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The Fog
Studio: MGM
Year: 1979
Rated: R
Film Length: 90 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 16X9 Enhanced Widescreen (2.35:1)
It is night. It is cold. It is coming.
It's that time of year again when the studios
start rolling out their most renowned horror
titles just in time for Halloween. This year,
MGM heads up the pack with a slew of highly
requested titles that includes John Carpenter's
The Fog.
I never really understood why so many people
liked this film. The Fog is a real snoozer.
The credits roll for about 20 minutes and nothing
happens. A fog rolls in, a few people get killed,
but there's really no suspense.
As the film opens, a salty, old sailor (John
Houseman) sits by a fire on the beach and tells
a group of young children the true story of
a ghostly, wrecked ship that crashed ashore one
hundred years earlier. It seems a crew of leprous
sailors crashes on the rocks off Spivey Point, led
by a false signal fire started by six colonists
who don't like the idea of a community of lepers
just offshore.
As the Centenary of the small sea town, Antonio Bay,
is approaching, everyone is getting in a celebratory
mood, including Stevie Wayne (Adrienne Barbeau), the
town's local DJ. But as the clocks strike midnight
heralding the town's 100th Birthday, a fog rolls in
off the coast causing all sorts of havoc.
After a crew on a vessel is discovered dead, the
townsfolk get suspicious of their weather related
problems. Upon finding a hidden diary inside his
church, Father Malone (Hal Holbrook) surmises that
the dead have returned after century in search of
the six original conspirators and their lost gold.
Elizabeth Solley (Jamie Lee Curtis) isn't having
much luck of her own. After her boyfriend (who
she met hitch-hiking) gets attacked by the fog,
both try to escape through town via a pickup truck.
As the fog moves inland, knocks are heard at the
door followed by the ghosts who use everything at
their disposal including hooks, sickles, and
machetes.
You would think that following Carpenter's success
with Halloween, that The Fog would
have had more substance to it. Instead, Carpenter
seems to forget how to make a horror film that is
also entertaining.
If you are the kind of person who enjoys their
horror films with long stretches of dialogue and
little action, The Fog may be your cup
of tea. As for me, wake me up when it's all over.
How is the transfer?
The last time I saw the The Fog was about
10 years ago on VHS tape. It wasn't the movie that
scared me, but rather the pan and scan copy filled
with video noise.
This widescreen release is a real eye opener.
Who would have ever thought this film would look
this good. While the transfer does manage to
bring out a few flaws in the original elements,
picture quality remains detailed and sharp. Colors
also fare very well here, though facial tones
run a little red. And while I didn't notice any
pixelation in the fog effects, I did noticed a small
amount film grain throughout. Overall, this is
the best the film has ever looked.
The 5.1 "enhanced" surround sound is adequate.
Though sound comes across strongly across the front
channels, the rears don't do a very good job at
providing surround ambience. For one, the sound
levels in the rear are awfully low at times.
Another problem is that the mix only provides a
sort of reverb effect to the rear channels rather
than providing any distinct effect noises. For this
reason, the soundtrack seems a little lackluster.
Special Features
As with many of the other horror titles being
released from MGM, the studio has put quite an
effort in including extra material that will
ultimately please the die-hardfans.
First up is a feature-length audio commentary
with John Carpenter and Debra Hill.
Not just one, but TWO documentaries
are included on this DVD. Let's look at them...
Tales From The Mist - Inside The Fog is
one of those documentaries that makes you say,
cooool! You know why? This new documentary
produced exclusively for this DVD brings the
cast and filmmakers back together for a retrospect.
I was just astonished to see Adrienne Barbeau after
all these years. The documentary begins as John
Carpenter and Debra Hill talk about their first
film, Halloween, a labor of love that they
first thought was a flop. That flop, however, led
to an Avco 2-picture deal for Carpenter that
included The Fog. The idea actually came
when Hill and Carpenter visited England and saw a
very intense fog bank in the distance. Debra Hill
talks about finding the perfect lighthouse on the
California coast, as well as the fact that the
actual interior shots were done on a sound stage.
And how do you create a sinister-looking fog?
You'll watch as special effects guys fill the streets
with the menacing fogs using their fog machines.
Even more interesting to learn is Carpenter's
solution for making the fog recede. Much of the
detailed ghost shots were actually reshoots that
were done at the completion of the film. The
documentary winds up with exploring the release
phenomenon that followed.
(length: approx. 27 minutes)
Fear On Film - Inside The Fog is an original
1980 documentary, that when compared to the new
documentary, is an interesting time capsule piece.
As we begin, John Carpenter and Debra Hill talk
about their love for making horror films that make
people Jump. Janet Leigh compares Carpenter's talent
with that of Alfred Hitchcock. Adrienne Barbeau
talk about how she and Carpenter first met, and
their working relationship on The Fog. Jamie
Lee Curtis talks about the range of emotions that
a terror-film victim must go through. John
Carpenter emphasizes the fact that he doesn't make
films to please the Press -- he makes the films that
please him the most. An interesting, but rather
too short documentary that takes you back to the
original mind set of the cast and filmmakers shortly
after the film's release.
(length: approx. 7 minutes)
The funniest of the outtakes happens right
at the beginning as Houseman, sitting at the head
of a campfire in front of a group of scared kids,
exclaims, "shit -- what's my line?" The rest of
the 4 minutes that make up this montage are quite
funny as actors flub their lines and crack up in
front of the camera, particularly Janet Leigh.
Also included are some behind-the-scenes action
that has the crew goofing around on the set. This
is one of the more enjoyable outtake reels I have
seen as of late.
(length: approx. 4 minutes)
A very short storyboard to film comparison
shows us the original storyboard drawings of a
sighting within the fog, compared to the final
finished shoot.
The Advertising Gallery is quite plentiful
here. First off is three trailers that
include the original plus two teasers. There are
also three TV Spots here. You can browse
through pictures of six posters that were
used to promote the film as well as Film
Memorabilia that contains a bumper sticker,
a button, and a coffee-stained script cover.
A Photo Gallery has a really cool assortment
of behind-the-scenes photos taken on the set (many
in glorious B&W), as well as group cast photos.
There is also an assortment of publicity stills here
as well.
I could not end the list of Special Features without
mentioning the really nice foldout booklet that has
liner notes by John Carpenter. It gives some very
detailed insight into the casting, the locations
and the effects work.
Final Thoughts
MGM has done a commendable job of putting
together this Special Edition with a transfer
that must be seen to believed and a nice set
of supplemental features that are sure to appease
fans everywhere.
This one is for the fans!
Release Date: August 27, 2002
