Nick Korrow
What’s that John Carpenter film that’s the ultimate comfort watch when spending a Saturday night in? If you guessed Halloween (1978), in the voice of P.J. Soles you’d be totally wrong. And while it’s fun to debate whether it’s Mac, Childs, or possibly both, as the titular thing at the end of The Thing (1982), I’m sorry it isn’t that film either.
Instead, spend the night in with your favorite snacks—I’d go with heavily buttered popcorn all the way—and curl up on the couch to the soothing charm of KAB Antonio Bay’s Stevie Wayne in John Carpenter’s The Fog (1980).
Not the film you were expecting? That’s fine, because I’m here to tell you in convincing fashion that John Carpenter’s The Fog is as good of a comfort watch as it gets. And if you still don’t believe me at the end, then keep an eye out on the horizon for Captain Bill Blake and the rest of his corpsy crew of the Elizabeth Dane, as they just might roll in one night with the fog and pay you a little visit.
Nah, I’m kidding! But let’s give this a shot, shall we? And I know it has been forty-six years, but I still have to say it: SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Opening
There’s no better way to bring you back to your youth then to open the film with a chilling ghost story told around a campfire. Weren’t those the best? I miss smores.
The film begins on the beach just a few minutes before midnight, with good ol’ Mr. Machen telling the young children of Antonio Bay about the Elizabeth Dane, a pirate ship, blinded by heavy fog that sunk after thinking they saw a safety beacon on the shores. But instead of a beacon, it was a campfire lit by traitors to lead the ship into rocks, sinking the ship and killing everyone onboard.
The ship had plunged to the bottom of the sea exactly one hundred years to the date, on April 21st, and when the fog returns to Antonio Bay, the sunken ship will return with its crew, searching for the campfire that led them to their “dark and icy death”—cue some loud menacing laughter.
But really, what an excellent way to open the film, setting the stage of pirates on a vengeful quest seeking out the traitors that had betrayed them a century ago. Unfortunately, for those living in the town of Antionio Bay, it wasn’t just a spooky tale told around a campfire to give kids nightmares. When those bells tolled at midnight, Captain William Blake and the Elizabeth Dane really did roll back into town, wreaking havoc and spilling blood along the way bringing smiles to the faces of us viewers.
Are you settled in? Let’s keep going.
Familiar Faces in Different Places
We’ve all been invited to that social gathering where we weren’t sure who was going to be there and wanted nothing more than to be anywhere else, planning our exit strategy before even walking through the doors. But then you show up and standing by the bar waving you over is a familiar face, immediately putting you at ease. It’s a great feeling, maybe one of the best—other than finding out it’s also an open bar. In The Fog, John Carpenter does us all a favor, avoiding the awkwardness of not knowing anyone, by inviting a bunch of familiar friends to greet us in terror when we show up. Thanks John.
The first familiar face on the list is Jamie Lee Curtis. After her breakout roll just a few years prior in Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) as the infamous Laurie Strode, Curtis returns in this film as Elizabeth Solley, a young hitchhiker that strolls into Antonio Bay at the worst possible time. From the moment she gets picked up by Nick Castle, played by Tom Atkins (more on him later), I guess you could say sh*t hit’s the fan. And while her screen time is toned down from her previous roll, running for her life from the boogeyman himself, she still gets plenty of scares and dishes out plenty of screams that will contribute to her future title as the ultimate “scream queen”.
Another recognizable horror icon in his own right, especially through the eighties, was Tom Atkins playing Nick Castle. In this film, Tom picks up a hitchhiker, Elizabeth (as told above), and brings her back to his place for a little late-night fun after admitting to her that he’s weird, which oddly is what wins her over (true story!). To be fair, she did ask. After battling the fog and kicking some ghostly ass, Atkins would go on and do more of the same appearing as a police captain in Carpenter’s Escape from New York (1981) and later the lead role as Dr. Dan Challis in Halloween III Season of the Witch (1982), in which Carpenter produced.
Next up is Adrienne Barbeau, playing the top billed roll of Stevie Wayne, everyone’s crush in Antonio Bay, well, at least on her voice. But John Carpenter had a crush on the whole package, as the two were dating off screen at the time. Adrienne’s character sooths the town of Antonio Bay over with her charm as the voice and disc jockey of the radio station KAB, which she operates from the town’s lighthouse. Even when she isn’t on screen, her voice is heard throughout the film coming through the radio as we follow the other characters, ultimately warning, and at times saving them from a gruesome death as the fog rolls into town. Like Curtis, Adrienne also worked with Carpenter two years prior in the television movie Someone’s Watching Me! (1978), as Sophie, a friend and colleague of the lead. After The Fog she would join Atkins in Escape from New York (1981), as Maggie, playing a kickass ally to Kurt Russell’s Snake Plissken.
Finally, we have Charles Cyphers, who’s infamous line, “I guess everyone is entitled to one good scare”, still echoes through the night every October 31st. While Charles played his most infamous roll as Sheriff Leigh Bracket in Carpenter’s Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), and later in Halloween Kills (2021), he would end up acting in six Carpenter films total over the course of his career. He was Starker in Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), the secretary of state in Escape from New York (1981), and sandwiched in between them he was in this film as the local weather man, Dan O’Bannon, for KAB working alongside Stevie Wayne (when he wasn’t trying to score a date). Unfortunately for Dan, he was rejected once again, this time by the ghostly crew in the fog, stabbing him in the neck before he could secure that dinner with Stevie.
Honorable mentions:
Nancy Loomis, who worked with Carpenter three times including The Fog; the others being Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) and of course, as Annie in Halloween (1978).
John Carpenter, showing up in his own film as an underpaid church worker.
So, if seeing your friends isn’t comforting enough, then clear that fog bank up inside your head, order a drink at the bar and keep on reading.
Quotable?
I know it isn’t The Shining (1980) or Jaws (1975) but just hear me out; The Fog is without question a quotable movie!
For a movie to stand out as a comfort film it’s a damn near must to have memorable lines like those films mentioned above have. “We’re gonna need a bigger boat” and “Here’s Johnny!” are great, legendary even, but “there’s a fog bank out there” spoken by a fisherman crushing beers on his boat is right up there with them, right? Alright, you got me, it’s a tough sell. But Stevie’s message over the radio at the end of the film is still pretty awesome, so I’ll drop it below and then we can move forward.
“I don’t know what happened to Antonio Bay tonight. Something came out of the fog and tried to destroy us. In one moment, it vanished. But if this has been anything but a nightmare, and if we don’t wake up to find ourselves safe in our beds, it could come again. To the ships at sea who can hear my voice, look across the water, into the darkness. Look for the fog.”
Well said, Stevie. Well said.
Practical Effects
This is what I’ll leave you with; if nothing else the practical effects of this film are an incredible reminder of how awesome movies were made before CGI.
I’m not trying to be a party pooper on the growth of CGI; in fact, I think it can be an excellent tool when used right. There are some great digital effects used in today’s films that can enhance the story in ways filmmakers could only imagine in the years prior. With that being said, it can also be overused and done poorly, which immediately removes you from the story.
With practical effects, you’re able to appreciate the creativity and artistry involved, and no era did them better then 80s films. Go watch American Werewolf in London (1981), or go watch another great John Carpenter film, The Thing (1982), and marvel at the movie magic created through practical effects and prosthetics.
The Fog was a part of that magic, using makeup and prosthetics for William Blake and his undead crew with looming red eyes. Also, the fog itself was created with smoke machines, dry ice, and lighting gels to produce that spooky atmosphere across the bay. And of course, the kills were all done practical as the local weatherman, Dan O’Bannon, takes a knife to the neck.
They’re comforting and fun, not just for us viewers but for the actors as well. I’m sure they’d all prefer not to act in front of a green screen while talking to a tennis ball. And while some effects can be over the top or a little cheesy—like a certain mirror scene in Poltergeist (1982). I say bring on the cheese! We need more cheese!
Aright, that’s my rant, I’ve done what I could do. If I wasn’t convincing enough and you still feel The Fog isn’t the ultimate comfort watch, then I guess there’s only one thing left to do—Watch it again! And while you do, keep an eye out for that fog bank heading in from the east.
