The Fog (1980) has the most perfect cast.
-
I love hutch — 4 years ago(September 06, 2021 06:02 AM)
I love this movie. In some ways, I even prefer it to "Halloween".
The location work is stunning.
The scene where Adrienne is driving along the Pacific coastline with John Carpenter's beautiful moody score is hypnotic.
"My life is over. I might as well dance with Johnny Slash!" -
ToastedCheese — 4 years ago(September 06, 2021 08:56 AM)
Good cast and atmospheric, it just leaves me wanting more and not in a satisfied way, like say
Halloween III: Season Of The Witch
.
That one ended with no real resolution, but it was still satisfying and one of the best horror film endings from the era.
The Fog
was just cheap shots to me and the kills were pretty tame and even lame after the first initial 3 on the fishing boat.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
I love hutch — 4 years ago(September 09, 2021 07:29 PM)
I actually didn't care for the opening kills. But Carpenter was told he needed to add gore and so he went back and made the opening 3 murders extra violent, but he said it was his least favorite part of the movie.
For me, almost everything is atmosphere and this one has so much, with the music and the scenery, etc.
"My life is over. I might as well dance with Johnny Slash!" -
ToastedCheese — 4 years ago(September 09, 2021 11:54 PM)
I don't think there was anything to see in the first kill sequence, it was the implication that made it effective.
Carpenter was shooting for a PG rating too, not an R which he earned regardless, so he kept blood to an absolute minimum. No PG13 at that time.
The Fog
was also only rated R13 in NZ, whose guidelines were mild to barely moderate horror intensity.
Carpenter allegedly added more blood/gore to
Halloween 2
, which is also one of the more violent slashers in terms of effectiveness, which the director was opposed too.
I think H2 works as well as it does because of any additions he made and its not all latex rubbery effects, just practical cringe effects.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
I love hutch — 4 years ago(September 10, 2021 12:27 AM)
Yes, the opening part was uninspired. The movie picks up after the first 15 minutes.
I didn't know JC had a hand in "Halloween 2".
The 1981 version?
"My life is over. I might as well dance with Johnny Slash!" -
ToastedCheese — 4 years ago(September 10, 2021 12:56 AM)
He also added some extra stuff, like the opening ghost story on the beach apparently, as the first cut was too short. I thought you liked the fishermen sequence. You have commented this before if I recall.
H2 - 81' was still Carpenter's baby. He co-wrote and co-produced it along with Debra Hill. The bombastic reeboot and its terrific sequel were Rob Zombie.
He handed over the directors reigns to Rick Rosenthal. I'd say he would have likely had more than the usual producers influence too, like Spielberg did on
Poltergeist
.
Have you seen
Bad Boys - 83'
by Rosenthal with Sean Penn? He was good with atmosphere.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
I love hutch — 4 years ago(September 10, 2021 06:13 AM)
Hmmmm… I don't recall saying that. I don't out and out dislike the opening sequence, but it does not have the same floaty ambience that the rest of the movie does. The guys were likable enough. Maybe I said something about that. Was this a while back? I usually have a pretty good memory for this stuff.
My favorite scene is when Stevie Wayne is driving along the Pacific coastline, heading for the lighthouse to do her night gig. All those steps down, too. Must have been 200 of them. It's a wordless sequence and it's beautifully filmed and it could have gone on for ten minutes for my liking. I also find Adrienne Barbeau to be enormously likable.
Most movies just don't have a whole lot of atmosphere going on in them. But I think this was Carpenter's greatest gift. He was also talented composing the scores for his movies. "Assault on Precinct 13" is also a great movie. Did you see that one, Hot Mozzarella on a Stick? (Just fooling with ya!)
"My life is over. I might as well dance with Johnny Slash!" -
ToastedCheese — 4 years ago(September 10, 2021 06:26 AM)
You have commented about the guys in the sequence, so I just assumed you liked the sequence that went with it.
I felt like Carpenter killed off, (no pun intended
), any chance to have more murder suspense sequences by taking out 3 of the 6 must die in the first 15mins. After that, we got that old bat who was sitting the boy who went out in the fog, some dude at the lighthouse I think and then a final shock value sequence right at the end.
As morbid as it sounds, in these kind of films, I often like the anticipation of a murder and how it will be achieved.
I feel he ruined a bit of potential here and this would also be to do with his initial desire to shoot for a PG rating.
Yes, that sequence with Stevie is my favourite too. I would love to go down those steps to that lighthouse. It is a likeable film in terms of characters and that is the main saving grace.
I have seen AOP13 yonks ago. It wasn't a bad film at all and quite shocking depicting the random death of a kid by gangland scum.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
I love hutch — 4 years ago(September 10, 2021 06:21 AM)
I saw "Bad Boys" in the mid 80s when it came to pay cable. I don't remember having a strong feeling one way or the other,except that Sean Penn had a strong presence.
I can't remember right now, but was it you, Toasty,who introduced me to the hell of urban public school life, the movie "Class of 1984", with Perry King?
I remember liking that one pretty well.
"My life is over. I might as well dance with Johnny Slash!" -
ToastedCheese — 4 years ago(September 10, 2021 06:56 AM)
I loved
Bad Boys
, still do, and saw it a few times in the early to mid 80's at the cinema before it came out on VHS. It was R18 too and I wasn't old enough and the thrill of getting in to see it was also a fun feeling.
It has a nice melancholic score by Bill Conti, atmospheric cinematography and compelling theme and characters. I love Sean Penn as an actor, one of my favs, but I never found him sexually appealing.
Yes, I may have mentioned to you about
Class Of 1984
. Always loved it and I think I was surprised you hadn't seen it because of how much you love Perry King. This one ticks all the boxes too.
It was R20 for some stupid reason in NZ at the time and cut in some of the more violent parts as well, which made no sense if they were going to give it the highest rating possible. It wasn't until I moved to Oz in the early 90's that I got to see it in its entirety.
CO1984 is like a hybrid, action/thriller/horror/gang cult film all rolled into one. I've always been a fan of Mark L. Lester's films in the 70's and 80's.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
I love hutch — 4 years ago(September 10, 2021 08:20 PM)
I'm not a fan of Rob Zombie. Every one of his movie characters is deeply unpleasant. The Devil's Rejects was a hateful experience. The ending with those three zooming along on their suicidal spree with "Free Bird" playing was the worst. There is no mistake that RZ wanted the audience to sympathize with terrible people. No way.
"My life is over. I might as well dance with Johnny Slash!" -
ToastedCheese — 4 years ago(September 10, 2021 10:30 PM)
I haven't seen Zombie's latest films, and he does seem to dwell on the sadistic dark nature of his characters, but I don't mind some of his films and do like
The Devil's Rejects
. I loved the soundtrack too.
I despised his
Halloween - 07'
reeboot. I just can't really get into it. Even the protagonists were horrible. However, (and I was pleasantly surprised), I just loved his sequel to it
Halloween II - 09'
.
I found it visually strong and potent and this time I was really invested in 2 of the surviving characters and what happened to them.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
ToastedCheese — 4 years ago(September 10, 2021 01:06 AM)
The Fog
reboot is abysmal and so are the
My Bloody Valentine
and
Friday The 13th
reboots.
They are hollow and empty and cold and just sit there all flat before me with no genuine imagination or even passion. Cut and paste approach from screenplay to filming made by hack directors who had no vision, or sense of character.
Norman! What did you put in my tea?
Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 