The Fog (2005)

The remake of John Carpenter's "The Fog" is one of saddest remakes I've ever seen. Just like the remake of "Halloween", everything is overly explained as if the audience needs everything pointed out to them. The cast is full of pretty people who can't act; even Selma Blair falls flat more so than usual. The CGI effects are used too much and are not scary. The worst offense is that both John Carpenter and Debra Hill served as producers. This is one of those seemingly rare PG-13 rated movies that just bombs.

The only positive note I can give this film is the fact that they chose to create a remake of this title in the first place. Unless you are a big horror fan or a John Carpenter buff, you might not know about “The Fog”. I like it when something else besides the biggest names are remade and given a second chance. But with that second chance comes the possibility of a horrible movie. It happens and it’s a shame.

The original ghosts

Author's Note - Remakes

Remakes are a touchy subject for many people. There are several that feel like they are nothing more than an excuse to cash in on a recognizable title without even trying to make a decent movie. Michael Bay is guilty of this with his attempts to reboot both the “Friday the 13^th” and “Nightmare on Elm Street” franchises.

Some remakes feel like the cast actually respect the original and just want to have fun making their version; these are fine because they feel more like plays whereas nothing new is usually added but some characters are fleshed out more or are played out with a different style. Some of these films actually use the original novel as source material more so than the original film production.

Then there are the very few where the cast, director and actors, are taking the original idea and are adapting their own interpretations. This approach works at times but can easily backfire as well. Just because your passion for the film and your ideas in how to fix it or make it better might not actually be the best for the project or the legacy of the original film.

While preparing for this theme, I’ve noticed that the opinions of people who saw the original versions versus those who are now just old enough see the remakes makes a large difference. Younger viewers are more accustomed to seeing CGI in almost everything, expect more violence and realistic gore than films from the 1970’s and 1980’s, and want to see cast members that they are familiar with. Keeping these notes in mind, I will try to write my reviews as neutral as possible.