The Fog (1980)

“Eleven fifty-five, almost midnight. Enough time for one more story. One more story before twelve... just to keep us warm.” These simple words mark the beginning of what yours truly believes to be one of the finest ghost stories of all time. I’m referring to John Carpenter’s 1980 film The Fog. What brings this movie to mind currently is that we're fast approaching the perfect time to revisit this spooky tale. Why's that you ask? Well the film begins late on the 20^th of April and carries on through the next day. This year those dates happen to span the bridge of Saturday night through Sunday morning which as we all know is the optimal time for viewing horror movies. Whether you've never seen it before or are an old die-hard fan this is the perfect moment to revisit The Fog.

I do expect that there are many of you out there who have yet to see this one and I don’t blame you. Growing up I’d encountered most of Carpenter’s work, save for a few oddballs like Body Bags, on television or through my older brothers renting them. Yet for whatever reason I never caught The Fog through either of those means. Instead a DVD was given as payment for babysitting my nephew. I watched it that night with my sister and while I don't recall having a massive reaction to it, the damn thing stayed with me and has since earned regular rotation in my horror viewing. That’s because for what it lacks in pop-culture notoriety versus it’s siblings like Halloween and The Thing it more than makes up with a perfect campfire story aesthetic.

That campfire atmosphere is right up front with an old man telling scary stories to a bunch of children around a fire. I've heard that Carpenter considers this to be a kids movie which was closer to the original intent before reshoots lead to more scare and blood. When you consider how most of us as children heard tales of horny teenagers being dismembered by hook-handed psychopaths and ate it all up this still feels fine for a slightly younger audience. What makes this even closer to a kids film is that it's more simplistic and comfortable. Everything slightly innocent with the horror coming more from atmosphere than brutal violence. That being said there is one outstanding, if quick, bit of head stabbing. None of the deaths are all that bloody. Sex is implied more than it is shown. It may not conform to the typical notions of family friendly viewing but you could get away with nine-year-olds diving into it.

The narrative itself concerns the town of Antonio Bay which is about tot celebrate their 100^th anniversary. That would be all well and good if not for a sin from the towns past coming back with a vengeance by which I mean a batch of of bloodthirsty ghosts who dwell within the fog. It's up all manner of individuals ranging from the local priest to a radio DJ to keep everyone safe.

I’d like to clear the character element up for anyone who hasn’t seen it is this as it lacks the usual central protagonist. It’s much more of a group narrative like some of Stephen King’s more popular work. If one were to narrow the focus to a main hero it would like be Tom Atkin’s fisherman character named after director Nick Castle. Don’t think of him as too much of a hero however as he’s honestly just a very blue-collar kinda guy. He guzzles bear while driving, sleeps with hitchhikers, and smokes like a chimney. A real man among men. Orbiting him are Adriene Barbeau as a local radio DJ, Hal Hallbrook as a priest, Jamie Lee Curtis as the aforementioned hitchhiker, her real-life mother Janet Leigh as a busybody town official, and a few others for added fun. It’s rare for a story so short and straightforward to have a cast this large.

Location is a huge component of those flick as the majority of it was filmed north-west of San Francisco with open vistas and vast shorelines. It's an incredibly scenic area despite being so close to an urban nightmare. What still gets in my craw is how close I was to these sights just a few years ago. There's little chance of me returning either as I'm both a homebody and me & California don't mix well. Regardless, the dive bars, beaches, and lighthouses add to the ambiance of the film as it's all very real but for so many of us seems like a fantastical place to live.

Lord knows we can't forget about the music. John Carpenter is well known for scoring his films. Sometimes his musical efforts made for classic themes like in Halloween, on the flip-side are largely forgettable tunes for films like Vampires. With The Fog he was absolutely laser focused on creating outstanding mood music. It's rarely loud or overbearing but permeates every scene with slow piano notes along with his classic synthesizer work. To this day it ranks as one of my top choices for brooding over a stiff drink while I watch some dreadful weather through the window. Is that a thing normal people do? Have I based too many of my behaviors off of movies?

You'll notice I'm not going into deep ramblings about character-arcs or hidden meanings and that's because this isn't that sort of film. Sometimes it's better to just relax and let things wash over you. Especially when it's such solid entertainment that taps into a fairly universal feeling. How many of us have wondered what unseen terrors lurk about our foggy surroundings?

Just a typical Michigan morning.

Anyway this is your homework for the week. Settle in a few minutes before midnight with a bowl of popcorn and some beer to take in the sort of classic tale that would have thrilled you before you became a bitter adult. Unfortunately I give you this mission when it looks like no streaming services are currently hosting the movie. I guess you can do some digital renting or run out to a nicer movie store, sometimes FYE has a decent stock of Scream Factory releases. Whatever the method I guarantee this is a fabulous way to mark your halfway to Halloween festivities. Well that and waking up the next day to consume massive quantities of ham.