SMALLS' FRIGHT FEST: JOHN CARPENTER'S THE FOG

Antonio Bay is a sleepy, quiet coastal town that harbors a dark secret. On it's 100th anniversary night, a thick green fog rolls into town as the ghostly specters hidden within the fog take their deadly vengeance against the town citizens.

 Right from the opening scene, the mood is set. We are going to be watching a classic ghost story that could be told around a campfire late at night and personally I LOVE this aspect to The Fog. I'm a huge fan of John Carpenter, and as usual (at least for his films made in the 70's and 80's) he doesn't disappoint. Finally, we get a film that celebrates Fog and imagines some really creepy ways to use this mysterious weather phenomenon to the films advantage. We get to see thick,rolling blankets of fog completely devour buildings, and eventually the whole town. The Fog seen in this film with it's ghostly flashing green lights helps to create the usual thick and tense atmosphere we have come to expect from a John Carpenter film.

Starring in The Fog are Tom Atkins (FUCK YEAH) as cop Nick Castle, Janet Leigh as Mayor's wife Kathy Williams, Jaime Lee Curtis as hitchhiker Elizabeth Solley, Adrienne Barbeau as radio DJ Stevie Wayne (who is relegated to screaming over the radio to BEWARE OF THE FOG while stuck at her lighthouse radio station), and Hal Holbrook as priest Father Malone. Every actor does a stand-up job here, with my personal favorite being Hal Holbrook as Father Malone who is suffering from feelings of guilt concerning the towns dark secret he recently unearthed. He manages to actually out bad-ass Tom Atkins here, a real treat.  Surprisingly, Tom Atkins does not kick as much ass as he usually does, but his role is still memorable enough. Another interesting thing to note is that, as I stated above, Janet Leigh and Jaime Lee Curtis both have sizable roles here which is cool because in real life they are mother/daughter.Mind you, they don't get to interact much with each other but it's still pretty cool too have two of horror's most recognizable icons in the same film together.

John Carpenter has been known as a man who likes to write his own scripts for his films and compose his own music. He did these for Halloween , Halloween 2, Escape From New York and other films of his. He continued this tradition with The Fog, which features a fairly strong script (with some silliness here and there), and another superb score perfect for listening to during the Halloween season (try listening to the main theme during a dark October night and don't tell me it doesn't immediately get you into the mood).

The Fog is yet another superb film from master director John Carpenter. Surprisingly, the film is rated R although there is no blood, no gore, no real onscreen violence, and no swearing. It is this reason that I consider The Fog, despite it's R rating, to be the perfect film with which to introduce your kids to the works of John Carpenter (I am BY NO MEANS saying that The Fog is a kids film, I'm just saying it's the least likely of Carpenter's horror films to scar your kids for life). Personally, I LOVE The Fog. Is it a bit silly? Yeah! However, the atmosphere is rich and thick, the ghostly sailors are a fantastic, creepy creation and the shots of the fog are gorgeous to look at and are impressive. It's a perfect, fun film to watch and enjoy during the Halloween season.

4 STARS