The Fog (4 Stars)

This is a low budget film made by John Carpenter in 1980. I'm a big fan of John Carpenter's early films, so it's strange that I've waited so long before watching it again. I don't remember exactly when I last watched it, because it was before September 2010. My blog doesn't lie.

The film takes place in the fictional town of Antonio Bay on the west coast of America. On 21st April 1880 the town was due to be founded. A group of lepers arrived on the coast with a large amount of gold and requested that they could set up a colony on the outskirts of the new town. The founding fathers didn't want lepers anywhere near their town, so they sank the ship and stole the gold.

100 years have passed. On 21st April 1980 the small town wants to celebrate its anniversary. Shortly after midnight a thick fog appears on the sea, and a large ship is visible. The only other ship on the water is boarded, and its sailors are killed. The rest of the day is peaceful, but while the anniversary celebrations are taking place in the evening there's a power cut. Thick fog returns and covers the town. The undead sailors from the 19th Century come out of the fog and murder the descendants of the founding fathers.

It's a simple supernatural tale of revenge, but it's very effective. The low budget was a necessity for John Carpenter, but it's the film's biggest asset. The simplicity of the filming makes the terror stronger. Admittedly, the film starts very slowly, but once the action begins it's terrifying.

"The Fog" has the style of a slasher movie, except that it isn't one serial killer, it's a group of killers. As I wrote in my review of "Halloween", "Slasher films typically adhere to a specific formula: a past wrongful action causes severe trauma that is reinforced by a commemoration or anniversary that reactivates or re-inspires the killer".

Success Rate:  + 17.4

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