THE FOG (1980)
Starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Hal Holbrook
A great horror movie, made by Carpenter immediately after he hit it big with "Halloween." It's since been forgotten, but it's a must-see, almost as good as "Halloween," and one of Carpenter's all-time best.
The seaside community of Antonio Bay is celebrating its centennial with a big bash being produced by town stalwart Janet Leigh (the shower victim in the original "Psycho" and Jamie Lee Curtis' real-life mom). But the town doesn't realize that it was founded with the blood of sailors killed on a shipwreck 100 years ago. When the fog rolls into town, the spirits of the slain sailors float into town and murder anyone in their path.
Beautifully photographed by Dean Cundey, a regular cinemaphotographer for Carpenter in the early years, and featuring a small role for Curtis' mother, Janet Leigh (of "Psycho" fame), this is a solid, early 1980s horror film and nearly qualifies as a classic. The film borrows a lot from the Spanish "Blind Dead" films, but surpasses them on every level. The spirits emerge with the fog—and only a few people realize what's going on as victims start popping up. One of the residents with a clue is radio station owner Adrienne Barbeau. The other is local priest Holbrook. Curtis stars as a hitchhiker in town at the wrong time. Adrienne Barbeau is a single-mother DJ who interrupts her jazz programming to warn residents about the ghostly fog that has invaded their quiet community. Once again, as with "Halloween," Carpenter wrote and performed the film's score.
Highly, highly, highly recommended.