Cover Art

Credits

Director: John Carpenter Starring: Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, John Houseman, Tom Atkins, Charles Cyphers Screenplay: John Carpenter, Debra Hill Music: John Carpenter Tagline: What you can't see won't hurt you... it'll kill you! Country: USA

Carpenter, like Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper and their ilk belong to a group who tell a story first, and if it happens to be a horror story… so be it! In the time when The Fog was made, these movies featured detailed thrilling stories that had occasional gore scenes to titillate the horror fan…instead of a series of gore clichés loosely strung together by a barely comprehendible storyline.

The Fog tells the tale of the small coastal town of Antonio Bay: a quiet fishing village where nothing ever happens and the radio airwaves are caressed by the smooth voice of Stevie Wayne (Adrienne Barbeau), the owner and sole DJ of the local radio station. It is coming up to its centenary, and local town official Kathy Williams (Janet Leigh) and her assistant Sandy (Nancy Loomis) have been preparing festivities for this celebration for many months, but these festivities are about to be shattered. Antonio Bay has a horrible secret, a secret that has been covered up for many years but will return in a murderous fashion to take revenge on the townsfolk. The town was built on murder and lies, and the victims from 100 years ago are back and under the cover of a thick fog are taking their horrible revenge. The cover up is discovered by Father Malone (Hal Holbrook), but not before many murders take place, including three upon a vessel owned by Nick Castle (Tom Atkins), who along with hitch-hiker/girlfriend Elizabeth Solley (Jamie Lee Curtis) fight through the night to escape the bloodthirsty ghosts of the past.

The audio commentary is performed by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, and is incredibly informative, with some spectacular insights into the production of this film.

Fear on Film, Inside the Fog is a Mick Garris directed doco from around the release date that features interviews with Carpenter, Hill, Janet Leigh, Adrienne Barbeau and Jamie Lee Curtis. This is an interesting piece that features some interesting anecdotes from all being interviewed.

Tales from the Mist: Inside the Fog is a retrospective look at the film, and almost feels like a sequel doco to Fear on Film: Inside the Mist. This one, though, has more of a 'looking back' feel, and all seem to do so with fondness. Features more current interviews with Carpenter, Hill (so obviously these interviews take place before her death), Barbeau, Leigh, Tommy Lee Wallace and Dean Cundey. There are some bits from Jamie Lee Curtis, but they are taken from the previous Garris directed doco.

The deleted scenes on this disc were deleted from the film because they are actually bloopers and behind the scenes shots, and not extra scenes at all.

The Photo Gallery/Posters section is a series of production stills and one really bad poster.

The teaser and trailer section features one of each, and they are the old school 'shock' ending type that really have little to do with the film.