Terry's Reviews
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The Fog –
Widescreen Unrated Version Sony Pictures – 2006 Directed by Rupert
Wainwright Starring |
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| Modern technology is not able to elevate this
remake above John Carpenter’s underrated original. Sony Pictures and director Rupert
Wainwright do their best to make this remake different than the original by showing the
prologue of the tragedy of the Elizabeth Dane. This probably actually hurts the film,
because John Houseman’s distinct voice set the original film up with more mood and
atmosphere. For those who are not aware, THE FOG is the tale of what happens to the town of Antonio Bay when a ship of leapers return after 100 years to claim their treasure usurped by the current townsfolk. The leapers exist in the mist, and roll in after midnight to wreck havoc on the town. Rupert Wainwright captures some flashy visuals, but nothing as memorable or classic as John Carpenter accomplished. Tom Welling and Maggie Grace do a decent job, but don’t have the experience or charisma of Tom Atkins, Jaime Lee Curtis and Adrienne Barbeau. Selma Blair forces her performance, which comes a bit over the top. Graeme Revell does a solid score, but it is much less memorable than the piano-based Carpenter score. Special Features; a commentary with director Rupert Wainwright, which I found a pleasure to listen to. "White Out Conditions: Remaking a Horror Classic" focuses on how the new filmmakers tried to match the quality of the original. "Seeing Through the Fog: the Making of ‘the Fog’" has Sony’s excellent quality level but is pretty standard EPK material. "Feeling the Effects of the Fog: Special Effects Featurette" looks at how the visual effects artist contributed to the remake. Deleted scenes with optional director’s commentary round out the extras. THE FOG didn’t need to be remade, and the audience’s critical response to this film proves that. However, I appreciated the filmmakers making the attempt. |
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