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      The Fog

      1980, Horror/Mystery & thriller, 1h 29m

      69 Reviews 25,000+ Ratings

      What to know

      Critics Consensus

      A well-crafted return to horror for genre giant John Carpenter, The Fog rolls in and wraps viewers in suitably slow-building chills. Read critic reviews

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      The Fog  Photos

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      Movie Info

      Strange things begin to occurs as a tiny California coastal town prepares to commemorate its centenary. Inanimate objects spring eerily to life; Rev. Malone (Hal Holbrook) stumbles upon a dark secret about the town's founding; radio announcer Stevie (Adrienne Barbeau) witnesses a mystical fire; and hitchhiker Elizabeth (Jamie Lee Curtis) discovers the mutilated corpse of a fisherman. Then a mysterious iridescent fog descends upon the village, and more people start to die.

      • Rating: R

      • Genre: Horror, Mystery & thriller

      • Original Language: English

      • Director: John Carpenter

      • Producer: Debra Hill

      • Writer: John Carpenter, Debra Hill

      • Release Date (Theaters):  original

      • Rerelease Date (Theaters):

      • Release Date (Streaming):

      • Box Office (Gross USA): $69.5K

      • Runtime:

      • Distributor: RCA/Columbia, AVCO Embassy Pictures, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.

      • Production Co: AVCO Embassy Pictures

      • Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

      Cast & Crew

      Hal Holbrook
      Janet Leigh
      Jamie Lee Curtis
      Tom Atkins
      Nancy Kyes
      Charles Cyphers
      Ty Mitchell
      John Vick
      James Canning
      Regina Waldon
      Charles B. Bloch
      John Carpenter
      Dean Cundey
      Tommy Lee Wallace
      Craig Stearns
      Stephen Loomis
      Bill Whitten

      News & Interviews for The Fog

      Critic Reviews for The Fog

      Audience Reviews for The Fog

      • Oct 22, 2019

        The story is simple-mined and the 3rd act doesn't deliver any frights, but John Carpenter's second feature is atmospheric and a fun family pic for Halloween season

        Super Reviewer
      • Aug 26, 2016

        A highly underrated horror gem by the great John Carpenter. So many great scenes and the score is one of Carpenter's best. Delivers relentless unpretentious thrills from beginning to end.

        Super Reviewer
      • Aug 22, 2015

        The Fog is John Carpenter's first offering immediately following the tremendous, well-deserved success of Halloween. Call it the sophomore jinx or the pressure of generating the same kind of success that he did on Halloween, The Fog was reportedly fraught with production problems, didn't make sense when first edited and viewed by Carpenter, so much so that he re-shot or added a full 30 minutes of new footage, including the opening campfire story scene, to help tell the story and eliminate confusion. He also added some violence, feeling The Fog lacked scares. In the end, Carpenter has said this is his least favorite film he made, due to the production problems and disappointment following Halloween. But let's face it, Halloween is a masterpiece which defined and created the benchmark for a genre, and you simply cannot do that twice, let alone back-to-back and with only 3 theatrically released films to his credit at age 32. And Assault on Precinct 13 is pretty primitive and simplistic. By comparison, Halloween was a quantum leap in terms of story and direction. The Fog is actually a good movie with a decent, if a bit odd, mystery backstory to explain the curse on the folks at Antonio Bay. Carpenter again, wisely, avoids graphic violence or gore, and sticks to slow, atmoshperic build up with some decent spooky set pieces including the Elizabeth Dane ghost ship and the coastal town and lighthouse. This is a respectable, simple ghost story which was made on yet another tiny budget - 1 million, and earned more than 20 million, setting up Carpenter for his first big-budget horror movie 2 years later, The Thing. The Fog is a good entry-level horror movie for those who are easily frightened, and probably should have been rated PG. Surely it would have fit the PG-13 mold a few years later. Overall, a worthy ghost story and one of Carpenter's best. (Sorry, John!).

        mark h Super Reviewer
      • Oct 20, 2013

        A very simplistic story executed in an engaging way. The great music elevates the film.

        Super Reviewer

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