The Fog (2005)

From producer John Carpenter comes the all-new retelling of his terror classic THE FOG. Tom Welling (TV's "Smallville") Maggie Grace (TV's "Lost") and Selma Blair (Hellboy) star in this senses-shattering tale of demonic retribution directed by Rupert Wainwright (Stigmata) and written by Cooper Layne. Trapped within an eerie mist the residents of Antonio Bay have become the unwitting victims of a horrifying vengeance. One hundred years ago a ship carrying lepers was purposely lured onto the rocky coastline and sunk drowning all aboard. Now they're back long-dead mariners who've waited a century for their revenge. Seeking out the decendents of those reponsible for their deaths they lurk enshrouded within a supernatural fog of terror. Beware any and all who stand in their way.System Requirements:Run Time: 100 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR UPC: 043396136557 Manufacturer No: 13655 Product Description

Super Man? Super Bad.

"The Fog" has got to be on the top 5 worst movies ever made. It definately makes the short list! The first 20 minutes were borderline interesting, then it just got REALLY BAD. Selma Blaire seemed like she was on something, her voice sounded like she was hagging out, all raspy and lethargic. She even utters a line "can someone beam me out of here" and it looked as though she was looking right at the camera. Tom Welling is a one trick pony. You need more than the "hot" factor to be a credible and talented actor. He's a horrible crap actor, and they just had to get him with his shirt off, ok! who cares. The minute he opens his mouth you just want to fall asleep. Then the fog rolls in.......WHO CARES! This film is borderline unwatchable, I turned it off half way through because it just didn't interest me. Next! September 16, 2008

Original The Greatest Re-Make The Worst

I will always remember the fog original as one of the best John Carpenter's movies this re-make is so sadly horrible it's a wonder it was ever made. This re-make was obviously made for the young adults for today who are more
into these unremarkable actors and actresses of today. Tom Welling may be good as Clark Kent on Smallville but his acting here was while not atrocious
was not even in the good range and the blond girlfriend of his in the movie
who's name I cant recall was just if not even more terrible. There are some decent actors in the movie but are far in few so all I can say is get the original movie and keep this atrocious re-make where it belongs on the shelves or in the trash.. July 1, 2008

"Go Ahead & Make Me Rich" - John Carpenter

That is what they say John Carpenter said when they asked to remake his classic "The Fog." Well, I hope he got rich, because this film sucks! He says they wanted to update it, but while the original is relatively timeless, this remake is filled with cliche from the 1990's. The girl wears a dorky looking newsboy hat and the soundtrack is filled with crappy hip-hop and heavy pointless 90's rock. It was dated before it was released!

In the DVD extras, Carpenter basically says that films only have a 15 year shelf-life. Are we to believe this malarchy? Carpenter has made his life in film and he won't watch anything made before 1993! What the @#$%!

Adrienne Barbeau made the original film work as the sexy late night DJ. The "actress" who plays Stevie in the new film is extremely uninteresting, boring even and definitely not sexy.

This "horror" film is not scary at all. Every "shock" is telegraphed, if not by cliche, than by the dopey sound effects. Every time something "scary" happens, we hear a digitally processed "woosh" sound. Even without the sound, anyone whose seen even one suspenseful film can see every scare coming. For example, in the opening scene a guy is in a boat leaning his head over the side, looking into the water. Can you believe that he gets attacked by something in the water? What a surprise (sarcasm.)

I'm not wasting any more time on this film and I hope you don't either.

Please check out the original, even though it is older than 15 years.



March 27, 2008

BETTER than the original (4.5 Stars)

This 2005 remake of John Carpenter's "The Fog" (1980) stars Smallville's Tom Welling and Maggie Grace & Selma Blair.

THE PLOT: A prosperous island community in the Great Northwest is eerily beset upon by a mysterious fog -- a fog full of leperous ghosts who have come back from the dead to wreak vengeance on the town for honoring the four men who burned them alive and stole their treasure chest over a century past.

Man, I don't know what film these armchair critics here at Amazon have seen, but it certainly wasn't the one I saw. Seriously, these negative reviews are ridiculous! I'm not a John Carpenter afficionado but I did like his original version of "The Fog." It was slow and it wasn't gorey, but it had great locations (Point Reyers/Bodega Bay, California) and a palpable eerie MOOD; and I can tell you with zero bias that this 2005 remake is superior on practically every level (unless your an uber-fan of Adrienne Barbeau).

-- The fog is more menacing. In fact, the F/X in general are all-around superior, in particular the various leperous ghosts that appear in the fog. I love the visual where the fog forms a creepy face.

-- The story isn't fast-paced by any means, but it's not as slow (and boring) as the original.

-- The eerie mood is at least on a par with the original.

-- The scenic locations are at least as good as well, but I give 'em the edge. It was filmed on Bowen Island and Cowhichan Bay (Vancouver Island), British Columbia, both not far from Vancouver.

-- The scenic and mysterious visuals are awe-inspiring.

-- The score is on a par with the original with the exeption of the end-credits piece, which was absolutely stellar in Carpenter's film.

-- The historic events of the leper ship colony are more fleshed out.

-- The brief zombie scene is scarier and just all-around better done.

BOTTOM LINE: If you're in the mood for a fast-paced slasher gorefest, you won't like this movie. If you're anal about Carpenter's original film, you won't like this remake. If, however, you're in the mood for a well-done, atmospheric, spooky and aesthetically pleasing mystery/horror picture, this 2005 version of "The Fog" will likely trip your trigger. March 9, 2008

Aaaargh...I roll me eyes in disgust, matey

If their goal in 2005 was to remake a decent, creepy ghost movie from 1980 and make it incredibly boring and stupid, then they have a huge success here.
Granted, John Carpenter's "The Fog" (the original) may not be as good as Robert Wise's "The Haunting" (1963) or Alejandro Amenabar's "The Others" (2001)... but I like it. It's a fun film to watch because it works. The story/screenplay, the music, and the performances seem to blend well and create a fun macabre movie.

The creators of Halloween (1978) needed to follow up that project with something else, and they chose a more traditional and gothic tale of supernatural horror. They could have gone the 'teens stalked by slasher' route again. It's good that they didn't. (Of course they would do that again in the Halloween sequel. With the success of the first movie who could blame them?)

This version of The Fog is not fun like the original, nor is it in any way truly scary... even though it is obvious that the director and screenwriter probably felt that they made a frightening flick. Well, they didn't. They use all the typical, tried-and-false methods that we expect from horror films. Give us something unexpected instead of this nonsense! Life is brief and I am tired of wasting time on shoddy movies that stink.

And they altered the story significantly, for the worse. Why tamper with something that was fine?
At least the original film had an atmosphere of impending dread and creepiness (and a very effective score by Mr. Carpenter). But Hollywood cannot leave well enough alone. Sometimes I think that there ought to be a law against remakes. Rarely does this concept succeed.

So if you have watched every other film ever created, and if have run out of good books to read, and if you have nothing whatsoever else to do, then you might consider watching this dreck that came up from the bottom of the sea. Chances are when it's over you will want to watch the original film and see an enjoyable and chilling ghost tale unfold. February 22, 2008

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