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IMDb > The Fog (1980)
The Fog
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Overview

User Rating:
6.8/10   16,536 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 8% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
John Carpenter (written by) and
Debra Hill (written by)
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Fog on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
8 February 1980 (USA) more
Tagline:
What you can't see won't hurt you... it'll kill you! more
Plot:
A Northern California fishing town, built 100 years ago over an old leper colony, is the target for revenge by a killer fog containing zombie-like ghosts seeking revenge for their deaths. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
1 win & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(57 articles)
User Reviews:
A film that is truly terrifying?!? …It exists and it's named `the Fog' more (260 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Additional Details

Also Known As:
John Carpenter's The Fog (USA) (complete title)
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Runtime:
89 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) (original rating) | Canada:PG (Ontario) (re-rating) (2002) | Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 (f) | Denmark:15 | USA:R (Approved No. 25792) | Netherlands:16 | Italy:T | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Canada:PG (Ontario)
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
John Houseman's opening monologue, which is supposed to transpire over a course of five minutes (from 11:55 to 12:00 midnight) is, in fact, only 2 minutes and 25 seconds long from the moment he mentions it is 11:55 to the moment the bells ring in the background, signaling midnight. It has been incorrectly noted in the past that this opening monologue is exactly five minutes long. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Nick and Elizabeth go to the dock to meet The Seagrass the weather is overcast and looks like its going to rain. In the very next shot we see Mrs Williams and her assistant organizing the 100th anniversary of Antonio Bay and it is clear blue skies and looks very much like a summer day. more
Quotes:
Tommy Wallace: She's crazy. There's no fog bank out there.
[other men talk]
Tommy Wallace: There's no fog bank out there.
[more talk]
Tommy Wallace: There's no fog bank out there.
[after a moment, fog begins to appear]
Tommy Wallace: Hey, there's a fog bank out there.
Al Williams: All right, I'm drunk enough. Let's go back.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Hollow Man (2000) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
60 out of 74 people found the following review useful.
A film that is truly terrifying?!? …It exists and it's named `the Fog', 29 April 2004
9/10
Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls

A solid, powerful story…slowly developing and photographed with a unique sense for tension. THAT is `The Fog'. This story will leave a big impression on you and it's easily John Carpenter's best and most effective horror film. His most underrated as well, since people always refer to `Halloween' and `The Thing' when listing his best accomplishments as a director. Personally, I think The Fog is much more haunting and fascinating than these two, and it's one of the very few films that still scares me after all these years. Uniquely set in a small coast-town called Antonio Bay, where the inhabitants are preparing the celebrations for the town's hundredth anniversary. Only, they do not know that the genesis of their town went together with a devilish conspiracy, resulting in the unfortunate death of many seamen. These doomed victims rise again now, suddenly appearing from mysterious fogbanks that come from the ocean. If you're – like me - a sucker for ghostly myths set in abandoned surrounding, The Fog will be one of your most satisfying purchases ever. Carpenter brilliantly builds up an unbearable tension through simple methods, like long shots of an isolated countryside and a chilling musical score (not as famous as his `Halloween' score but equally effective). The bloodshed and images of cold-hearted monsters are kept to a minimum in order to leave it up to your own imagination. And for once, this actually works! The detailed sequences in which the town gets surrounded by an inescapable fog is more than horrific enough. Forget about all the overblown, big-budgeted and so-called `horrifying' films… This little, overlooked production scares the hell out of people since more than 20 years already. And it'll keep on doing so for yet another very long time!

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