Barbeau going through some very poorly written monologues. The special effects are okay, but hardly brilliant, and both the acting and writing in general is below par. Carpenter shows some skill in the film, but only as a director and not as a screenwriter. Overall this is still as forgettable as the average horror film out there, despite a few neat bits thanks to Carpenter being in the director's chair