Laura’s Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
This John Carpenter film was initially met with mixed reviews but was a hit at the box office, making over $21 million on a $1.1 million budget. The Fog is now considered a “minor horror classic” by Carpenter himself and a cult following of fans.
The Analysis:
As Antonio Bay, California is about to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the town, a mysterious fog rolls in, bringing destruction and strange occurrences. The local priest finds an old diary of his grandfather’s with an account stating that the six original founders of Antonio Bay sank a leper colony ship to prevent them from settling nearby and used the gold from the ship to found the town. Now, as a menacing fog nears the town, it appears that a curse may have brought the colonists back for revenge a century later.
This movie was released 2 years after director John Carpenter’s smash hit Halloween (1978), but was one of his earlier projects. Although I would argue that Halloween is an absolute masterpiece, The Fog does feel like Carpenter is still finding his way in filmmaking. Certain elements of the film are brilliant, but plot holes and low production values drag the overall quality down. Some things I enjoyed: the concept of the revenge curse, the spooky lighthouse, and many of the characters. Yet, there were definite flaws that can’t be entirely overlooked. One plot hole includes the priest’s grandfather (also a priest) being involved: priests do not typically have children and there was no mention of an affair so how did the priest have descendants? Also, some elements of the curse are seemingly arbitrary, including who is targeted. Finally, although I love Jamie Lee Curtis, the role of her character seemed pointless. Despite these issues, I did still enjoy the movie and fans of classic horror likely would as well. If you are looking for a creepy movie without lots of blood and gore, this is a good one to check out.
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