Another John Carpenter classic gets the 4K remaster treatment, this time his classic horror opus The Fog.
Antonio Bay in California has turned a hundred years old. As the residents of this small harbour town begin to celebrate, an eerie fog envelops the shore and from its midst emerge dripping, demonic spectres, victims of a century-old shipwreck, seeking revenge.
At the time of its release some people were expecting something along the lines of Halloween which had been a mega-hit a couple of years before, but instead got an atmospheric ghostly gothic horror which has stood the test of time very well indeed. It’s interesting to note that director Carpenter did some major reshoots after a preview went badly and he also redid the score to his now classic synthesiser mix.
The horror builds slowly, something rarely seen today sadly, to reach a satisfying climax. Gore is kept to a minimum and the music score really adds to it immensely.
The Fog has been released previously in the UK but it was a very poor transfer and this new version surpasses it in every way. The new 1080p transfer is top notch and blacks are much more solid and the daytime shots really shine.
Audio gives you a choice of English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or LPCM 2.0 stereo. Both are good but the 5.1 mix does add a lot to the listening experience. A second Blu ray has some great extras including –
- Retribution: Uncovering John Carpenter’s THE FOG: A brand new retrospective documentary produced by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures and featuring interviews with cinematographer Dean Cundey, production designer/editor Tommy Lee Wallace, photographer Kim Gottleib-Walker, make-up effects artist Steve Johnson, Carpenter biographer John Muir, music historian Daniel Schweiger, visual effects historian Justin Humphreys and assistant Larry Franco
- The Shape of The Thing to Come: John Carpenter Un-filmed: A brand new featurette looking at the John Carpenter films that never were
- Easter Egg – Surprise! (found on the main menu for the special features disc)
- Scene Analysis by John Carpenter – Director John Carpenter analyses key scenes from The Fog, in an interview from 2003
- Fear on Film: Inside the Fog (1980) – A vintage featurette which includes an interview with John Carpenter
- The Fog: Storyboard to Film – original storyboards
- Outtakes
- TV Spots
- Theatrical Trailers
- Photo gallery incl. Behind the Scenes
- Audio Commentary with writer/director John Carpenter and writer/director Debra Hill
- Horror’s Hallowed Grounds with Sean Clark – a fun tour of the film’s locations hosted by Sean Clark
- Audio commentary with actors Adrienne Barbeau, Tom Atkins and production designer Tommy Lee Wallace.
A fantastic new release and a big upgrade from any previous version on Blu Ray. (Also available as a 4K UHD special Edition package)
FILM – 8.5 PICTURE – 9 AUDIO – 9 EXTRAS – 9
