"Why not six, Blake? Why not me?" (The Fog [1979] (DVD))

Member Name: spencer_hawken

Product:	The Fog [1979] (DVD)
Date:	14/08/09 (56 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Timeless, classic horror tale

Disadvantages: Sadly a wasted Blu - ray release on some levels

This is a review for the Blu-ray edition of John Carpenters The Fog.

Of all the many movies I have seen (believe me I've seen a lot) John Carpenter's The Fog is probably the film I have seen the most. Released in the UK in the early 1980's The Fog is a horror tale so cleverly delivered that almost 30 years after it was made it still looks as fantastic as it did then.

In the small town of Antonio Bay the residents are preparing for the 100th anniversary of their home. For 99 years all has been quiet in the community, but on the eve of the big anniversary it seems things are falling apart; Dogs barking for no reason, glass breaking, car alarms going off, and even televisions turning themselves on. In a time that should be one for rejoicing, Antonio Bay is about to be turned upside down; while the town celebrates Father Malone (Hal Holbrook) an original township descendant exposes a terrible secret about the history of their home, they are not only celebrating the anniversary of their homes, but also the fact that their ancestors were responsible for a terrible crime.

On the back of two very successful low budget features (Halloween and Assault On Precinct 13) The Fog was the opportunity for director John Carpenter to prove himself. With a slightly bigger budget than he was used to and respected actors, Carpenter needed to prove he could be just as successful with a little cash for his production. Despite still being very low key what Carpenter achieved was massive. Without the aid of computers Carpenter had to achieve a living, breathing terror that in this case happens to be a bank of fog.

From the offset Carpenter focuses the scares from a psychological angle rather than visual one. In a time where audiences demanded something fairly in your face, The Fog is all about the jumps to create the scares. Whether it is a falling brick, a swinging sign, or a moving chair Carpenter throws these unexpected curveballs at the audience. Through a great attention to both music (written and performed by Carpenter) and timing the director ensures that each one of his scares hits 100% perfect every time.

To deliver a scare in the form of a jump for the viewer Carpenter balances a great amount of humour in the piece, a moment of amusement is generally followed by something happening, a prime example is when Bennett (also played by Carpenter) is swiftly veered off course on the subject of money by Father Malone. Even the movie's opening scene of an old man telling a story is a joke, Carpenter secured Julliard Head John Houseman an Oscar winning actor who had more recently been better known as a storyteller reading stories to a television audience.

The fog of the movie's title is only a vessel for the real terror of the movie, in the fog are the ghosts of The Elizabeth Dane a crew of lepers who seek revenge for their callous execution as part of a plan to prevent infection with normal bodied people. Led by Blake the crew of The Elizabeth Dane certainly offer some visual horror, but for the most part they are so well shrouded they merely appear as shadowy figures.

One of the wonders of The Fog is the fact that something's going on from the moment the credits start to roll, yes there is calm in the storm but it's a fairly consistent rollercoaster ride throughout. This is certainly not a movie you'd find to be boring.

On the cast front scream queen Janet Leigh (Psycho, Halloween H20) is joined on screen by her real life daughter Jamie Lee Curtis. Adrienne Barbeau, PJ Soles, Tom Atkins and Charles Cyphers. Through some clever writing The Fog has no real stars, each of the characters are giving equal time to shine and none appear at least to be less disposable than others.

On to this Blu-ray release and to be honest it is a bit of a letdown. The DVD release of The Fog comes feature laden, while the Blu-ray release offers no special features whatsoever, not even a trailer.

When it comes to image quality there are good and bad points, I cannot deny the movie has never looked so stunning, the print is crisp and clear and looks like any recent release, many older movies once given the high definition treatment tend to show a little too much grain for my liking, this DVD features none of that. The big down point however is the shadowy figures of Blake and his crew are much less shrouded and in the case of Blake in particular you can see all of his features making the menace far less.

Of course the biggest stumbling block is price retailing between £15-£20 when you can get a feature full DVD for around £4 the choice should be obvious. While the print is good, the DVD release is a much better investment; making this Blu-ray release something only for the most diehard high definition enthusiasts. It's worth bearing in mind that most Blu-ray players and even DVD players now offer HDMI upscaling making picture quality enhanced, I doubt there will be too much difference between an upscaled DVD over a full high definition release.

* Please be carefull not to confuse this movie with the terrible 2005 remake.

Summary: John Carpenters first larger budget horror movie