The Fog(1980) Movie Review 1/2

Part one of my review of one of my all time favorite horror flicks(Hence why it's not that in depth.) John Carpenter's The Fog(1980) starring Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Janet Leigh, John Houseman, James Canning, Charles Cyphers, Nancy Kyes, and Hal Holbrook,

Directed by John Carpenter.

Trivia

The band mentioned on the radio near the beginning is "The Coupe DeVilles", which features director John Carpenter.

Bennett, the character, played by John Carpenter, is named after Carpenter's friend Bennett Tramer. They went to USC (University of Southern California) together.

Dr. Phibes, the name of the coroner played by Darwin Joston, is an in-joke reference to Dr. Anton Phibes, the character played by Vincent Price in the horror film The Abominable Dr. Phibes and its sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again.

After a rough cut editing the movie appeared to be much too short for a theatrical release (about 80 minutes), John Carpenter subsequently added the prologue with the Old Captain telling ghost stories to fascinated children by a campfire.

Although this was essentially a low budget independent film, John Carpenter chose to shoot the movie in anamorphic widescreen Panavision. This decision gave the film a grander feel for the viewer so it didn't seem like a low budget horror film.

John Carpenter has stated two inspirations for the film, both of which are related to Great Britain. The first was the British film The Trollenberg Terror which dealt with monsters hiding in the clouds. He also stated that he and his co-writer/producer, Debra Hill, were inspired by a trip to Stonehenge, the ancient monument in South West England, which was covered in fog during their visit.

Bennett, Father Malone's assistant at the beginning of the film, was played by John Carpenter but was uncredited.

Blake, the lead ghost, was played by makeup specialist Rob Bottin. When Bottin asked for the job, John Carpenter asked him to "stand up". Bottin then expected Carpenter to say, "...and get out!" When Carpenter saw that Bottin was a very large man, which was needed for the Blake character, he was hired.

Adrienne Barbeau and Jamie Lee Curtis, the leads, do not appear together in any scenes.

The Edgar Allan Poe quote at the beginning of the film is the final two lines of his poem "A Dream Within a Dream".

• Category

  Film & Animation

[ILiveAgain1]

cool first part!