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The Fog

Play trailer Poster for The Fog R Released Feb 8, 1980 1h 29m Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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75% Tomatometer 69 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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The Fog

The Fog

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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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Critics Reviews

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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 Full Review Dave Kehr Chicago Reader It's a failure, but it's a failure in the right direction. Jan 29, 2020 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Travis Johnson sbs.com.au Carpenter, a rather minimalist, formally restrained filmmaker even when employing the grand guignol excesses of The Thing, knows when to let pure story do the work, and The Fog is a story about stories. Oct 24, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 Full Review tik t Though a little tame to modern day standards, The Fog is a murky masterclass in atmosphere-building. The tension rolls in inextricably like a fog bank helped along with a masterful score by director-composer John Carpenter. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/17/24 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Read all reviews
The Fog

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

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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