Horror Film Fest: The Fog

Well, the week-long Halloween Horror Film Fest has proven to be a heavier lift than I expected. Who knew that I would get tired and want to sleep? Damn, a few years ago I would have watched these movies in one sitting! Now, midnight rolls around and I can hardly keep my eyes open. In my defense, I did have to wait for the baseball game to finish, so it was a late start. A sweep by the Red Sox would be a big favor to my film fest. The good news is, I’ve seen each of the movies in my Horror Film fest many many times, and so I remain qualified to review them now, and today’s offering is The Fog.

Now anybody who likes scary movies has to be a fan of John Carpenter films, just has to. Halloween was the beginning of a string of great flicks, including his re-make of The Thing and today’s pick, The Fog. This is a VERY cool ghost story, with a plot that really moves the story (rather than gets in the way as with our earlier pick Sleepy Hollow).

So, there’s this little sea-side town, see, and they’re getting ready to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the town’s founding. And just around then the local priest (Hal Holbrooke) discovers the diary of his ancestor priest (how does that happen?) which describes how the town’s founding began with the betrayal and murder of a group of wealthy lepers who were seeking to establish a colony nearby. Eight lepers were killed when their ship was mis-led onto the rocks in a heavy fog. And now, 100 years later, the dead leper sailors are looking for some payback. Got it?

The Fog doesn’t miss an opportunity to go for the easy jump scare, often as a setup for the real thing. And that’s OK, because it’s just what you’re watching this sort of movie for. Jamie Lee Curtis demonstrates that she’s good at running scared, and Adrienne Barbeau shows she can climb on top of a light house in a storm dispite how top-heavy she is. And in the end, Hal Holbrooke gets the answer to his final question in fine style. All-around, a great flick, two thumbs WAY up!

further reading: Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) from Wikipedia