On the eve of its one hundredth birthday, a town is overtaken by a mysterious fog that envelops nearly the entire area, and endangers all citizens in its path.
How the hell did it take me this long to see this one?! The Fog was director John Carpenter's first theatrical release following the surprise success of Halloween two years prior. Both films share some aspects with one another, including the casting of Jamie Lee Curtis and a seemingly unstoppable evil out to kill everyone in its path. That seems to be where the similarities end though.
I was surprised to see just how many familiar faces of 80s horror were present throughout its ninety minute running time (though this might be the quickest ninety minutes I've ever sat through). We've got Adrienne Barbeau (Creepshow, Swamp Thing), Tom Atkins (Maniac Cop, Nights of the Creeps), the aforementioned Curtis, Hal Holbrook (Creepshow, Wall Street), and Janet Leigh (Psycho) in the cast, so either Carpenter did his homework or just has a knack for good casting.
The film also certainly FEELS like a John Carpenter flick, with JC composing the score himself, building tension at just the right time, and making it feel almost like a classic mystery rather than a horror film. I'm aware that JC has gone on the record about his displeasure with the film's budget and reshoots, but I don't see why. Like Halloween, the budget for The Fog was considerably low, but that's never seemed to stop the man from doing what he can with what he has. The lighting effects on the fog itself is pretty chilling, and the kills, though rather bloodless, are gruesome and horrific.
I've heard for years that this was one of the more underrated horror films from the early 80s, and I would definitely agree. Good tension, good atmosphere, good use of its budget, and just a pretty good time overall.
A priest invites an old friend of his, a professor, to an abandoned church in Los Angeles. The professor brings along multiple colleagues, who discover a mysterious cylinder containing moving, green liquid. What the liquid embodies though, is far beyond that of what science can understand, and this liquid could very well bring about the end times.
This is John Carpenter's second entry in what he calls his "Apocalypse Trilogy," which also includes the rightly beloved The Thing and the vastly underrated In the Mouth of Madness. One of several questions entered my mind upon starting Prince of Darkness: does it deserve the flack that it so often gets? In my opinion, well, yes. Does that make it a bad film though? I would have to say that it doesn't.
For one thing, the film has way too many characters to keep track of, to the point where there's even a scene where the other characters forget who one certain person is. The ones that we are assigned to pay the closest attention to are decently well-rounded, but certainly not perfect. It was nice to see Victor Wong (Tremors, 3 Ninjas) play someone who you could constitute as noble and remarkably intelligent. Though he received top billing, I kind of wish they had done a little bit more with Donald Pleasence, who just felt like a typical worried priest. There's also a comedic relief character played by Dennis Dun, and even though I did find him to be a bit annoying, he did provide a bit of heart that was sorely needed at times.
Like almost all of Carpenter's horror works, this was is also fairly quiet in nature, and the heavy emphasis on scientific conversations might also lull some less patient viewers to sleep. And like Carpenter's work on The Thing, there are quite a few visual spots that will stick with you for some time (one particular scene involving beetles was quite the sight to behold). The ending is also deliberately ambiguous, opening up a whole new can of worms for the viewer.
Those who are interested in "satanic horror" will have some fun with this one, but it can be a chore to sit through until about the half way point. I'd personally recommend it, but with some hesitation.
Tomorrow, we take a trip to Tromaville with the much delayed POULTRYGEIST.
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