Da Big Cheese
Posts: 1081
Joined: 7/10/2005
From: The Batcave
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You'll get a more detailed look at the gruesome spectres during the main menu of this DVD than you will during the film. It's a basic horror film technique, yet it's perfectly executed by Carpenter; the ghoulish killers are only really seen in brief flashes, in sillouette, or completely shrouded in flouresent fog whilst brandishing grisly meathooks. The audience is left captivated by these teasing glimpses, and they work in the film's advantage, building up a tense and terrifying atmosphere. When the likes of Carpenter was able to create scenes that were filled with such brooding and menacing atmosphere, it's shocking to see how many film-makers have since gotten it horribly wrong. There should be a class in how to create a good horror film, and this film should be used to demonstrate how you can use the audience's imagination to really deliver the fear, instead of spoon feeding them CGI created ghouls that leave little to the imagination.
I'm looking forward to seeing the remake of this film, because I felt that this 1980s version hasn't aged too well. Don't get me wrong, it's just as scary as the best of what's been released in the last 5 - 10 years, but the scares are delivered soley through the atmosphere as the real shocking moments feel watered down compared to what we're used to in modern cinema. It's a real shame, as it feels like I'm only experiencing half of the film. Although these moments are few and far between, when they arrive it can really shatter the illusion and reminds you of which decade this film was originally made in. The best examples are at the end, when Blake's eyes are red, and when we see a close up of the ghost that's face is covered with maggots. It's one of those moments that I wished I was old enough to have watched this in it's original theatrical release, in which years of more modern horrors wouldn't have dulled down the real shock value that these scenes are obviously supposed to have.
Having said that, I'm apprehensive that the remake will stand up to this version. The past has certainly taught us that on the whole, remakes are a bad thing (with the exception of the remake of George A Romero's Dawn of the Dead) and I doubt that a remake of The Fog will come close to emulating the superb tension-soaked scenes of John Carpenter's original, instead plumping for gory, explicit death scenes and teen eye candy for both guys and girls. Still, I'll reserve judgement until I see it. For now, The Fog is a decent, if a little dated, horror film and stands up to anything that's been released since.
< Message edited by Da Big Cheese -- 13/3/2006 4:06:01 PM >
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