The Fog

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The Fog

R

Released Feb 8, 1980

1h 29m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

76%

Tomatometer

70 Reviews

65%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Strange things begin to occurs as a tiny California coastal town prepares to commemorate its centenary. Inanimate objects spring eerily to life; Rev. Malone (Hal Holbrook) stumbles upon a dark secret about the town's founding; radio announcer Stevie (Adrienne Barbeau) witnesses a mystical fire; and hitchhiker Elizabeth (Jamie Lee Curtis) discovers the mutilated corpse of a fisherman. Then a mysterious iridescent fog descends upon the village, and more people start to die.

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Critics Consensus

A well-crafted return to horror for genre giant John Carpenter, The Fog rolls in and wraps viewers in suitably slow-building chills.

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Vincent Canby

New York Times

Unlike Halloween, which was a model of straight-forward terror and carefully controlled suspense, The Fog is constructed of random diversions.

Jan 30, 2020

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

It's a failure, but it's a failure in the right direction.

Jan 29, 2020

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Will Lawrence

Empire Magazine

Ghoulish, tense and utterly fantastical, John Carpenter's tale of shipwrecked spectres squelching their way through a fluorescent fog to wreak vengeance on a seaside town is a classic campfire yarn.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 29, 2020

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Elliott Cuff

Loud and Clear Reviews

It’s a quintessential campfire ghost story brought to life by a master of his craft, and it deserves a place on the pantheon of the esteemed moviemaker’s many filmic triumphs.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 13, 2024

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Cody Leach

Cody Leach (YouTube)

The Fog is a neat twist on the classic ghost story. Carpenter achieves a palpable sense of dread and atmosphere and his score remains a signature piece of the experience he sets out to provide. The characters are unfortunately the weakest element here.

Rated: 3.75/5

Sep 15, 2022

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John Brosnan

Starburst

The Fog sets out to be nothing more than a straight-forward chiller with the emphasis on the shocks rather than the characters or the story and on that level succeeds perfectly.

Jul 26, 2022

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Antonio O

A true classic that relies on a good story and score rather than CGI and gratuitous gore.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/16/22

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Audience M

Though a little tame by modern day standards, The Fog is a murky masterclass in atmosphere-building. The tension rolls in with the sinister inevitability of the eponymous fog bank, helped along by a masterful score by director-composer John Carpenter.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/02/24

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Hugh J

Although a relatively simple idea, John Carpenter utilizes just enough of slow-burn suspense to make a classic addition to the horror genre.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/14/24

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Deontae D

Boring, I didn't like this film at all, It's so slow, I see familiar people in it though, It's not scary, Or it's not creepy, John Carpenter best movie is Halloween🎃

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

11/12/24

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Audience M

A masterful exercise in atmosphere-building and slow-building tension from one of the masters of horror filmmaking, John Carpenter.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/07/24

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Alec B

It remains delightfully old fashioned. Carpenter was deliberately making a camp fire ghost story and it absolutely delivers on that basis.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/30/24

Full Review

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John Carpenter

Director

Adrienne Barbeau

Stevie Wayne

Hal Holbrook

Father Malone

Janet Leigh

Kathy Williams

Jamie Lee Curtis

Elizabeth Solley

John Houseman

Mr. Machen

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Synopsis

Strange things begin to occurs as a tiny California coastal town prepares to commemorate its centenary. Inanimate objects spring eerily to life; Rev. Malone (Hal Holbrook) stumbles upon a dark secret about the town's founding; radio announcer Stevie (Adrienne Barbeau) witnesses a mystical fire; and hitchhiker Elizabeth (Jamie Lee Curtis) discovers the mutilated corpse of a fisherman. Then a mysterious iridescent fog descends upon the village, and more people start to die.

Director: John Carpenter
Producer: Debra Hill
Screenwriter: John Carpenter, Debra Hill
Distributor: RCA/Columbia, AVCO Embassy Pictures, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: AVCO Embassy Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 8, 1980, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Oct 26, 2018
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $69.5K
Runtime: 1h 29m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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