The Fog (2005 film)
Encyclopedia
The Fog is a 2005
horror film
directed
by Rupert Wainwright
and starring Tom Welling
, Selma Blair
and Maggie Grace
. It is a remake
of John Carpenter
's 1980 film of the same name
, but this time made more in the vein of a "teen horror film" (it was rated PG-13 whereas the original film was rated R
).
Both Carpenter and Debra Hill
(who co-wrote the original film with Carpenter and produced it) were producers of this version.
), conspire to mislead and murder the crew of the Elizabeth Dane, a clipper ship sailing from Alaska
. The Dane is carrying a group of lepers
seeking sanctuary, and is captained by William Blake. Blake is a wealthy man infected with leprosy who made an agreement with the islanders to buy half of Antonio Bay for use as a leper colony
. However, when four of the islanders meet with Blake onboard the Dane to complete the deal, the islanders double-cross the lepers, loot the ship and then set it on fire, killing everyone onboard including Blake and his wife.
134 years later, in the present day, a young woman named Elizabeth Williams returns to her family home on Antonio Bay after a six month absence. Her arrival coincides with the unveiling ceremony of a new statue outside the island's town hall, dedicated to the four "founding fathers" of the community. A series of bizarre events then occur as several items (including an antique watch and an antique hairbrush) are washed up on the beach, a strange symbol depicting a set of scales
begins to appear all over town, and several gruesome deaths take place. After almost drowning in a harbor boathouse, Elizabeth inadvertently finds an old diary buried in the wall of the boathouse. The diary belonged to Patrick Malone, the great-great-grandfather of Father Malone, the town's current priest. Patrick Malone was also one of the founding fathers of Antonio Bay, and one of the men who conspired to murder the crew of the Elizabeth Dane in 1871. The wealth that was stolen from the Dane then allowed the town to be built and the island to become the thriving community that it is today.
This series of events is accompanied by the arrival of a mysterious supernatural fog that rolls in from the sea and envelops the island. The fog brings with it the ghostly crew of the Elizabeth Dane, who have risen up from their watery grave to take revenge on the town for what its "founding fathers" did to them over a century earlier.
before the script was completed.
Tom Welling still had three weeks filming left on the fourth season of his TV series Smallville
when he commenced work on The Fog. His co-star Selma Blair joked that they kept two cameras running during Welling's scenes, one for The Fog and one for Smallville.
Selma Blair did almost all of her own stunt work for the film, and spent 12 hours in a water tank (with only short surface breaks) for two straight days to shoot her underwater scenes.
Although set on an island off the coast of Oregon, location work for the film was shot further up the coast in Canada
. It was partially shot in and around Cowichan Bay, British Columbia
, and the majority of the beach scenes were filmed in Tofino, British Columbia
. The scenes of the town of Antonio Bay were filmed in Fort Langley, British Columbia
.
StudioCanal
, which owns the rights to the original film, assisted in the film's production in exchange for French distribution rights.
The original film's makers, John Carpenter
and Debra Hill
, expressed an interest in remaking the original film on the film's DVD commentary. They are both credited as producers for the remake. It was one of Hill's final projects before her death from cancer in 2005.
rating of 5% and is the 66th worst reviewed film on the website; the site's critical consensus states [that] "The Fog is a so-so remake of a so-so movie, lacking scares, suspense or originality." Metacritic
reported the film had an average score of 27 out of 100, based on 16 reviews. The Fog was widely considered an unsuccessful remake of the original movie made in 1980
, with the Hollywood Reporter stating that the movie "lack[ed] the scares necessary to satisfy its target audience", and Variety
commented that "interest lags between the grisly deaths, and, worse, none of the characters generates rooting interest." The film was rated D- by Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly
.
2005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Rupert Wainwright
Rupert Wainwright
Rupert Wainwright is an English film and television director, writer, and actor.Wainwright was born in Cotswolds, UK and started his film career in the 1980s as an actor...
and starring Tom Welling
Tom Welling
Thomas John Patrick "Tom" Welling is an American actor, director, producer, and former model, best known for his portrayal of Clark Kent in the WB/CW series Smallville....
, Selma Blair
Selma Blair
Selma Blair is an American actress who has worked in film, theatre and television. She has performed in feature films including Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde, The Sweetest Thing, Hellboy, The Fog, Purple Violets and Hellboy II: The Golden Army...
and Maggie Grace
Maggie Grace
Margaret Grace Denig , best known as Maggie Grace, is an American actress. Originally from Worthington, Ohio, she dropped out of high school to move to Los Angeles with her mother after her parents' divorce. While struggling financially, she landed her first role as the title character in the...
. It is a remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of John Carpenter
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
's 1980 film of the same name
The Fog
The Fog is a 1980 horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and composed the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins and Janet Leigh...
, but this time made more in the vein of a "teen horror film" (it was rated PG-13 whereas the original film was rated R
R rating
R rating may refer to:*R - Motion Picture Association of America film rating system*R-value...
).
Both Carpenter and Debra Hill
Debra Hill
Debra Hill was an American screenwriter and film producer, who co-wrote the horror film Halloween, its first sequel Halloween II, and The Fog.-Early life:...
(who co-wrote the original film with Carpenter and produced it) were producers of this version.
Plot
In 1871, a group of men from Antonio Bay (off the coast of OregonOregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
), conspire to mislead and murder the crew of the Elizabeth Dane, a clipper ship sailing from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. The Dane is carrying a group of lepers
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
seeking sanctuary, and is captained by William Blake. Blake is a wealthy man infected with leprosy who made an agreement with the islanders to buy half of Antonio Bay for use as a leper colony
Leper colony
A leper colony, leprosarium, or lazar house is a place to quarantine leprous people.-History:Leper colonies or houses became widespread in the Middle Ages, particularly in Europe and India, and often run by monastic orders...
. However, when four of the islanders meet with Blake onboard the Dane to complete the deal, the islanders double-cross the lepers, loot the ship and then set it on fire, killing everyone onboard including Blake and his wife.
134 years later, in the present day, a young woman named Elizabeth Williams returns to her family home on Antonio Bay after a six month absence. Her arrival coincides with the unveiling ceremony of a new statue outside the island's town hall, dedicated to the four "founding fathers" of the community. A series of bizarre events then occur as several items (including an antique watch and an antique hairbrush) are washed up on the beach, a strange symbol depicting a set of scales
Lady Justice
Lady Justice |Dike]]) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems.-Depiction:The personification of justice balancing the scales of truth and fairness dates back to the Goddess Maat, and later Isis, of ancient Egypt. The Hellenic deities Themis and Dike were later...
begins to appear all over town, and several gruesome deaths take place. After almost drowning in a harbor boathouse, Elizabeth inadvertently finds an old diary buried in the wall of the boathouse. The diary belonged to Patrick Malone, the great-great-grandfather of Father Malone, the town's current priest. Patrick Malone was also one of the founding fathers of Antonio Bay, and one of the men who conspired to murder the crew of the Elizabeth Dane in 1871. The wealth that was stolen from the Dane then allowed the town to be built and the island to become the thriving community that it is today.
This series of events is accompanied by the arrival of a mysterious supernatural fog that rolls in from the sea and envelops the island. The fog brings with it the ghostly crew of the Elizabeth Dane, who have risen up from their watery grave to take revenge on the town for what its "founding fathers" did to them over a century earlier.
Cast
- Tom WellingTom WellingThomas John Patrick "Tom" Welling is an American actor, director, producer, and former model, best known for his portrayal of Clark Kent in the WB/CW series Smallville....
as Nick Castle - Maggie GraceMaggie GraceMargaret Grace Denig , best known as Maggie Grace, is an American actress. Originally from Worthington, Ohio, she dropped out of high school to move to Los Angeles with her mother after her parents' divorce. While struggling financially, she landed her first role as the title character in the...
as Elizabeth Williams - Selma BlairSelma BlairSelma Blair is an American actress who has worked in film, theatre and television. She has performed in feature films including Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde, The Sweetest Thing, Hellboy, The Fog, Purple Violets and Hellboy II: The Golden Army...
as Stevie Wayne - DeRay DavisDeRay DavisDeRay Davis is an American stand-up comedian and actor. DeRay began his career in the comedy clubs. Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, He won the Comedy Central Laugh Riots Competition and was a standout on the Cedric the Entertainer Tour...
as Spooner - Kenneth WelshKenneth WelshKenneth Welsh, CM is a Canadian film and television actor . He is known to Twin Peaks fans as the multi-faceted villain Windom Earle, and has more recently played the father of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator.In 1984 he was nominated for a Genie Award as Best Actor for his...
as Tom Malone - Adrian Hough as Father Malone
- Sonja BennettSonja BennettSonja Bennett is a Canadian actress who portrayed Marcie Brasko in Battlestar Galactica.Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Bennett has acted in various genre series including Eureka, Stargate Atlantis, Painkiller Jane, The Dead Zone, Cold Squad, as well as other Vancouver filmed television...
as Mandi - Sara BotsfordSara BotsfordSara Botsford is a Canadian television and film actress. She is probably best known for her role of Ann Hildebrand in the television series E.N.G. for which she won a Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role...
as Kathy Williams - Cole HeppellCole HeppellCole Heppell is a Canadian actor.In 2006, He was nominated for a Young Artist Award of Best Performance in a Television Series - Guest Starring Young Actorfor: "The Dead Zone: Heroes & Demons-Filmography:...
as Andy Wayne - Rade SherbedgiaRade ŠerbedžijaRade Šerbedžija , occasionally credited as Rade Sherbedgia in some English-language productions, is a Croatian actor, director and musician of Serb origin. He was one of the most popular Yugoslav actors in the 1970s and 1980s. He is now internationally known mainly for his supporting roles in...
as Captain William Blake - Matthew Currie HolmesMatthew Currie HolmesMatthew Currie Holmes is a Canadian actor who has appeared in dozens of projects. He was a lead on the Canadian series Godiva's , as well as on the series Edgemont. His feature film credits include The Fog, Firewall and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End. He currently resides in Los Angeles,...
as Sean Castle - Meghan HeffernMeghan HeffernMeghan Heffern is a Canadian actress. She was born in Edmonton, Alberta and currently resides in Toronto, Ontario.-Television:* Flight 93 as Nicole Miller* Whistler as Britt...
as Brandi/Jennifer
Production
The film was green lit by Revolution StudiosRevolution Studios
Revolution Studios is an American production company founded in 2000 by Joe Roth, a former chairman of Walt Disney Studios and 20th Century Fox. Revolution was formerly a strategic partner of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which distributed and marketed Revolution's films. The company's film division...
before the script was completed.
Tom Welling still had three weeks filming left on the fourth season of his TV series Smallville
Smallville (TV series)
Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar based on the DC Comics character Superman, originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB Television Network , premiering on October...
when he commenced work on The Fog. His co-star Selma Blair joked that they kept two cameras running during Welling's scenes, one for The Fog and one for Smallville.
Selma Blair did almost all of her own stunt work for the film, and spent 12 hours in a water tank (with only short surface breaks) for two straight days to shoot her underwater scenes.
Although set on an island off the coast of Oregon, location work for the film was shot further up the coast in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It was partially shot in and around Cowichan Bay, British Columbia
Cowichan Bay, British Columbia
Cowichan Bay is a bay and community located near Duncan, in British Columbia. The mouth of the Cowichan River is near Cowichan Bay. The bay is known for its fishing and scenic value...
, and the majority of the beach scenes were filmed in Tofino, British Columbia
Tofino, British Columbia
Tofino is a district of about 1,650 residents on the west coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada, located at the western terminus of Highway 4, on the tip of the Esowista Peninsula, at the southern edge of Clayoquot Sound....
. The scenes of the town of Antonio Bay were filmed in Fort Langley, British Columbia
Fort Langley, British Columbia
Fort Langley is a village with a population of 2,700 and forms part of the Township of Langley. It is the home of Fort Langley National Historic Site, a former fur trade post of the Hudson's Bay Company.-History:...
.
StudioCanal
StudioCanal
StudioCanal is a French-based production and distribution company that owns the third-largest film library in the world...
, which owns the rights to the original film, assisted in the film's production in exchange for French distribution rights.
The original film's makers, John Carpenter
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
and Debra Hill
Debra Hill
Debra Hill was an American screenwriter and film producer, who co-wrote the horror film Halloween, its first sequel Halloween II, and The Fog.-Early life:...
, expressed an interest in remaking the original film on the film's DVD commentary. They are both credited as producers for the remake. It was one of Hill's final projects before her death from cancer in 2005.
Songs featured in the motion picture
- "Sugar, We're Goin DownSugar, We're Goin Down"Sugar, We're Goin Down" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy, and the lead single from their third album, From Under the Cork Tree . With the music composed by lead vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump and all lyrics penned by bassist Pete Wentz, the single reached No...
" - Performed by Fall Out BoyFall Out BoyFall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008... - "Salome's Wish" - Performed by The Booda Velvets
- "Vibrate" - Performed by Petey PabloPetey PabloMoses Mortimer Barrett III , known by the stage name Petey Pablo, is an American rapper from Greenville, North Carolina.-Biography:...
- "Take Off Your Clothes" - Performed by MorningwoodMorningwoodMorningwood is an alternative rock band from New York City, USA, founded in 2001 by Pedro Yanowitz and Chantal Claret. Morningwood was signed to Capitol Records.-Career:...
- "Nighttime" - Performed by Petracovich
- "Feels Just Like It Should" - Performed by JamiroquaiJamiroquaiJamiroquai is a British jazz funk and acid jazz band formed in 1992. Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, and the Brand New Heavies. Other Acid Jazz artists such as...
- "Invincible" - Performed by OK GoOK GoOK Go is a rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, USA, now residing in Los Angeles, California, USA. The band is composed of Damian Kulash , Tim Nordwind , Dan Konopka and Andy Ross , who joined them in 2005, replacing Andy Duncan...
- "What Died" - Performed by Nichole AldenNichole AldenNichole Alden is a Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and performer whose music has been used in the soundtrack of many commercials, movies and TV shows...
Reception
The film was not screened for critics before its release. Upon its release, it was very poorly received. To date, the film has a Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
rating of 5% and is the 66th worst reviewed film on the website; the site's critical consensus states [that] "The Fog is a so-so remake of a so-so movie, lacking scares, suspense or originality." Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 27 out of 100, based on 16 reviews. The Fog was widely considered an unsuccessful remake of the original movie made in 1980
The Fog
The Fog is a 1980 horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and composed the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins and Janet Leigh...
, with the Hollywood Reporter stating that the movie "lack[ed] the scares necessary to satisfy its target audience", and Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
commented that "interest lags between the grisly deaths, and, worse, none of the characters generates rooting interest." The film was rated D- by Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
.