The Fog (1980)
Last Watch Date - October 17, 2023
Total Times Watched - Three or so
Comments
The Fog sits between what I consider "old" movies and when we start getting into a more modern era. The look of it definitely feels old to me at this point, especially on rewatches. What was funnily "old" as a young fellow was really only 15 years old at that point, while we're now almost 45 years from the release. Time is weird like that.
I suppose we can get into the story itself. The movie begins with a campfire tale of an old clipper being shipwrecked in the area due to mistaking .. a campfire.. for a lighthouse. And they come back for .. uhh revenge? Obviously his story isn't all there is to the tale. It's fine. It's ghost/revenge story, which could be wild but it doesn't really do much with it.
The music is great as you would expect from a Carpenter movie. The cast is really good and includes a cameo from Carpenter himself! There are familiar faces from other Carpenter movies, including Nancy Kyes/Loomis, Jamie Lee Curtis, Adrienne Barbeau, and Tom Atkins.
While fog itself is not particularly scary to me (or .. at all), I like the way they use fog in the movie rolling into scenes and filling the frame. I could see feeling claustrophobic from it if you grew up in an area that gets blasted with fog. Really the feeling this gives me is more of a weird Goonies-gone-wrong sort of feel. Maybe it's the idea of "pirates" or shipwrecks. I don't know. It's also pretty slow in parts. I can imagine my kids saying "this movie is boring" and not finishing it.
Recommended?
Do you like Carpenter movies? Do you like somewhat slow-paced older horror? What about a coin-turned-driftwood that has ominous messages? If so, go for it!
