‘The Fog’
Avco Embassy Pictures, 1980

starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Adrienne Barbeau, Janet Leigh and Tom Atkins
directed by: John Carpenter

the plot: The sleepy seaside town of Antonio Bay is about to celebrate its centennial, but a series of strange events set the community on edge. The night before the big party, a mysterious fog rolls into town and causes all sorts of destruction: hitchhiker Elizabeth (Curtis) and her new friend Nick (Atkins) are sent off the road when the glass in Nick’s truck shatters, and the crew of the fishing vessel Sea Grass are lost, seemingly swallowed up by the fog. The discovery of a 100-year-old journal in the town’s church reveals the dark conspiracy at the heart of the town’s founding and the source of the deadly fog. Antonio Bay’s forefathers had conspired to sabotage the ship run by sickly lepers in order to steal the gold stored aboard. The centennial brings out the ghosts of Antonio Bay’s murderous past. Nick and Elizabeth, along with Stevie Wayne (Barbeau), owner and DJ of Antonio Bay’s radio station, must piece together the clues in order to save the town from being consumed.

why it’s good: Full of the suspense, thrills, brutal deaths and the creepy soundtracks that director John Carpenter is famous for, “The Fog” still stands as a horror masterwork after 25 years. Barbeau gives a great performance, as does Carpenter mainstay Jamie Lee Curtis. But the fun lies in the delightful way that Carpenter keeps building the tension, using strategically placed scares and heavy doses of atmosphere to keep viewers frazzled. All this praise means, though, is that “The Fog” is ripe for plundering by Hollywood. The resulting big-budget, no-brains remake will show up in theaters on Oct. 14. Don’t expect much—former music video director Rupert Wainright takes Carpenter’s spot in the director’s chair, and it’s unlikely we’ll get that same sense of creeping dread from the director of “Stigmata” and the 1990 straight-to-video release “Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ’Em: The Movie.” Unless one of the ghosts in the new version is MC Hammer himself. Now that’s scary.

why you should own it: MGM’s special edition DVD of “The Fog” contains an, ahem, boatload of extras, including two making-of documentaries, commentary by Carpenter and co-writer/producer Debra Hill, and a crisp re-mastered version of the film.
—Larry Clow