"Antonio bay has a curse on it."

OK, so I'm going to try something a little different here. Instead of reviewing the movie, I'm going to write a review for Scream Factory's Blu-ray release of John Carpenter's The Fog!

First off, I would just like to say that every title I've purchased of the Scream Factory catalog has been worth it. I've upgraded some DVDs to blu-ray, and some movies I've just bought blindly. The Fog was an upgrade purchase, and one that was worth making.


The Fog is one of Carpenter's underrated films, in my opinion. It is much more based on mood than just being the basic slasher movie. It sports a great cast, including scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis, her mother Janet Leigh, Adrienne Barbeau, Tom Atkins, and my favorite role of the movie: Hal Holbrook as Father Malone.

For those of you who are unaware of the plot: As Antonio Bay celebrates its 100th anniversary, a fog rolls in as a terrible secret is revealed and revenge is seeked.



The Transfer and Sound: A brand new 1080p High-Def transfer was done for this release, and it was supervised by Dean Cundey, the film's cinematographer. Even though it has been a few years since watching my DVD release from MGM, this new transfer is considerable better. The film looks gorgeous & sharp, and the sound quality is just as good. The sound options are either 5.1 or 2.0 DTS-HD audio. I watched with the 5.1 audio, with no complaints. The audio is crisp and sound, and Carpenter's score truly shines. Subtitles are available for the hearing impaired on the film only.

Special Features: This disc is packed with new and old extras.

The previous extras included are:

• Audio Commentary with writer/director John Carpenter & writer/producer Debra Hill
• Fear on Film: Inside The Fog (07:42) A classic featurette featuring interviews with Carpenter, Hill, Leigh, Curtis, and Barbeau.
• Tales from The Mist: Inside The Fog (27:58) A holdover from the 2002 MGM Special Edition. Includes new interviews with Carpenter, Hill, Barbeau, Leigh, Cundey, and Tommy Lee Wallace (the films production designer/editor) and footage from a 1980 interview with Jamie Lee Curtis. Very informative, and a good watch. I liked learning about all the reshots and added footage they did before releasing the film.
• The Fog: Storyboard to Film (01:26)
• Outtakes (04:10)
• Special Effects Tests (02:39)
• Theatrical Trailers (04:34)
• TV Spots (03:05)
• Photo Gallery
• Storyboards

The new extras Scream Factory have put together are:

• Audio Commentary with actors Adrienne Barbeau & Tom Atkins and Production Designer/Editor Tommy Lee Wallace, moderated by Sean Clark
• My Time with Terror with Jamie Lee Curtis (21:46) A wonderful interview with Curtis as she looks back on her "Scream Queen" career.
• Dean of Darkness with Dean Cundey (18:40) An informative interview with Cundey, as he discusses techniques used in the film, as well as his relationship with Carpenter
• Horror's Hallowed Grounds with Sean Clark (20:22) Another great episode to the series, as Clark visits locations used throughout the filming of The Fog. Clark is what makes these features worth watching, as his love of the films and genre resonates on the screen. He is super knowledgeable about what was filmed where, and even knows what has changed in the 30 years since the movie was actually filmed.
• Easter Egg (1:02) A great little find, and I hope Scream Factory continues on with putting Easter Eggs on releases.

This is a great addition to blu-ray collection, and easily my favorite release from Scream Factory so far this year. So, what are you waiting for? Buy yourself a copy today!

08/01/2013

Elizabeth and I had a date night last night, and went to the movies.  I decided to take her up on the offer to see The Conjuring, since she doesn't normally like to do horror/supernatural films while in the theater.

115) The Conjuring - This was truly a creepy supernatural movie, and very enjoyable.  The basic plot follows a family that moves into a new home, and then things begin happening at night (mostly).  They aren't to sure of what is going on, so they track down Ed and Lorraine Warren, well known investigators of the paranormal to come and visit their home.  The cast is great, and the suspense is terrific.  The supernatural stuff is what gets to me, and this mostly definitely got under my skin.  A few nice jumps, and just the fact that it's based on a true story is what really gets me.

fun fact: The Warren's most well known case is The Amityville Horror.

116) The Package - I'm not sure what it means when I can enjoy a DTV action flick starring Steve Austin and Dolph Lundgren.  I may not have the best taste in cinema, nor do I critique it to death either.  I just like to sit back, and hopefully I can enjoy myself for a little bit.  And that is what I was able to do with this film.  I was unaware that Austin would be the protagonist, but he did a pretty decent job acting.  The plot is simple: Austin is a goon hired to deliver a package to The German (Lundgren).  The German is currently embroiled in a war with some rival gang leaders, and they want to the package for leverage over him.  So, Austin is being chased by some guns for hired, who are willing to do anything to get the package before the German.  What I enjoyed about the film is, the action scenes were solid, including the fighting.  And there is a twist that I surprisingly didn't see coming.

I've got a few more recent DTV action films queued, which I hope they are as enjoyable as The Package was.


Received my copy of the Scream Factory release of John Carpenter's The Fog in the mail today!  The special features look awesome, including an interview with Jaime Lee Curtis and an all new Horror's Hallowed Grounds.  The transfer also looks AMAZING, which given I have a pretty out of date TV, that says a lot.  Looking forward to watching the movie tonight (more than likely), than getting into the special features!