FRET NOT : Rupert Wainwright’s ‘The Fog’ [5/10]

Published on: February 22nd, 2006

The subject of wildly vitriolic attacks by the overwhelming majority of American critics, Wainwright's teen-oriented remake of John Carpenter's The Fog (1980), while clearly no great shakes, turns out to be a surprisingly watchable little night-out-at-the-multiplex chiller. Though for the most part thuddingly prosaic where the original was atmospherically poetic, this rehash does at least boast suitably classy-looking cinematography by Nathan Hope, and delivers just enough shocks and chills to make it a moderately passable night-out-at-the-multiplex (or rather night-in-with-a-pizza) option. Oddly enough, it may be enjoyed most by viewers who are either (A) completely unaware of Carpenter's film or (B) regard it as one of their favourite films.

There are moments of (amusingly) ludicrous absurdity along the way (watch out for the fully-set dining table and chairs which inexplicably appear on the beach) and in retrospect Cooper Layne's screenplay doesn't make much sense. But Layne and director Wainwright do actually seem to be genuine fans of Carpenter's version: at certain points their update has a shot-for-shot and line-for-line fidelity to the original which will please Carpenter fans, and which is unprecedented among the recent wave of uninspired Hollywood horror semi-remakes (Dawn of the Dead; House of Wax; Texas Chainsaw Massacre; etc). And Carpenter's basic idea gives the picture an unusually solid underpinning – even if Layne does elect to take it in some new (and, in many cases, ill-advised) directions.

In 1871, the tiny Oregon settlement of Antonio Island suddenly became prosperous and rapidly expanded – thanks to the efforts of four men (Castle, Wayne, Williams and Malone) who became known as the town's 'founding fathers.' More than a century later, many descendents of this quartet are still living in the area – including fisherman Nick Castle (Tom Wellings); his on-off girlfriend Elizabeth Williams (Maggie Grace), recently returned from a sojourn in New York; sassy/sultry disc-jockey Stevie Wayne (Selma Blair), who broadcasts from the town's lighthouse; and two Malones: the local mayor (Kenneth Welsh) and the parish's alcoholic priest (Adrian Hough). When Nick's boat inadvertently dredges up a bag containing antique trinkets, which then wash up on the shore, supernatural events start to happen in and around the locale – with deadly consequences for Antonio Island and its residents…

Layne's principal alteration is to have all of the main characters know each other at the start of the story: Nick and Elizabeth are already a couple; he has previously enjoyed a fling (or two) with Stevie (who's a local here, as opposed to a newcomer from Chicago). Carpenter's protagonists were effectively a bunch of strangers thrown together by their shared peril: his version, set and filmed in hippyish northern California and shot during the Jimmy Carter presidency, was about the creation of an ad-hoc, cooperative community – in stark contrast to the nefarious greed which founded Antonio Bay 100 years before.

The 2005 version instead is much more about family ties: in a small but telling detail, Stevie's son is here babysat by 'Aunt Connie' (Mary Black) whereas in the original the lad was in the care of 'Mrs Kobritz' – a family friend, not a family member. This isn't the only concession to the prevailing American political atmosphere: scenes of danger usually result in men taking charge while the womenfolk quiver helplessly on the sidelines; nudity is very restrained, and film is noticeably light on gore – even when a character is killed by shards of glass passing through his body, there's no visible bloodshed. In Carpenter's film the local church comes under direct attack – zombie-type hands punching through stained-glass windows – but here the survivors hide out in the town's local-history museum.

Indeed, the church is conspicuous by its absence this time: Father Malone seems to on a permanent walkabout, or rather 'stumble-about' as he's invariably inebriated. This 'new' Father Malone is a definite minus: in contrast to Hal Holbrook's deftly humorous, quietly tragic work, Hough delivers a broad, clunky turn that's often the source of unintended giggles. The moment when he off-handedly mentions that some blood-red graffiti is the biblical 'writing on the wall' is a particular nadir – especially as the graffiti nonsensically reads 'mene mene tekel eupharin' instead of the actual 'mene mene tekel upharsin': literally "it has been counted and counted, weighed and divided," and usually interpreted as "you have been weighed in the balance and found wanting."

In this context, such a phrase is a particular hostage to fortune – as is the line at the beginning when Blair announces that she is "the one and only Stevie Wayne." Not while fond memories of Adrienne Barbeau (the original Stevie) remain potent she isn't. That said, Blair does give The Fog's strongest performance in what was always the strongest role – not especially high praise: Grace, despite a passing facial resemblance to Julianne Moore, would come across as especially colourless even if she wasn't competing with the shade of Jamie Lee Curtis.

Early on, Blair's Stevie announces to her listeners that, as she owns her station, she's going to play whatever she wants: this turns out to largely consist of alt-rock and/or nu-metal. This Fog could very easily have been the equivalent of a modern-day band's cover version of a much-loved old-school hit record – or at the very least a savvily post-modern remix. As it is, Wainwright opts instead for an MOR dilution: a bland, karaoke-style cash-in cover. Regrettable, unfortunate and unneccessary – but there are worse crimes.

Neil Young
22nd February, 2005

THE FOG : [5/10] : USA 2005 : Rupert WAINWRIGHT : 100 mins (BBFC timing)
seen at Odeon cinema, Newcastle-upon-Tyne (UK), 20th February 2006 – press show