Opening in October 2005 was the remake of the successful 1980 film, The Fog. The 2005 version of the film was directed by, Rupert Wainright (Stigmata) with a screenplay by Cooper Layne (The Core). John Carpenter and Debra Hill are also given credit for the screenplay, based on the 1980 version of the film. The cast is made of up several actors and actresses best known for their roles on the small screen, including; Tom Welling (Smallville), Maggie Grace (Lost), Selma Blair (Hellboy) and DeRay Davis (Reno 911!) With an estimated budget of $18,000,000.00, it seems, The Fog remake didn't have film goers flocking to theatres, according to box office receipts.
Antonio Bay, Oregon is preparing for a weekend celebration to honor the founding fathers of the town, but unfortunately for the town, some vengeful spirits have their own agenda planned for the town. Nick Castle (Tom Welling) runs a chartered fishing boat with his friend, Spooner (DeRay Davis) and while out with a couple of paying customers, the anchor of the boat catches on to some debris on the bottom of the bay, dislodging some personal items as well as some vengeful spirits that were also buried in the bay. Castle's MIA girlfriend, Elizabeth (Maggie Grace), appears in Antonio Bay after having taken off for New York City, some six months earlier and it isn't long before the debris dislodged from the sandy bottom of the bay begin to wash up on shore and a strange, thick fog rolls across the bay. Along with the appearance of the fog, dead bodies begin piling up and it isn't long before the good people of Antonio Bay realize, the fog harbors some big, bad nasties. Elizabeth discovers a journal that begins to slowly piece together the history of Antonio Bay and why this fog isn't your typical cloud of water droplets, but holds something or someone, much more sinister.
The Fog has been released in two versions, I am reviewing the widescreen (anamorphic 2.35:1) and unrated version of the film, but it is also available in the fullscreen, theatrical version of the film. Languages available on this disc are English and French (Dolby Digital 5.1) and English and French subtitles. Overall, the video quality is outstanding, colors are solid and both nighttime scenes as well as daytime scenes come through very nice. There are some nice bonus features included with this disc:
-Audio commentary by director, Rupert Wainright
-Whiteout Conditions: Remaking A Horror Classic (Featurette)
-Seeing Through the Fog (Featurette) (Cast Interviews)
-Feeling the Effects of the Fog (Featurette) (Special Effects Secrets)
-Eight Deleted Scenes (Optional Commentary By Wainright)
* A side-note, producer, John Carpenter does appear in each of the three featurettes included on the disc.
Some interesting bits of trivia for this film would be:
Sadly, producer, Debra Hill, died shortly before filming began on this film.
Tom Welling's character, Nick Castle, is named after the actor who portrayed Michael Myers in Carpenter's 1978 film, Halloween.
It seems several TV actors were in line for the Nick Castle role, but conflicting TV schedules kept them from taking on the Nick Castle part. Those actors would be; David Boreanaz, Jesse Metcalfe, Matthew Davis, Henry Cavill, Adam Garcia, Michael Cassidy, Oliver Hudson, Peter Facinelli, Matthew Fox and Benjamin McKenzie.
I suppose my biggest problem with the remake of this film can be explained simply enough in the title of one of the bonus features; Whiteout Conditions: Remaking A Horror Classic. How can anyone hope to improve upon a film that's already considered a classic?! That's my main gripe with so many of the films being made, today, if a film is considered a 'classic', how can anyone hope to improve upon it? The original film, released in 1980 was an entertaining effort, in my opinion, perhaps it's not a classic in the best sense of the term, but it worked, I enjoyed it and I couldn't see it being remade, but that seems to be the ongoing trend in any genre, these days, but most especially in the horror genre. The Fog simply didn't do anything for me, I didn't feel any sense of tension, I didn't care what happened to any of the characters in the film and honestly, I was pleased when the film was over. There are some changes to this version that might have worked, had they been expanded upon or had been more of a focal point, but this film spent a lot of time jumping around and never really focusing on the story at hand. Much like the unfortunate souls that found their end at the bottom of Antonio Bay, this film should also find it's own watery grave. Definitely worth a rental, but I think most people who have seen the original may not take too kindly to this effort. Most of the people I've heard talking about this film aren't talking about the film itself, but rather how adorable Tom Welling is or sexy Maggie Grace is......give me an ugly cast that can act with some real feeling over the 'pretty boys and girls' of today's filmland, any day.
Buy The Fog on DVD at Amazon.com
Read Caretaker's review of the theatrical release of The Fog (2005).
