The Fog
1979, directed by John Carpenter, released by MGM

Movie
This is John Carpenter's follow-up to the monstrously successful Halloween. With The Fog, Carpenter and Debra Hill have crafted a good old-fashioned ghost story. This is primarily a tale of mystery and revenge. As Carpenter himself explains in the DVD's supplemental material, the story is akin to those old EC Comics - simple story filled with horror and a plot twist. In translating this type of comic book story to the big screen, we have an all-star cast (well, for a horror movie at least), and a concerted effort to create an atmospheric looking and feeling thriller.

The story: The movie opens with John Houseman telling a ghost story, on a beach in Antonio Bay, which lies on the coast of California. This ghost story is meant to frighten - but also contains too much truth, as it is based on true events.

The quaint, coastal town of Antonio Bay is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary. Yay for them! But the secret of the town's birth has long since died away with its founding fathers. Yet, even the dead can seek revenge, and the modern day inhabitants of Antonio Bay seem likely to pay the price - for the greed that put Antonio Bay on the map, while simultaneously putting innocent victims into the sea.

As the anniversary celebration is being organized, by Kathy Williams and Sandy Fadel (Janet Leigh and Nancy Loomis, respectively), we are introduced to many other characters living and passing through town. There is the troubled, alcoholic priest, Father Malone (Hal Holbrook). The local truck driver, Nick (Tom Atkins), who picks up the somewhat slutty hitchhiker, Elizabeth (Jamie Lee Curtis). Elizabeth is on a journey to discover herself, and makes the mistake of staying in town long enough to bed Nick, and also be exposed to the coming horrors.

Anchoring the story, from the lighthouse / radio station is DJ Stevie Wayne, played by Adrienne Barbeau. Her vantage-point on the coast, along with radio waves she broadcasts on, allows her to see and warn the citizens of town, when things start to go wrong. And they do go wrong, oh-so terribly wrong.

On the eve of the anniversary, the town feels the first ripple effect of the supernatural fog. This minor destruction uncovers evidence of the founding fathers' treachery - which literally falls into the hands of Father Malone. Can he, or any of the other characters, survive the arrival of the revenge-seeking ghosts, who have risen from their watery graves?

Video
There are two video options you can choose from on this DVD release. There is a very nice anamorphic transfer, in the 2.35:1 original aspect ratio. And there is also a full-screen version, which I feel no need to even evaluate.

There are minimal source defects that I recall, some grainy scenes, but this is truly a beautiful transfer. I saw this film on VHS many times in the 80's - don't recall seeing it on TV, though? But this DVD version is probably the best the movie has looked in a long time! Just check out the extras on the DVD - you will see clips from trailers, TV spots, and the documentaries - and you can see the vast difference between those and the new DVD transfer. I now know how bad this movie looked on VHS, luckily we have it at home with far superior image quality. And in the widescreen format, which Carpenter uses so effectively.

Audio
Two choices for the English audio track - a Dolby Digital mono, and a 5.1 mix. There is also a French mono track available. English, Spanish, and French subtitles, too.

I listened to parts of the movie with both of the English tracks - and I really liked the sound of the 5.1 mix. I think audiophiles will be pleased - the mono track is just so flat in comparison to the enhanced surround sound audio.

Typically moody, yet simplistic John Carpenter composed score - I seem to like most of his scores, and The Fog is no exception. He typically creates a simple theme, which you will hear throughout the movie. Efficient and effective.

Trash Factor
I can't add too much to this section - there just isn't that much to discuss. There isn't too much to titillate from the female stars, Jamie Lee Curtis, Adrienne Barbeau, Nancy Loomis, or Janet Leigh. So unless you have a thing for any of them, this isn't a film with any T&A value.

Similarly, some people will be disappointed with the body count, which can be counted on two hands. Some of the death scenes are intense, but lack any significant gore worth mentioning.

It is interesting to hear John Carpenter talk about the film in the documentaries - apparently, the first cut of the movie was very much disliked by studio execs and those funding the film. Carpenter himself said it was bad. So much so, that they went back and shot a lot of additional footage to amp the violence and tension level of the film. Carpenter and Debra Hill go on to discuss a lot of these "new" sequences that were done just in time to make the release date - and I find it hard to imagine the film without these scenes. I mean, there isn't much violence in the final version of the film - but what is in there, seems to be all the last minute shots. What was the film like before they shot this stuff? Had to be zero gore and near zero violence.

Extras
The added features on this "Special Edition" DVD really enhance the film, and make a good movie into a great DVD release.

The best extras are a newly created documentary, which is complemented by a documentary shot back in 1980. Excellent comments from stars and the production team, including all the notables. New comments from Jamie Lee Curtis are absent in the new documentary, however.

The other essential extra is a feature length commentary by director/writer John Carpenter and producer/writer Debra Hill. So I was quite pleased with the amount of back-story that could be gained about the film.

Other extras, include liner notes by Carpenter, storyboard to film comparison, outtakes, advertising gallery, and production photo gallery. The storyboard to film comparison isn't that much, only for a single scene in the film, lasting only about 2 minutes. The outtakes aren't all that interesting either - about 5 minutes in total.

Packaging
I love the cover image for this DVD, brightly colored, and echoing the creepiness of the fog within the movie. I am glad they didn't use some of the "floating head montage artwork" I have seen on earlier VHS releases.

The insert booklet contains notes by Carpenter, along with some bits of trivia, and a chapter list. Can't complain - there are plenty of MGM DVD releases that give you no insert at all.

Overall
Bottom-line, I highly recommend this DVD, if you are a fan of John Carpenter, it is a no-brainer. If you like the 80's era horror film, this is a no-brainer. You'll get a solid movie (above average, but not great.), excellent audio and visual presentation, and decent amount of worthwhile supplementary material. Plus, this is pretty cheap - I got it for $12.95. If not that low, I am sure it can be readily found in the $15 to $20 price range.

The film itself is classic John Carpenter direction - efficient, atmospheric, and stylish. And besides Carpenter's direction and co-writing - you get him in an uncredited cameo appearance, and he composes the film's score, too. Added to that, I would commend Dean Cundey on the cinematography, Tommy Lee Wallace on production design, and the great Rob Bottin on special makeup effects. Makeup effects are used sparingly, mind-you, compared to other films on Bottin's resume. But perhaps Bottin makes up for it with his brief acting stint in The Fog?

The cast itself is deep, and includes Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hal Holbrook Tom Atkins, Janet Leigh, Charles Cyphers, Nancy Kyes, John Houseman, and Darwin Joston. I really didn't have a complaint with anyone's performance. If anything, there are too many characters for a movie that runs right at 90 minutes. Too many, in that some of them are not fully fleshed-out by the time the fog really starts rolling in, during the last half of the film.

But the fog itself does not lack characterization - and I think Carpenter and Hill accomplished what they set out to do - making the fog truly a "character." This is done by the successful visual effects, as well as the "mystery" added to the plot. It is compelling enough to make you want to find out the "why" aspect of the mystery. This is a recommended DVD!

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD