Horrorfest 2012: The Fog

I’m slowly but surely checking off John Carpenter’s movies on my list of things to see and whenever I get to one I’m always excited because they’re always good. THE FOG is no exception.

Carpenter has a way with horror, of course, being famous for HALLOWEEN and THE THING, and he also has a way with making a modestly budgeted indie flick look like a million bucks. THE FOG takes place in a coastal Northern California town, and almost every shot takes advantage of local scenery and flavor.

The movie opens with an example of possibly the beginning of all horror stories, the campfire story – John Houseman delivers a creepy monologue about sailors who were murdered 100 years before, that very night, and how they were destined to return. Sure enough, a mysterious fog rolls in and weird stuff starts happening – inanimate objects seem possessed and a boat seems to disappear.

During the chaotic night and the morning that follows we’re introduced to a lot of the key players in the small town, who will eventually end up solving this supernatural mystery and battling demonic ghosts. It’s a great cast, and kudos to Carpenter for giving top billing to three women – Jamie Lee Curtis as a hitchhiker just passing through town, Adrienne Barbeau as the local DJ who broadcasts from the top of the lighthouse and horror icon Janet Leigh as the head of the committee celebrating the town’s 100 year birthday. We’ve also got Hal Holbrook as a priest with a shameful family secret that influenced the town’s past and could influence its future if things aren’t rectified.

There’s something about these flicks from the late 70s and early 80s that seems so real and lived-in. Spielberg’s early movies always have this feel as well, along with flicks by Joe Dante, Ivan Reitman, John Landis and Tobe Hooper. It’s the best way to do a supernatural movie, because it makes the horror seem so much more real when it is set against a backdrop that doesn’t seem alien or weird, but seems just like a place you’ve been inhabited with people you’ve met.