The Fog VHS

As a writer and director, the legendary John Carpenter has given us some of the best horror films of the 70s and 80s and, to me, The Fog is part of his greatest trilogy -- along with Halloween and The Thing. I literally have no idea how many times I've watched these three films, but they hold up 40+ years later.The Fog revolves around the 100th anniversary of the founding of Antonio Bay, California and the celebration the sleepy seaside town is having. Unfortunately, the town's six founding fathers hid a terrible secret that is going to return with a vengeance in the mysterious glowing fog.This movie has an all-star cast who were Hollywood legends then (Hal Hobrook, John Houeman, and Janet Leigh) and legends in the making (Jamie Lee Curtis and Adrienne Barbeau) and a slew of character actors you'd go on to see for the next few decades.Most of you probably know the story but if you don't, PLEASE watch this movie and enjoy the work of a horror master. Skip the crappy remake they made in 2005, starting Selma Blair and Tom Welling (Smallville), which is an abysmally bad version of this one. You'll thank me later.

The quiet seaside town of Antonio Bay is getting ready to celebrate its 100th anniversary but secrets from 100 years ago refuse to stay buried. There is something in the fog and its coming for them.I really like this movie, it is real good ghost story. It is in the sweet spot money wise that it has enough money to have the polish and the acting talent a horror movie needs but not too much that you get studio interference and end up with a talking sidekick dog. The real star of this movie is the amazing scenery, shooting in cinemascope and with the exceptional Dean Cundey makes this one of the most visually grand horror movies out there. Whether it is Adrienne Barbeau driving her Volkswagen Thing up the long windswept Northern California coast or Tom Atkins and Jamie Lee Curtis discovering the abandoned Seagrass on the vast empty ocean this movie has a much grander scale than the usual horror fare of five college kids in a tiny cabin. This movie also has one of my favorite Carpenter scores which pairs wonderfully with the visuals. The acting is all top notch with most of the cast being Carpenter regulars giving it a comfortable familiarity with the material. This has been a favorite of mine ever since I first saw it on Joe Bob Brigg’s Monstervision in the mid-90s. I had the good fortune to catch The Fog on the big screen at the Alamo Drafthouse and the big screen really makes the amazing cinematography really stand out. A ghostly good time even for people who aren’t normally big horror fans.

I have been a fan of this movie since as long as I can remember. It is truly a classic. I am even a fan or the remake. I know that there are issues with this film, as there is with any flick. There will always be something that you just cannot make work. However, that does not distract from the brilliance of John Carpenter. (I am not going to go into detail about the length of a shot; or the logic in some of the decisions of the players in the movie... I just do not have the time to write a 2000 word review. For me, The Fog delivers what I need from it: a good, suspenseful and somewhat logical plot to a movie. Enjoy!

It took me a few viewings to warm to The Fog and now I'm addicted to it. John Carpenter is my favorite horror film director and one of my favorite directors in general so I had high expectations for the scare and suspense factor of The Fog which I was let down on the first couple viewings but kept finding things I loved about it both times. However, on the third viewing I perceived it like an extended story as part of the movie Creepshow and then I came to fully appreciate this wonderful Carpenter classic. It's now one of my favorite films of his. It's a lot of fun (and I mean a lot of fun) and a great October watch. It has aged terrifically as well. Carpenter set out to make an old fashioned ghost story of the 50's, taking place in the late 70s and starting the early 80s back then and it's even more classy, timeless and old fashioned nowadays in a perfect way. The cinematography by the great Dean Cundey is masterful and literally gorgeous. The seaside town and locations are perfect. It has an excellent classic 80s ensemble horror movie cast and Adrienne Barbeau's scenes are outstanding. I loved every scene she was in and her radio show from the lighthouse was done very classy and with a great deal of style. The wonderful Jazz tunes were a perfect touch with her sexy on air voice. If her radio show really existed I'd listen to it every night. I just wish it's scare and tension factor came more close to Carpenter's Halloween, The Thing, Prince of darkness and In the mouth of madness. The first 30 minutes are truly epic. They are so great that it makes me wish the entire film took place that one night but the third act isn't as strong but does have it's positives. Go into The Fog like a it's a story out of Creepshow and you will probably enjoy it more. It's also one of those classic fun horror films you can introduce to your kids at a young appropriate age on Halloween because it's not too scary, barely violent, no nudity or onscreen sex and no bad language whatsoever. Frankly I'm shocked this is rated R. Just a lot of great classic style. I'm thrilled I grew to enjoy John Carpenter's The Fog! It's a horror movie gift that keeps on giving. P.S. Shouts! awesome easter egg for the intro for it's ABC Sunday Night Movie premiere is aces! I'll use it right before I watch The Fog from now on. To access it go to special features and on the second page go down to back and click the right arrow to the cross on the tombstone and that's how to access it for those who are interested in some retro greatness.

"NEW RESTORATION" it says in a bold sticker on the front, with "BRAND NEW RESTORATION" printed on the cover. It was this that made me buy it, not to mention it is, to quote the back cover "Stunningly restored in 4K..." Though I'm watching in mere 1080p, I thought that buying a new copy would be worth it.The Fog is one of those movies I've watched again and again. I saw it at the cinema in 1980, and I was, frankly, underwhelmed. Some good points but it didn't hold together at the end.And yet... I keep being drawn back to it. I like it's version of American small town life, which has grown on me in the passing years, even if it seems like a cheap alternative to Jaws. Over repeated viewings I've grown to appreciate the slow build, the suspense and the hints of supernatural stuff.So, I figured, it'll be worth buying a newly restored - sorry, NEW RESTORATION - for Halloween.The film's as good as ever. The surround sound is pretty good, though nothing to test your speakers too much. But the restoration is disappointing. Some of the early scenes, in the dark and the mist, are horribly grainy and made me wonder if I'd got a dodgy copy.Looking at my old DVD copy, this doesn't happen. And whilst the picture may be a little softer, it is less distracting without the grain.So.... you pays your money and takes your choice, as they say. I'm not sorry I've bought it, but I'd think twice if you were buying a new copy. Beware the publicity....

Firstly one of, if not my favourite horror films of all time. Secondly this 4k transfer is so hit and miss it beggars belief how it got past quality assurance.Firstly the resolution of 4k, this is as good as it gets, but due to the movie being shot in the late 70s early 80s the cameraman didn't focus things too well and the 4k suffers as a result, but when they focused correctly it looks incredible. Secondly the HDR implementation, this is nothing short of dreadful, it's like they have falsely added this to the point where you actually see chromatic blocking in brighter scenes,like where the weather station gets attacked and the fog is flashing, the brightness gets dialled up that much beyond it's original state that you see pink blocks in the fog. The classic ending with the cross is ruined, as the cross goes from bright shimmer yellow, to turgid dark brown, during the handover from vicar to ghost.One other thing that puzzled me is the audio, some scenes have audio cut out or be out of sync, I mean for a 20 premium product which is supposed to be the ultimate way to view the movie, it's a complete mess. Stick with the blue ray or even the DVD or even the vhs version, all better than this conversion.

The Fog has a cult following, it seems, but, for the life of me, I cannot figure out why. This is Carpenter's worst film, and that includes Ghosts of Mars. There's very little here to even critique but I'll give it my best shot.An atmospheric thriller about ghost sailors seeking vengeance is already enough to make a great movie, so where and how does The Fog go so wrong? We only get a small handful of characters to fill up the cast, which ought to be a good thing as we can spend more time with them and not spread the development too thin. Doesn't happen here. We learn next to nothing about these people and their struggles against the sinister forces slowly (very, very slowly) invading their quiet coastal town become meaningless. Don't expect anyone here to have an arc. Don't expect to root for anyone, underdog or not.The movie barely pushes past the 90 minute mark yet it still manages to outstay its welcome. To add insult to injury a few superfluous scenes were added after principal photography as John Carpenter decided the movie wasn't scary enough. This means when he first delivered his 75-80 minute cut he assumed the movie was complete already. Erm...no. Did he not discover the material was a little too thin when he held the tiny script in his hands? I'm not kidding, the script is so thin it's almost two-dimensional. There's just no material here. This film is nothing! The new scenes don't even make any sense within the context of the "story". It's all just empty filler.I feel like I'm being overly generous with a 2/5 score in this review though the movie just about manages to nudge over the 1/5 line thanks to some stunning anamorphic Panavision compositions and a spooky atmosphere in too few scenes. The ghost ship, the Elizabeth Dane, appears to be a wonderful design and seeing it appear out of the fog is pure eye candy.It's in one shot. One. One shot. Just one.One!Why even bother building a ship for all of three seconds of screen time? Could they not have found a way to work more into this? The Fog is such an unsatisfying bore. There is zero tension, no suspense, barely any character development, and no pay-off for any viewers with even a mild bloodlust. It almost feels like a Robert Altman film in some regards with the constant cutting back forth between characters who never interact with each other and might as well exist in different movies.The 4K Blu-ray presents the film 2160p which looks gorgeous during the daytime scenes but becomes a murky mess at night. I have no doubt that Studio Canal's restoration was faultless but whoever mastered this Blu-ray should be fired, named, and shamed. A few shots in this movie look like 2005 era 260p YouTube videos shot on a Sony Ericsson. When people purchase 4K they expect the best. These are home theatre enthusiasts looking to justify their expensive investment. Not people who collect from Poundland. To fail so badly at the mastering of this movie is a catastrophic failure on Studio Canal's part and they need to get their act together. This is a premium set, with a relatively thick booklet, art cards, a lot of extras, and a soundtrack CD. The quality control on this release should have been tighter than a badger's anus stretched over a milk bottle. I can't believe they dropped the ball so badly and I will be extremely sceptical of their future 4K endeavours. This simply will not do.I cannot get this on eBay fast enough!

This Blu Ray restored from 4K elements looks amazing. We were worried having seen previous comments that the picture (especially the night time scenes) was dark and grainy and lacked the definition and pop that one expects from a 4k master. Fear not it looks great (viewed on a 75" 4k TV with dolby vision) and is not only exceptionally detailled but has very little grain, the primary colours pop (especially the red hues) and the night-time scenes are awash with detail even in the blackest black. The 5.1 DTS Master sound track is servicable and rates a 3 out of 5 but is true of the 1980's dolby stereo soundtracks. jamie Leigh Curtis (here together with her mother Janet Leigh) battle the 100 year old leaper pirates of Antonio Bay as Adrienne Barbeau keeps them company from her lighthouse radio station. All of the suspense is still there in a classic from John Carpenter and this movie like the restored "Prince of Darkness" rate buying for your collection

The fog has some incredibly creepy and disturbing visuals. The mystery and terror of the shapes concealed in the fog is really very effective. It's as though Carpenter had this one really disturbing idea and then tried to build a film around it. The acting I thought was quite strong, everyone does a pretty good job without anyone really standing out. The Blu Ray I bought gives good picture quality, for a low budget shoot colours look great, especially in daylight. At night though things get quite grainy and we loose a lot of detail. The sound is pretty clear, a few lines are a bit muffled which I put down to the low budget productions.The film isn't really gory it's more psychological terror.Now into the negatives and so a few spoilers. My main issue is probably with the script and characters. For some reason we don't really care about the characters, they're undeveloped, lack depth and are really quite dull. If there is a main character I suppose it's Jamie Lee Curtis, or maybe the mum in the lighthouse. The way she's introduced though is so weird, she hitchhikes a lift from some man and complains about men hitting on her. The next scene it just cuts to the two of them in bed. It feels like there's scenes missing in the film, it's barely 90 minutes long. The man is probably her dad's age too which is odd. The film is sort of a slasher but all the supporting cast survive, it's like an episode of goosebumps, so toothless. There's even a boy they try to pretend is in trouble, but you know nothing is going to happen to him. The film also has some pretty huge plot holes, like why don't they just drive away? If they'd made it a bit more violent and unpredictable I think I'd have been more concerned about the characters. They even have this big subplot about the town folk all gathering together, you wonder if the ghosts will attack, but no it's just a subplot which goes nowhere.