The Fog is a short and effective ghost story told by horror master John Carpenter. Now, it returns beautifully restored in a collectible steelbook thanks to Shout Factory.
The Fog opens on a campfire surrounded by a group of engrossed kids and an old maritime storyteller regaling them with the tale of a ship that crashed on the shores of Antonio Bay, right near where the storyteller was telling the tale. The storyteller, an old man dressed like the specter of a lighthouse keeper, speaks in a slow, gravelly voice with a foreboding tone. “11:55, almost midnight. Enough time for one more story,” he says. “One more story before 12:00, just to keep us warm.”
This cold open was not in the original cut of the film. Legendary director John Carpenter, hot off the success of 1978's Halloween, decided to include it after being unhappy with the finished product. That decision propels The Fog from a good horror movie to a minor classic within Carpenter's legendary career. With the cold open, Carpenter sets an eerie, indelible atmosphere for the rest of the film. The Fog feels like a ghost story being told around a fire. The kind where you lean in slightly, put your chin on your hands and find yourself lost in the tale.
The Fog returns via a stunning HD transfer available on blu-ray steelbook thanks to Shout Factory. And with the first new Halloween movie in more than a decade coming out this year, it's a welcome reminder of the breadth of work Carpenter has under his belt outside of his most remembered films. And The Fog is a perfect example of how Carpenter could do so much with so little. Though made for just $1.1 million, the tiny seaside town of Antonio Bay, California looks more sweeping than it actually was.
The Fog begins on the 100th anniversary of the founding of Antonio Bay. Right as the clock strikes midnight, mysterious paranormal incidents begin happening around town — car alarms suddenly go off, televisions turn to static. All this while station owner and DJ Stevie Wayne (Adrienne Barbeau gives a standout performance) is finishing her show at the KAB radio station located in the Antonio Bay lighthouse.
Meanwhile, a group of fisherman just offshore are relaxing and enjoying a drink while listening to Stevie's show. However, they're disturbed by a mysterious fog bank that is rolling past their boat. Out of the fog emerges a ship out of the 1800s and shadowy figures that kill the men. Elsewhere in Antonio Bay, Nick Castle (Tom Atkins) picks up Elizabeth Solley (Jamie Lee Curtis) who is hitchhiking down a dark road. All seems normal until suddenly all the windows of the car shatter.
However, at one in the morning, all the paranormal activity stops. Carpenter harnesses the silent dread that stalked so much of Halloween in a whole new way here. Michael Myers already felt like an apparition, so dealing with actual apparitions in this movie feels like a natural extension. The next morning, Stevie's son finds a plank of wood with the word “DANE” carved into it.
Meanwhile, Nick and Elizabeth venture out to find the missing Seagrass, the fishing vessel that went missing in the middle of the night. Elsewhere in town, Kathy Williams (the legendary Janet Leigh, who also happens to be Curtis' mother in real-life) and her assistant Sandy (Nancy Loomis) prepare for the town's centennial celebration.
Eventually, these stories will come together. Along the way, there are creeps and scares that show again why John Carpenter is a master of horror. In particular, a scene involving the plank of wood in the radio station is pure horror without any loud clangs in the score or sudden jumps. Speaking of the score, it is iconic as any other Carpenter score. He is a master of mood and he perfectly matches his synthesized score to the ghost story quality of the movie.
The Fog doesn't go particularly deep into its characters and doesn't have much in way of themes. However, a lot of that is to its benefit. It's a breezy 89 minutes of horror with a compelling story and background. There is tension throughout and great scares, it's an easy movie to watch and one that's hard not to enjoy. The final act is a bit of a letdown after the effective build up. That's where the shallowness of the characters and themes betray it. But overall, The Fog is an underrated movie in the Carpenter canon and on that should get its due. Hopefully, it will with this new beautiful steelbook release.
Where to watch The Fog: Available to buy or rent on Prime Video or
You can get the limited edition Blu-Ray steelbook here!
Hey, I'm Karl, founder and film critic at Smash Cut. I started Smash Cut in 2014 to share my love of movies and give a perspective I haven't yet seen represented. I'm also an editor at The New York Times, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and a member of the Online Film Critics Society.