The Fog

Product Information

In terms of sexual orientation, Summers, a deputy headmaster, is presented as both homosexual and a paedophile in terms of his attractions (if not necessarily his actions) in a way that suggests that all homosexuals are also paedophiles. This issue, of paedophilia being presented as an aspect of homosexuality, was raised as a matter of concern by Anton in the Horror Aficionados May 2013 group read topic. Today, most people would probably not assume that homosexuals were automatically also paedophiles and so Anton's concerns about this discredited cliché are reasonable. However, it's necessary to remember that the book was written in the early '70s and that until 1967 - just eight years before the book's publication - homosexuality had been illegal in Britain. In addition to this, despite the age of majority being lowered from 21 to 18 in 1969, and the age of consent for heterosexuals being 16 since 1885, it was not (amazingly) until 1994 that 18 to 20-year-old males could have homosexual sex! (I thank David for pointing out below that it was 16 to 17-year-olds who were permitted to have gay sex from 2001.) So when summers is described as having been attracted to 'boys' who had been called up to serve in the British army during the 1940s, the term would've been correct at the time in that the 18 to 20-year-old recruits were legally children. Thus, Summers' attraction to them would've been seen as paedophiliac not only at the time but also for nearly twenty years after The Fog was first published, since it would have remained the case that anyone aged 21 or older engaging in gay sex with someone under 21 would be regarded as a criminal - and also in many people's minds, a paedophile. (I have benefited here from using the British section of Wikipedia's article on the ages of consent in Europe.)

Romero, Charles M. (November 20, 1980). "The Movies On Video Now". LA Weekly. p.43 – via Newspapers.com.

Latest Posts

What is not so enjoyable are the characters that are lifeless & unimaginative. The focus is heavily on horror, so much that there is little character development. The dialogue can be corny & awkward particularly when Herbert writes about love & sex. Here he goes into some detail as our lead regularly ‘gets some’ & it can often come across a bit childish. Elaborate Underground Base: When the fog overwhelms London, high-ranking government officials take refuge in their secret headquarters. In the early 2010s, Time Out conducted a poll of over 100 authors, directors, actors and critics who have worked within the horror genre to vote for their top horror films. The Fog placed at number 77 on their top 100 list. [35] After everyone leaves the church, Malone contemplates why he was spared given that there were only five deaths. The fog then reappears along with the ghosts and Blake decapitates Malone.

Depending on what one wants, this can be a good or a bad thing. It´s not really what one expects from the horror genre, because it doesn´t have the dark fantasy, big epic action plotline that is really interconnected, or the overkill of sadistic, violent scenes. It´s more a kind of Kill It with Fire: The mycoplasma's nucleus is destroyed by blowing up a pair of giant gasometers, along with most of the surrounding area. The pattern was to be repeated time and again: he scared the living daylights out of readers with books such as The Dark, The Magic Cottage, Haunted and Creed. a b c d e f g Sasaguay, Chris (April 21, 2022). "How Very Late Reshoots Saved 'The Fog' ". Collider. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022.

Provides examples of:

I didn't like how some of the characters got a lot of space in the story only to show how they or other people around them would be influenced by the fog (the Bournemouth episode was preceded by quite a long story). Centred mainly around protagonist, Department of Environment inspector John Holman, he is seemingly the first and only so far to have survived the madness of the fog, so he becomes very valuable to the government who think he is the key.

I am sure I have said several times that James Herbert was one of the writers I gained my introduction to horror from (the other being Stephen King). Now at the time a mixture of nativity and a limited range of choices (not sure if that is really the result of the former) meant that second hand markets and rummage sales were the only sources I knew of. Disproportionate Retribution: Could apply to most of the fog's victims; with their inhibitions removed, they take lethal revenge against their tormentors. Taken up to eleven by a pilot who has just lost his wife to a rival, and flies his airliner into the man's place of work - London's BT Tower . Stevie advises everyone to head to the town's church through her broadcast. Inside, the group finds a gold cross in the wall cavity, made from the rest of the stolen gold. Malone, knowing that the ghosts have returned to take six lives in lieu of the six original conspirators, offers the gold and himself to spare the others. Blake seizes the gold cross and he and his crew disappear in a flash of light. The fog also vanishes. Ebert, Roger (February 5, 1980). "The Fog". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on January 2, 2023 – via RogerEbert.com.

Hutchings, Peter (2017). Historical Dictionary of Horror Cinema. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-538-10243-5. Conrich, Ian; Woods, David, eds. (2004). The Cinema of John Carpenter: The Technique of Terror. New York City, New York: Wallflower Press. ISBN 978-1-904-76414-4.

It has sex in it ... really badly written sex. I can see why I liked it as a teenager but these sections now feel creepily old-fashioned. As THE FOG grows and government types struggle to search for answers, normal folk turn into raving lunatics with superior strength who only aim to do harm or commit suicide while John fights for his life strapped to a hospital bed...until...well, you'll see. The Fog has been released on various home video formats since the early 1980s: Magnetic Video released it on betamax and VHS in the fall of 1980, [37] Embassy Home Entertainment reissued the film again on VHS in 1985. MGM Home Entertainment released the film on VHS in 2000 [38] before issuing a special edition DVD in August 2002. [39] Another special edition DVD was released in Europe in 2004. [40] Cast as the female lead was Adrienne Barbeau, Carpenter's wife, who had appeared in Carpenter's TV movie Someone's Watching Me! in 1978. This was her first feature film. Barbeau also appeared in Carpenter's next film, Escape from New York (1981). [14] Williamson, J.N., ed. (1987). Masques II: All-New Stories of Horror and the Supernatural. Baltimore: Maclay & Assoc. ISBN 978-0-940776-24-1.

Boulenger, Gilles (2003). John Carpenter: Prince of Darkness. Los Angeles, California: Silman-James Press. ISBN 978-1-879-50567-4. Carpenter's musical score for The Fog features prominent synthesizer and elements of drone music, and was largely composed in the key of A minor. [21] As the film progresses, its score shifts to the key of B major and features a flatter pitch. [21] The score has been released on compact disc and vinyl in several different editions since the film's release. [22] Release [ edit ] Marketing [ edit ] Thomas, Kevin (February 2, 1980). " 'The Fog': Panic at Point Reyes". Los Angeles Times. p.8 – via Newspapers.com. in common with every other 14 year old boy I read this book (I thought) in 1977 maybe... I read the Rats and this and I really liked it ... everyone in my class read it under the covers ... and everybody liked it He ran his fingers downwards through the small, tidy forest of hair until he found her other even more moist cave, silky smooth with its aroused lubricity.