The Fog (1980)
Average Rating: 6.1/10
Reviews Counted: 38
Fresh: 26 | Rotten: 12
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 1
Fresh: 0 | Rotten: 1
liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 48,197
Movie Info
Following the phenomenal box-office success of his seminal horror classic Halloween, director John Carpenter teamed up with producer Debra Hill for a second independent horror project, this time in the mode of an old-fashioned ghost story. The end result was The Fog, a spooky romp about a dark secret that returns to haunt the Pacific fishing community of Antonio Bay on the 100th anniversary of the town's charter. Carpenter sets the mood in the film's prologue, which features grizzled old sea
Jun 1, 1979 Wide
Aug 27, 2002
AVCO Embassy Pictures
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Cast
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Adrienne Barbeau
Stevie Wayne -
Hal Holbrook
Father Malone -
Janet Leigh
Kathy Williams -
Jamie Lee Curtis
Elizabeth Solley -
John Houseman
Machen -
Tom Atkins
Nick Castle -
Nancy Loomis
Sandy Fadel -
Charles Cyphers
Dan O'Bannon -
Ty Mitchell
Andy Wayne -
Jim Canning
Dick Baxter -
Jim Haynie
Hank Jones -
Darrow Igus
Mel Sloane -
Jim Jacobus
Mayor -
Darwin Joston
Dr. Phibes -
John Allen Vick
Sheriff Simms -
Rob Bottin
Blake -
John Carpenter
Bennett (assistant a... -
George 'Buck' Flower
Tommy Wallace -
John F. Goff
Al Williams -
Bill Taylor
Bartender -
Tommy Lee Wallace
Ghost -
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Frederic Franklyn
Ashcroft -
Charles Nicklin
Blake -
Regina Walden
Mrs. Kobritz
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The Fog Trailer & Photos
All Critics (45) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (26) | Rotten (12) | DVD (42)
The movie's made with style and energy, but it needs a better villain.
Top CriticThe Fog is right in line with the types of film Carpenter made before his professional fall from grace: It's unpretentious genre fun, stylishly assembled and populated with colorful characters.
Released four years after the Bicentennial, 'The Fog' might be a jaundiced corrective to the often uncritical self-congratulation of America's birthday celebration, with the ghosts as manfestations of manifest destiny's bloody heritage.
Halloween brought classic genre style into a new era, and The Fog goes even further in that direction.
A definite top ten holder for me.
... makes the most of the dramatic possibilities inherent in an isolated coastal town, as well as the scare potential of darkness, fog, and silent strangers bearing longshoremen's hooks.
Not much gore, but still too intense for kids.
During this period, Carpenter and his fine collaborator the late Debra Hill were so good at crafting suspenseful, slow burn horror stories with multiple storylines.
Orchestrates a thick pall of apprehension and good-time suspense.
...a good, old-fashioned ghost story.
The Fog still holds up.
Crucial factors are missing in yet another horror flick serving up a dull collection of stock types whose illogical and frequently stupid actions are necessary to advance plot and generate what passes for suspense.
O roteiro é de uma tolice pavorosa, mas Carpenter consegue gerar tensão e bons sustos até mesmo com o recurso absurdo de fazer seus vilões baterem na porta antes de entrar.
Fairly dull ghost story occasionally given a boost by the cast and by Carpenter's proficiency with the genre. Occasionally.
Ten remakes wouldn't even surpass this creepy classic's greatness. The definitive horror film.
Creates a sense of near-apocalyptic gloom.
Not up to Carpenter's Halloween or The Thing, but a solid, atmospheric suspense film nevertheless.
The Fog is a ghost story with just the right balance of special effects artistry, menacing music and visual poetry.
A good, scary film.
A disappointing follow-up to Carpenter's Halloween
Audience Reviews for The Fog
Overall a very basic film with bottom of the barrel effects clearly done on a shoestring yet it still works effectively. I love the mist effects in this film as they remind me of many old classic black n white horror's. A really nice kind of 'Twilight Zone' feel about the proceedings that gives great atmosphere and a decent chill to the bone with all the misty cold dusk vista's.
As said the film is very basic but offers nice creativity on all counts. The nasty spooky ghosts are merely actors in dark clothes and shot in silhouette, the odd bit of seaweed draped on their arms and leader 'Captain Blake' has glowing red eyes. They simply turn up with the fog and knock on peoples doors hoping to be let in so they can kill you haha how polite!
Of course the cast is a classic line up of character actors, some of which Carpenter used for his previous popular horror flick, I don't need to mention them do I. Although personally I wouldn't have used Curtis again, bit samey.
I like this film very much, it has a great eerie factor with a plain and simple plot, no silly frills, a pure quality ghost story of old. Loved the use of a smoke machine to pump in the menacing fog at the required moments, so very cheap n obvious but so very cool.
Super Reviewer
Movies Like The Fog
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- Kathy Williams: Sandy, you're the only person I know who can make 'Yes, Ma'am' sound like 'screw you'.
- Sandy Fadel: Yes, Ma'am.
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- Father Malone: Blake, I have your gold. My grandfather stole it from you. I'm the one who must answer for it.
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Foreign Titles
- The Fog (1980) (DE)
- The Fog (1980) (UK)
Edgar Allen Poe
Deadly ghosts of murdered lepers come out of fog banks to terrorize the small Northern California town Antonio Bay(Point Reyes). Adrienne Barbeau stars as a radio jockey(Stevie Wayne) with a son that is told a "ghost" story of what essentially transpires by the late/great John Housemen who portrays a grizzled old salt(Machen) . This sets the mood for the film perfectly with his unique voice tone. John Carpenter's brilliant soundtrack work enhances the eerie premise as well. His cameo as assistant to Father Malone(Hal Holbrook) is silly, but I wouldn't put it past him to intentionally be bad for a certain effect. Regardless, he's one hell of a great horror filmmaker and cool guy.
And hey, we even get the scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis in this one.