THE FOG Remake - Page 3

Joe Karlosi · 11-02-2004, 04:32 PM

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Dude, watch THE FOG and then complain about the remake.

I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually. But I admitted that I never saw THE FOG just to show that I'm not only annoyed with new remakes when they affect a film I know and like.

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I think Seth is making some very good points.

Well, Michael, that's hardly surprising since you're in agreement with him. I'd hate to think you felt the same as he does about remakes, but at the same time felt his points were invalid.

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You said you understand silents being remade because they don't feature sound. If that's the case, then someone could say B&W movies should be remade because they don't feature color. Then someone could say 4:3 films should be remade so we can see them in scope. Then Mono films should be remade so we can hear them in Stereo. Then today, we need CGI for special effects.

I guess someone else could - but it would be up to the individual to decide his own rationale for his own views.

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You said you refuse to watch the remake of TCM because the original was perfect. Well, you've seen the remake of BEN HUR and refuse to see the original because the remake was perfect. What's wrong with finding both perfect?

Nothing, I guess. And there have been times when I've been much more open to remakes. As you know from talking with me for a long time now, I'm always going back and forth on this. There are actually periods where I don't mind new remakes. Sometimes I go along with the "remakes are not a bad thing" mentality, and then other times they irk me again. When I hear that the TV show KOJAK is being remade with Ving Rhames, for instance - it just drives me nuts.
Ever since this thread, I've been reconsidering my stance on remakes yet again. Sometimes I just feel I've had enough. Other times I'm somewhat receptive to the idea.

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This is quite true but who takes these people seriously? If someone tells you they refuse to watch B&W films because "they suck", are you really going to listen to what he has to say?

Certainly not. But then why be so bothered when I'm in my "anti-remake" mode?

Kevin M · 11-02-2004, 04:53 PM

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I can just see it: THE FOG releases...a bunch of thin pale girls with long black hair hiding their faces!

I like that.

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IMO, remakes are a lot more original than "original works". The reason I say this is that most remakes of recent years have at least tried something different or changed things around.

That depends on how you look at it, IMO the "changes" in most of these remakes are superficial at best and made only as an excuse to #1 remake the film, #2 ride the coat tails of other successful genera films & #3 attempt to claim it as "our own film" rather than come up with something original, I say this specifically about TCM as I pretty much disagree with your view of them "trying something new" since IMO they took what was a fairly original & disturbing film (for it's time) and turned it into a I Know What You Did Last Summer/Scream/80's slasher hybrid with a bit of Blair Witch thrown in for good measure...that's not "original" IMO, that's just the old Dino De Laurentiis formula of taking from other more successful and/or original films in an attempt to play towards a market....with the added bonus of TCM's name recognition.

I cannot say this about DOTD as I haven't seen it yet (I will).

Mikel_Cooperman · 11-02-2004, 06:44 PM

I Love the original. Why do they have to do this?
I remember going to the theatre after school when I was a sophmore in High School and being the only one in the audience. Talk about trippy.

GeorgePaul · 11-02-2004, 07:41 PM

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I personally love THE FOG and think it's scarier than HALLOWEEN.

Wow...thank God someone else agrees with me on this. And yet, while Halloween was the film that spawned all the sequels/remakes, all those other movies couldn't tarnish the reputation of the creepy original.

I WILL say, though, that whoever remakes The Fog might be able to improve on its characterization or realism, but they'll NEVER be able to match the mood of the original. John Carpenter himself was blown away by the shots the second unit was able to get around Inverness and Point Reyes, California--so much so that he owned a second home there for many years. I've been there myself, and believe me--there is no way, in an eternity, that even the most adept filmmaker can digitally replicate (much less exceed) that soggy, clammy, icy-damp backdrop of that peninsula north of San Francisco.

As much as I don't like the rash of remakes Hollywood is putting into wide release so far this century, people need to get over them. Remakes happen, and they're going to continue to happen. They're only a problem when the moviegoer doesn't have any other choice of film to enjoy at the theater--and rarely has this occurred, even now. The reaction against them seems to be getting stronger because, IMHO, more and more marketing dollars are going into them. Audiences just don't respond to movie/TV trailers and magazine, newspaper and web ads for a remake of a title the way they would to the same ads for an original title.

Kevin M · 11-02-2004, 07:51 PM

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Point Reyes, California...there is no way, in an eternity, that even the most adept filmmaker can digitally replicate (much less exceed) that soggy, clammy, icy-damp backdrop of that peninsula north of San Francisco.

Well even if they do remake it it will most likely be filmed in Canada to save $...not that there aren't some beautiful coastlines in Canada but this particular area in CA is remarkable.

Mikel_Cooperman · 11-03-2004, 01:13 PM

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Well even if they do remake it it will most likely be filmed in Canada to save $...not that there aren't some beautiful coastlines in Canada but this particular area in CA is remarkable.

I agree. I live near about an hour from the coastline. Beautiful though I still cant find that lighthouse!

TedT · 11-03-2004, 05:33 PM

deleted redundant post. Point was made earlier.

Mikel_Cooperman · 02-24-2005, 07:21 PM

Looks like they are going for the teenie bopper crowed like the House of Wax remake.

Smallville's Clark Kent, Tom Welling, and Lost hottie, Maggie Grace, are both set to star in the remake of the John Carpenter classic The Fog.

Rupert Wainwright is set as the director of the film set in a Northern California town where, about 100 years ago, a ship sank under mysterious circumstances in a thick, eerie fog. The ghosts of the deceased mariners return from their watery graves to seek their revenge. Welling will play a local boat owner who never left the town, and Grace will portray a college girl who is back in her hometown for the summer.

JonZ · 02-25-2005, 09:41 AM

"but they'll NEVER be able to match the mood of the original."

This is what I loved about old Carpenter films. The atmosphere. What the hell happened to him? He had so much potential.

Say what you want about how crappy Season Of the Witch or Christne were, but the man used to know how to create atmosphere and mood.

Its only been recently Ive seen some films that can match what he did 25 years ago.

Colton · 02-25-2005, 09:51 AM

All I have to say is they better not change the ending. The ending was perfect!

- Colton

Jordan_E · 02-25-2005, 11:38 AM

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All I have to say is they better not change the ending. The ending was perfect!

You know they will, to leave it open for the sequel!