The Fog (1980)
A Northern California fishing town, built 100 years ago over an old leper colony, is the target for revenge by a killer fog containing zombie-like ghosts seeking revenge for their deaths. (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: John Carpenter
Written By: John Carpenter, Debra Hill
Starring: Hal Holbrook, Janet Leigh, Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, John Houseman, Charles Cyphers, Nancy Kyes, James Canning
Genres: Suspense/Thriller, Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Where to Stream
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The Fog belongs to 30 collections
1. Features under 91 minutes (collaborative: moderated by epiphany - 56 stars)
2. Psychotronic Film and Video Guides (collaborative: moderated by Gregzilla - 40 stars)
3. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 19 stars)
4. Edgar Wright 1000 Favorite Movies (Aug 2016) (collaborative: moderated by Aron Ericson - 16 stars)
5. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 13 stars)
6. The Gentlemen's Guide To Midnight Cinema Podcast (collaborative: moderated by Coheed - 9 stars)
7. Ghosts (collaborative: moderated by mpowell - 8 stars)
8. Ekşi Sinema "Alternatif" Top 250 (collaborative - 6 stars)
9. Slant Magazine's 100 Greatest Horror Films of All Time (collaborative: moderated by edsu - 5 stars)
10. Top 3000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 5 stars)
11. Remade (collaborative: moderated by Ag0stoMesmer - 4 stars)
12. Town with a dark secret (collaborative: moderated by mattburgess - 4 stars)
13. Horror (public: horrorjames - 4 stars)
14. Cinemascope (collaborative - 3 stars)
15. Netflix Watch Instantly (public: dgeiser13 - 2 stars)
16. Parents Acting with their Offspring (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx - 1 star)
17. Tom & Bitches' Infinite Watchlist (collaborative - 1 star)
18. Moviedrome: Mark Cousins (collaborative: moderated by Ag0stoMesmer - 1 star)
19. Music by director (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 1 star)
20. 4k Ultra HD discs owned (collaborative: moderated by dumbjaw - 1 star)
21. Cinetheque (public: allegreller - 1 star)
22. John Carpenter (composer) (collaborative: moderated by djross)
23. Best (collaborative: moderated by hairsandwich)
24. Setting: countryside, small town (collaborative: moderated by tipar)
25. Darko DVD RC2 (public: Vandelay1)
26. Owned (BD) (public: bizarre_eye)
27. 1980: Year in Review (public: polanski28)
28. Filmspotting Ratings Project: Week 33 (public: PeaceAnarchy)
29. Forrest Watch List (public: ForrestQ)
30. nextup (public: valkyrian)
Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 14 |  |
Barthalen | 55 32nd |
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How do ghosts in movies like this keep track of when the day has arrived for their thematically relevant revenge? "Has it been a hundred years yet, boss?" "It's still 49 more days to go Jerry now shut your goddamn ghost mouth!". After an atmospheric start with some nasty looking kills the movie totally deflates. So bland, I can't even recall if I fell asleep before it was over. ...Or maybe my memory has finally degraded to the point of no return. ..Where am I? Who are you people???
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| 8 |  |
BillyShears | 70 53rd |
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Tom Atkins is just about naked without his moustache. oh and there's fog pirates or whatever
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| 7 |  |
juntakinte99 | 80 65th |
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Carpenter's brand was to reinvent old film ideas for 70's & 80's teens. Here, he borrows from The Birds--with an adorable lady entering a town haunted by a supernatural terror. Cinematically, he presents the landscape well; via cool cross-cutting and a creepy sound design. Still, I wish the exposition would've been presented smarter (even for a horror movie). And the little kid was annoying. But in the end it's scary fun that also shows how communities are built on exploitation. Recommended.
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| 6 |  |
Paxton | 78 83rd |
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Ghost pirates. If you need more than that, go back to Robert Altman.
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| 5 |  |
Luna6ix | 76 57th |
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A decent supernatural horror movie, but justifiably forgotten, it's largely dated, but still manages to entertain. Could have been much better had the fog not obscured all the good stuff and Carpenter not been afraid of showing gore. There are a couple slow parts, but I wasn't exactly drooling out of boredom.
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| 4 |  |
INDYATMN | 62 14th |
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Presumably there's an audience for old-fashioned ghost stories (even ones where the ghosts are slashers), but the pacing of this is glacial. Worse: it seems to have been done on purpose w/ much of the music doing its damndest to put you to sleep. (Does being sleepy make the scares more startling? No) The setting is picturesque & the cinematography is beautiful, which might be strong points in anything that's not supposed to be a horror film. The slim material would make a great 30 minute short.
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| 3 |  |
terrymac | 59 33rd |
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Atmospheric, if not entirely successful, horror. Worth watching if you are in the mood.
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| 3 |  |
TimeCapsule | 74 73rd |
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John Carpenter's creepy, atmospheric, quaint little ghost pirate story plays out like a bloated, but watchable episode of "Tales from the Crypt".
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| 2 |  |
doctor7 | 63 42nd |
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A pretty decent horror movie but I feel the main detractor from it are how the kills of people in the fog are portrayed. It just reeks of standard 80's slasherness. Aside from that it's a decent scare and I think that's saying something coming from me because I'm not really horror movie or John Carpenter fan.
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| 2 |  |
TheDiceman | 50 35th |
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Decent horror.
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| 2 |  |
Suture Self | 5 43rd |
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Great atmosphere, dumb story.
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| 2 |  |
Leonardis | 80 35th |
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I liked it. People afraid of fog will likely be spooked as well. The makeup and imagery are all very fascinating and Carpenter’s atmosphere is very much in tact. Not one of his best, but it’s short and well worth watching around the Halloween season.
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| 2 |  |
loc42 | 70 56th |
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Really tight-knit atmospheric movie about the common guilt of a group. The hundred years old murder and ostracization leads to a "return of the repressed" in the manner of Macbeth or Hamlet where nature and spirits establish a romantic justice. Its power stems from Carpenter's thrifthy and formalist stroytelling hitting the right keys at the right time. Although its story is somewhat insignificant and uninteresting, Carpenter teaches a lesson of storytelling.
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| 2 |  |
Yiannos | 78 89th |
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(Viewed on 09/13): Tremendously well mounted ghost story with an atmospheric richness that references the likes of Poe and the entire American Gothic tradition. The prologue with Houseman is an appropriate mood setter: it captures the essence of its spooky campfire mythicism, a tawdry tale relayed in hushed tones passed down through the generations. It's easy to pull apart--neither the acting or the script are especially great--yet it works, mostly due to Carpenter/Cundey's formal mastery.
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| 1 |  |
eveelun | 73 52nd |
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Carpenter's take on atmospheric horror is interesting . It occasionally conjures up the sort of supernatural dread found in Lovecraft's best work, but it seems a little unfocused and a bit too restrained - I don't usually judge a horror film by its body count (my favorite, The Shining, has very few onscreen deaths), but it seems odd that the fog takes such a relatively small toll on the town.
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| 1 |  |
JohnnyZombie | 58 23rd |
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Not too bad. John Carpenter has done much better though.
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| 1 |  |
djross | 50 43rd |
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Many years since I saw it, so my memory is a little...foggy. Seem to recall it was not too effective but perhaps possessed a slight charm.
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| 1 |  |
driscarpin | 82 71st |
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Grande atmosfera.
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| 1 |  |
PeaceAnarchy | 69 23rd |
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It's not bad, but it takes quite a while to get going, and even after it does it's not particularly interesting nor menacing.
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| 1 |  |
twincinema | 65 43rd |
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The Foggy Bottom Boys. Listen, I am running on fumes over here. You try writing a review for every film you watch. Yes, I know no one is asking for me to do this. It's an illness. I am sick.
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| 1 |  |
AFlickering | 5 75th |
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probably the carpenter to age most gracefully relative to first impressions.
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| 1 |  |
nilkynarfy | 60 48th |
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An early detour into nigh mediocrity, but not irredeemable. A Halloween flick, nothing you'd flip to if you didn't have a reason.
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| 1 |  |
sebby | 40 15th |
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Feels like this one should have been the precursor to Halloween, not the followup. Seems Carpenter forget everything that made that film so exciting, suspenseful, and frightening
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| 1 |  |
Vandelay1 | 52 53rd |
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okay movie
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| 1 |  |
chemical404 | 35 17th |
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A vengeful ghost story that barely kept me awake. It's neither interesting, nor one bit scary. I remember watching it as a kid and turning it off because even then I found it just boring.
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| 1 |  |
moraesfelipe | 80 85th |
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Again dealing with a faceless, silent, unemotional and unreasonable menace, Carpenter crafts an arresting low-key horror film, one that doesn't rely on scares. This should be called only a supernatural movie -- or drama --, mostly by its concern, from those illogical paranormal activity involving objects to the historical/legendary background of crime, curse and punishment, to create a fear that just can't be explained. It's something that must, and will be, experienced.
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| 1 |  |
spleen | 78 61st |
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Funny how 80s slasher movies are actually tamer than today's network tv. Hmmm.
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| 1 |  |
oldgoat | 68 45th |
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There was a point in this movie that it was set up very well for a lovecraftian just open ended insanity of cosmic horror. I then said to myself 'it's Stephen King, it'll be an indian curse.' I was sadly close to right.
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| 1 |  |
Judo Koala | 74 45th |
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Sensational atmosphere; there's a shot early on in the small vessel that simply has to be one of the best compositions Carpenter has ever done. Genuinely unsettling at times. A gripe: it wasn't so much fog as it was billowing steam. Beggars can't be choosers, I reckon! The final act's conclusion is the result of some hilariously convenient coincidences AKA stupid, but, whatever.
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| 1 |  |
overrated | 49 46th |
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First classic Carpenter film that I've thought was weak. Nothing particularly memorable about a huge smoke machine and some guys with meathooks.
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| 1 |  |
jodamico | 78 69th |
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The first 20 minutes might be my favorite thing Carpenter's done, but it can't hold that tone all the way through.
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| 1 |  |
FancyMike | 4 58th |
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The Fog is a very pretty movie with a great atmosphere. Not a whole lot going on with either the plot or the horror, but the creepy calm was more than enough to carry it for me. My new dream job is running a radio station from a lighthouse in the middle of nowhere
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| 1 |  |
Matthew Parkinson (CineMarter) | 60 62nd |
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The Fog suffers from too many problems for it to be considered all that great, but for what it is, it has some good scare moments and a very promising premise. Unfortunately, the characters, logical issues and needless exposition end up taking it from "great" territory and ultimately rendering it simply as "good." Still worth a watch, especially if you, for some reason, are scared of fog, but not a movie you must rush out and watch.
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| 1 |  |
TrixRabbi | 72 36th |
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Probably the weakest of Carpenter's peak period what with the goofy pirate ghosts and Tom Atkins' chunky clay face. Janet Leigh is great though and the fog effect is cool and creepy.
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| 1 | damil | 60 43rd |
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I can't say I was a big fan of this. It had great direction and atmosphere and a couple of scary moments, but in terms of the story, I just didn't care for it. The ancient ghosts seeking revenge thing just doesn't do it for me. It's pretty slow moving, with a lot of build-up, and not much payoff. I thought Barbeau was good, and it's always cool to see Curtis and her mother Leigh in a film together. Carpenter's music was a highlight, too. Overall, though, I didn't think much of it.
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| 1 |  |
Seethruskin | 5 80th |
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This and First Reformed actually made a great double bill. Will God Forgive Us? And more importantly, do we even deserve it? Also, the score fuckin slapped
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| 1 |  |
Trooth | 58 27th |
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Probably the least-interesting John Carpenter movie I've seen so far. Usually his poorer-received movies like Escape from L.A. and They Live will still be intriguing or over-the-top enough to make up for it, but this one is pretty quiet and unassuming the whole way through, with a neat little ghost-sailor revenge plot.
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| 1 | myfavchords | 73 36th |
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This is movie is certainly not without flaws but overall it is an enjoyable experience. The plot is about a mix of characters in a town on the water. The budget is low but "the fog" works and the film is an enjoyable ghost story.
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| 1 |  |
adamj1982 | 81 81st |
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I can see how some might find this movie slow, but I really like it. The atmosphere is fantastic and the ghouls are creepy
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| 1 |  |
thereeldeal | 55 21st |
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The Fog is overall better than Halloween because you're not watching a shitty teen movie for a majority of the time, but it also lacks any strong iconic moments. Carpenter's score consists of one good theme and a bunch of two note ambient drones, and though it attempts to be character-driven with multiple subplots the acting is too poor and personalities too undeveloped to make us feel their fear. A cheap blue glow makes the fog look more like a billowing smoke cloud than an enroaching curse.
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| 1 |  |
Ceekay19 | 50 12th |
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Mr. Machen: "11:55, almost midnight. Enough time for one more story. One more story before 12:00, just to keep us warm. In five minutes, it will be the 21st of April. One hundred years ago on the 21st of April, out in the waters around Spivey Point, a small clipper ship drew toward land."
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| 1 |  |
IamTyphoon | 70 26th |
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Fun horror nonsense.
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| 1 |  |
JPFerguson | 70 72nd |
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As with 'Halloween', Carpenter gets the pacing and music just right in this simple but very effective nautical horror film. As a viewer you are immersed in a very eery atmosphere of fog as sound and image. This is highly disciplined and restrained film making. Hal Holbrook as Father Malone is one of the most likeable religious figures in any film that I've seen.
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| 1 |  |
Scrib | 85 90th |
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A simple ghost story with a simple score, basic characters and a modest budget. If Carpenter had been working with the level of resources he had during The Thing, then I’m sure this would have been a very different film. Tight budgets can really bring out the best sometimes, and this is a good example. It’s classic less-is-more and it works wonderfully. The first half could be better paced, but the last half hour/45 minutes are just pure tension, slowly cranked and subtly handled.
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| Average Percentile 47.13% from 1788 Ratings |  |