Movie Review: The Fog
The best thing one can say about The Fog is that it doesn't creep. It moves fairly briskly. Unfortunately, it isn't creepy enough as a horror movie to blanket an audience with scares.
A remake of John Carpenter's 1979 film, which followed his breakthrough, Halloween, The Fog is an unremarkable PG-13 horror thriller. It follows the attractive-young-people-in- peril concept that most films in the genre do, and while it has a few jumps, it doesn't have the flesh-crawling thrills that mark a standout.
The Fog is set on and around Antonio Island, Ore. Scenes from 1871 establish a back story for the horror as they pop up throughout the film, showing how the island's forefathers _ hailed as heroes and visionaries by the contemporary population _ committed a horrific act to give their settlement a jump-start.
More than 130 years later, the townspeople on the island are getting ready to dedicate a new statue to the four founders. Fisherman Nick Castle (Tom Welling) thinks the money should have been spent to improve the marina; fishing tourists account for a large part of the island's economy.
Nick and his "Gilligan," Spooner (DeRay Davis) unearth the first sign of trouble when their anchor catches on something on the ocean's floor - remnants from a cursed clipper.
As DJ Stevie Wayne (Selma Blair) spins discs from a historic lighthouse and promotes the dedication of the memorial, Elizabeth Williams (Maggie Grace), returns home from New York. She left beau Nick without any explanation six months ago and ran away from the island, but disturbing dreams have brought her back.
The titular fog is weirdly photogenic, but it doesn't carry much of a sense of dread. It's easy to get distracted during the movie by the special effects - not just the fog, but also the shadowy and desiccated figures that come out of it and grab at the living. The ghostly figures have a range of powers, and it's never clear what the rules are.
Some of the fog's weaknesses are laughable, and some of its vengeful acts are gruesome. But it's hard to get worked up either way because director Rupert Wainwright, working from a script by Cooper Layne, doesn't give viewers any reason to care about the characters.
Welling's Nick is a hunky opportunist. Blair's Stevie is a free spirit who cares about her son, Andy (Cole Heppell), but that's all that is made clear about her. Davis' Spooner is on board for comic relief.
Grace (TV's "Lost") comes off best out of the bunch. She's sympathetic and natural, two good reasons she shouldn't be lost in The Fog.
Two stars (out of five).
***
