The Fog (DVD, 2002, Widescreen & Full Frame)

The Fog (1979) is set in Antonio Bay, a small seaside fishing town which is set to celebrate its 100th anniversary. As the anniversary date approaches townspeople start dying in gruesome ways. Secrets about the town are learned and revealed by the town's priest, played by Hal Holbrook. The town's founders apparently lured a clipper ship, filled with lepers, to their doom so that the town could recover their gold. Now, on the 100th anniversary of the shipwreck, a mysterious fog covers the town and with it comes the crew of the clipper ship to wreak their revenge upon Antonio Bay.

The movie is directed by John Carpenter while he was in his movie making prime. He creates what is basically an old-fashioned ghost story complete with an introduction by Academy Award Winner John Houseman. This was Houseman's only appearance in the movie but he was brilliant and set the mood of the movie right away. Leading the cast is Adrienne Barbeau, who plays the owner of a lighthouse and the owner of the local AM radio station. Barbeau gives a solid performance as she tries to save her son, warn her town about the Fog, all the while fighting rotting leper sailors. Hal Holbrook's performance is also quite good as the priest who learns that his relative was involved in the original sinister plot to kill the sailors. Rounding out the cast is Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays a loose hitchhiker who screams a lot, and Janet Leigh as the town's mayor.

The Fog was re-released in 2002 as a Special Edition and has some nice extras. It contains a new documentary with Carpenter and some of the original actors. It also contains a 1980 documentary, storyboards, some great outtakes, and more.

The Fog is classic John Carpenter. His movies during this time have a certain style and create an atmosphere that is just plain scary. Great sound effects and decent special effects add to this tension. Carpenter, unlike many other 70's directors, used darkness and vague shapes to add to the mood of the movie while keeping the gore to a minimum. Solid acting, good cast, scary plot, and great directing, make The Fog an excellent movie which every horror fan should own.

The Fog. I thought this movie was great. Very spooky. This movie is more of a mind trip. You know something is going to happen, but when. This is a good old horror movie with lots of jumps.

This is honestly one of my all-time favorite horror flicks. I have watched this movie so much that I wore out my VHS, so I bought it on DVD. I love the story, the music, the characters, and the scream queen herself, Jamie Lee Curtis. Truly a classic in its own rights. John Carpenter is a genius!

In 1871 the founding fathers of Antonio Island, Oregon, committed a ghastly crime on the passengers of a clipper ship seeking refuge. When the skeletons and cargo of this ship are disturbed by the anchor of a charter boat captained by Tom Welling (Nick Castle) and his first mate Spooner (DeRay Davis), a fog carrying the spectres of the murdered passengers rolls in on Antonio Island. Joining Tom in the attempt to stay alive long enough to discover the secret of the curse are his recently returned girlfriend Elizabeth (Maggie Grace), local radio announcer Stevie (Selma Blair) and Stevie's young son Andy (Cole Heppell). It seems the fog will not lift until the descendants of the wrongdoers have paid for the sins of the past.

i liked the transaction overall, the case was in good case and the dvd was in excellent condition, i bought because i am a collector of vintage 70's and 80's movies, so on a scale of 1-10 10 being best i rate this dvd and case a 7.5

The Fog was pretty good, but I can't see myself buying it. There is no incentive for me to buy it. It is a very good rental but lacks in almost every aspect of modern films. If this movie was made in the eighties I would be praising it with 5 stars, but we are in a new genartion of HD and high depth stories.

2 out of 5

,¸¸,ø¤ºº¤ø,¸¸,PLEASE VOTE FOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS REVIEW,¸¸,ø¤ºº¤ø
* ¸.•´¯)¸.•´¯) * Thank You* ¸.•´¯)¸.•´¯) *

this may be an old carpenter movie but i enjoyed it from day one. the story line has no major holes. ghostly vengeance is a solid horror theme. adding the lost ship and sailors fits.

The story here, narrated by old Mr Machen [John Houseman], tells of a colony of lepers trying to manoeuvre their vessel through a thick fog that hangs low over Spivey Point; they are drawn towards the light of a campfire burning brightly on the shore. Lured towards the campfire the Elizabeth Dane crashes into the rocks and the founding members of Antonio Bay filch the cargo of gold carried within the vessel, enough riches to build their town. They murder the crew of the Elizabeth Dane.

On the 100th anniversary of the small Californian fishing town, the sinister fog returns, rolling in from the ocean towards the mainland. Hidden within the fog is the phantom clipper ship carrying the zombie-phantom crew that perished along with the vessel a century before. They are now back seeking revenge for the atrocities committed against them - and it is the descendants of the murderers [or conspirators] that now have to pay with their lives.

Father Malone [Hal Holbrook] finds an ancient journal hidden within the walls of the church that tells the story of how Antonio Bay was built with gold stolen from Blake and his crew. But the information held within the journal is seemingly of little use and the townspeople are forced to battle the fog creatures in order to survive until dawn, when hopefully the fingers of mist will recede back out to sea.

'The Fog' is John Carpenter's most accomplished film after 'Halloween'. Both movies rely little upon special effects and excessive amounts of blood; rather, the viewer is chilled to the bone by Carpenter's excellent camera skills and his judicious choice of location. He has created a traditional ghost story with 'The Fog', where vengeful spirits return from their [watery] grave; the Californian coastline indeed resembles parts of the UK like Cornwall where tales of smugglers were rife in the nineteenth century. His use of the lighthouse - out of which Stevie Wayne [Adrienne Barbeau] runs her local radio station - contributes a haunting feel to the film, as does the ghostly clipper ship, the Elizabeth Dane.

The film also benefits from a great cast ranging from veteran actors John Houseman [Scrooged] and Hal Holbrook [Creepshow] to then-newcomers to the horror scene Jamie Lee Curtis [Halloween], Tom Atkins [Creepshow, Halloween III] and Adrienne Barbeau [Creepshow, Swamp Thing].

Matthew J Lee-Williams, Salisbury, United Kingdom, Review.

An old-time edge of your seat creepy, scary movie! It is intense, and just a fun horror flick. Check it out!

It is a very wonderful thriller, without alot the the hacker, bloody shed..
alot of the time, the older movies are much better than the newer ones.

IT IS A GREAT MOVIE AT A REASONABLE PRICE AND THE SHIPPING AND HANDLING WAS A REASONABLE PRICE. OVERALL I INJOYED THE MOVIE AND HAD FUN BIDDING ON IT.

These B-horror movies can be a lot of fun sometimes, especially with your friends. I have to say this actually can be creepy at times and is better than its remake. Old school genre actors make this one a cult classic in its own right. Not Carpenter's best but certainly entertaining for a 'foggy' night, LOL. Great for Carpenter or B-horror fans. Others should settle for a rental at the most. 3/5

I STILL GET CHILLS AND I'VE SEEN IT MANY TIMES. IT'S A MOVIE I DEFINITELY WANTED IN MY COLLECTION. A VERY REASONABLE PRICE.

Bought as gift for my daughter who likes this type of movie and she said the quality was good and has no problems with this DVD.