The Fog (1980 film)

Directed and scored by John Carpenter and written by Carpenter and Debra Hill, The Fog is the story of a mysterious fog that surrounds a small town in California as it relates to a group of ghosts from a shipwreck that happened a hundred years ago. The film is a ghost story where a group of people in this small town deal with the phenomenon and try to survive this attack from ghosts. Starring Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Janet Leigh, and Hal Holbrook. The Fog is an eerie yet ominous film from John Carpenter.

The film is set in a coastal small town in California where a shipwreck occurred exactly 100 years ago as its ghosts have come back from the dead through a fog to seek vengeance on the town and the descendants that had wronged them. Set entirely in the span of a day, the film begins with a man (John Houseman) telling this story about a shipwreck that occurred a hundred years ago where the town’s priest Father Malone (Hal Holbrook) discovers the shocking secret about the founding of the town and why this fog is emerging. Meanwhile, locals deal with some of the strange things occur as a radio disc-jockey witnesses the fog as she tries to protect her son who had found an old piece of wood that belonged to the ship.

The screenplay by John Carpenter and Debra Hill is told from multiple perspectives as it follows not just Father Malone and the DJ Stevie Wayne (Adrienne Barbeau) but also characters such as the town centennial organizer Kathy Williams (Janet Leigh), a resident in Nick Castle (Tom Atkins), and a hitchhiker named Elizabeth (Jamie Lee Curtis). Each of them would have their own encounters with the fog while Williams would also discover some shocking secrets about the town with Father Malone and her assistant Sandy (Nancy Kyes) which only causes a lot of dread and disillusionment from Father Malone. Nick and Elizabeth’s encounters with dead bodies and the fog has them realize something is up as they constantly listen to Stevie’s radio program as she is in danger as well as her son Andy (Ty Mitchell). Much of it would play into these people trying to survive this mysterious fog and the ghosts that would emerge from the fog.

Carpenter’s direction starts off with this very quaint and intimate scene set in a campfire about the story of this ship as it would set the tone for what is to come. Even as it’s followed by a sequence where strange things are happening as car alarms go out, glass breaking unexpectedly, and all sorts of crazy things. Much of Carpenter’s direction involve a lot of intimate yet sublime medium shots to play into the suspense where Nick and Elizabeth try to figure out what is going on in relation to a fishing boat that went missing. There’s also some unique wide shots where Carpenter takes great stock into the look of the locations in coastal Northern California to play into something that feels like a small town but one that has a lot of history.

The direction also include some very eerie scenes where the ghosts emerging of the fog would come into play as they’re targeting whoever they encounter including the descendants of the people that had wronged them. Though the killings aren’t as gruesome as what is expected in horror films, the impact of it is still quite intense. Adding to the atmosphere of the film’s suspense is Carpenter’s score as its mixture of drone-heavy synthesizers and melancholic piano riffs play into the sense of dread and terror. Notably in its climax which involves its characters fighting off the ghosts as well as find a way to atone for the sins of their descendants. Overall, Carpenter creates a very scary yet powerful film about ghosts seeking vengeance over their deaths.

Cinematographer Dean Cundey does amazing work with the film‘s cinematography to set a mood for the much of the scenes set at night with its lighting along with photographic effects to showcase the power of the fog. Editors Charles Bornstein and Tommy Lee Wallace do excellent work with the editing to create some unique rhythmic cuts to play into the film‘s suspense and terror in the most unexpected ways. Production designer Tommy Lee Wallace and art director Craig Stearns do fantastic work with the look of the small town as well as the lighthouse radio tower that Stevie works at and the church where Father Malone stays at.

Costume designers Stephen Loomis and Bill Whitten do nice work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual with the exception of the more refined clothing of Kathy Williams. Sound editors Gregg Barbanell and Ron Horwitz, with sound designer William L. Stevenson, do brilliant work with the film‘s sound from the way the wind carries out through the air as well as the way sounds carry in the film such as the sequence of car alarms going out early in the film.

The film’s superb cast includes some notable small roles from Charles Cyphers as the weatherman Dan, James Canning as the fishing boat captain Dick Baxter, Nancy Kyes as Williams’ assistant Sandy, Ty Mitchell as Stevie’s son Andy, and John Houseman in a terrific performance as Mr. Machen who would tell the children the ghost story in the beginning of the film. Hal Holbrook is excellent as Father Malone as a priest who would uncover the secret about his town’s birth as he becomes uneasy with his discovery. Tom Atkins is fantastic as Nick as a local resident who leads the investigation over the disappearance of a fishing boat.

Janet Leigh is amazing as Kathy Wilson as this organizer who learns about the secrets of her town’s birth as she does whatever to keep it a secret while being uneasy in letting the festival continue as she also worries about her husband’s disappearance. Jamie Lee Curtis is brilliant as Elizabeth as this young hitchhiker who believes she is bad luck as the fog arrives just as she had arrived to the town as she tries to deal with the situations. Finally, there’s Adrienne Barbeau in a remarkable performance as Stevie as this radio disc jockey who watches over the town as she sees the fog as she would report it through her radio program as her voice is crucial to the suspense and drama that occurs in the film.
  
The Fog is a tremendously terrifying and astonishing film from John Carpenter. Armed with a great cast, a chilling score, and a cool premise that is perfect for any ghost-based horror film. It is definitely one of the key films in the horror genre that manages to do more than what is often expected in horror as it has enough elements that would appeal to non-horror film audiences. In the end, The Fog is a rich yet exhilarating film from John Carpenter.

John Carpenter Films: Dark Star - Assault on Precinct 13 - Halloween - Someone’s Watching Me! - Elvis - Escape from New York - The Thing - Christine - Starman - Big Trouble in Little China - Prince of Darkness - They Live - Memoirs of an Invisible Man - Body Bags - In the Mouth of Madness - Village of the Damned - Escape from L.A. - Vampires - Ghosts of Mars - The Ward

The Auteurs #60: John Carpenter Pt. 1 - Pt. 2

© thevoid99 2014

Touch of Evil

Based on the novel Badge of Evil by Whit Masterson, Touch of Evil is the story of a Mexican narcotics officer who is being targeted by a drug lord’s family in an attempt to get him to not testify in a big case. Yet, he later deals with an American cop who has his own idea of justice as he pulls some strings to ensure the elimination of this narcotics officer. Written for the screen and directed by Orson Welles, with additional script contributions from Paul Monash and Franklin Coen. The film is an exploration into the world of corruption and a man’s attempt to do the right thing. Starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff, and Marlene Dietrich. Touch of Evil is a gripping yet mesmerizing film from Orson Welles.

The film is the story about Mexican narcotics officer in Miguel Vargas (Charlton Heston) who is at a Mexican-American border town set to testify against a famed drug lord as he later becomes a target. After witnessing a car explosion at the border with his wife Susie (Janet Leigh), Vargas takes part in the investigation as does a revered police captain named Hank Quinlan (Orson Welles) and his partner Pete Menzies (Joseph Calleia). Things eventually get troubling when Vargas believes something isn’t right about Quinlan while Susie is targeted by the drug lord’s brother Grandi (Akim Tamiroff) who makes a deal with Quinlan to discredit Vargas and his idealism. It’s a plot scenario that is film noir at its finest yet it goes even deeper into the world of corruption as well as what people will do in order to fulfill their idea of justice.

The screenplay that Orson Welles created, with contributions from Paul Monash and Franklin Coen, doesn’t follow a traditional formula of sorts as it starts out with a bang where Vargas and his wife witness a car explosion happened where the victim turned out to be part of some other kind of plot. Vargas, who is this idealistic officer, takes part of the investigation as he wants to know what is going on though he is unaware that he’s being targeted. With Vargas distracted by his work as he is unable to do things with Susie on their honeymoon, Grandi decides to go after Susie as a way to target Vargas who will be testifying against his brother. Grandi would send his nephews to keep watch on Susie as she ends up staying in a motel in the middle of nowhere as she finds herself in big trouble. Adding to this chaos for Vargas is the presence of Hank Quinlan who is this larger than life man with a notoriety for getting his criminals.

Quinlan is a unique individual who is this very big man who walks with a cane as both cops and criminals tend to fear him. Vargas knows about Quinlan but is baffled into why this man has a great reputation yet during an investigation where they question a young man named Sanchez (Victor Millan). Vargas realizes what Quinlan does where he realizes that something isn’t right about him that only few people seem to know. Vargas confronts Quinlan’s longtime partner Menzies who is either denying about Quinlan or doesn’t really know what’s happening once Vargas finally piece out Quinlan’s methods. Still, Quinlan is a man knows that he is in trouble where he makes a deal with Grandi to do something about Vargas. The script definitely has this air of suspense that occurs that builds up as the story progresses while it contains this very stylized language that is definitely an attribute of film noir.

Welles’ direction is truly stylish in the way he presents the film that begins with this very elaborate tracking shot that is truly one of the great openings of a film. It does a lot to establish what goes on where it has a medium shot and then goes into a full-on crane shot to reveal the place and the camera then goes back to the ground to follow Vargas and Susie. Then it cuts to the aftermath of an explosion and then cut back to Vargas as it’s among the many stylistic shots that Welles does. Notably as he uses cranes to not just establish the location but also create an atmosphere that is quite unsettling in some of the film’s intimate moments. Welles also keeps the camera very low-key in the scenes at the motel where he uses music to play out the tension where Susie is trying to sleep unaware of who is at the motel.

The direction also goes for long takes in one notable scene where Vargas and Quinlan try to question Sanchez where it’s all about the little details that Vargas would later notice. There would be more tracking shots that occur in order to intensify the suspense as well as a very elaborate climax where Vargas tries to figure out how to expose Quinlan. The way Welles creates this climax is once again elaborate in its setting but also in the way the camera moves where is able to utilize the frame to create something that is spectacular. Overall, Welles creates a truly phenomenal and entrancing film about corruption and justice.

Cinematographer Russell Metty does brilliant work with the film‘s black-and-white photography from the gorgeous look of some of the film‘s daytime interior and exterior settings along with more stylish lighting schemes for the scenes at night including a meeting between Quinlan and Grandi as well as the film‘s climax. Editors Aaron Stell and Virgil Vogel, with additional work by Walter Murch for its 1998 restored cut, do excellent work with the editing by using stylish cuts to play out some of the suspense as well as slow, methodical ones to build up the suspense. Art directors Robert Clayworthy and Alexander Golitzen, along with set decorators John P. Austin and Russell A. Gausman, do terrific work with the set pieces such as the motel rooms as well as the bars and places the characters frequent to.

The costumes of Bill Thomas is wonderful for many of the female clothing created for the female characters including Susie. The sound work of Leslie I. Carey and Frank H. Williamson, with additional sound editing by Richard LeGrand Jr. for the 1998 restoration, do superb work with the sound to create the sense of atmosphere that occurs in some of the interrogations as well as the raucous scenes at the motel. The film’s music by Henry Mancini is a major highlight of the film for its array of different music pieces from percussive-driven cuts to play out the suspense to the blues-based piano pieces in the scenes where Quinlan goes to a mysterious house as it’s definitely one of Mancini’s best scores.

The film’s ensemble cast is incredible as it features some notable appearances from Zsa Zsa Gabor as a strip-club owner, Mercedes McCambridge as a hoodlum, Joseph Cotten as a detective, Joanna Cook Moore as the victim’s daughter, Victor Millan as Sanchez, Val de Vargas as Grandi’s nephew Pancho, and Mort Mills as Vargas’ friend Al Schwartz. Other noteworthy small roles include Ray Collins as a district attorney, Dennis Weaver as the mentally-challenged motel owner, Harry Shannon as the police chief, and Marlene Dietrich as a mysterious woman that Quinlan meets named Tanya. Akim Tarmiroff is excellent as the criminal Grandi who hopes to get rid of Vargas for revenge over his brother’s incarceration. Joseph Calliea is terrific as Quinlan’s partner Menzies who is an all-around nice guy that is either unaware of his partner’s actions or is in complete denial.

Orson Welles is brilliant as the devious Hank Quinlan where he displays this larger-than-life persona as a man with a great reputation but there’s a darkness to him that is just engaging as it’s definitely one of Welles’ best performances. Janet Leigh is superb as Vargas’ wife Susie who is aware that she is targeted where she is confronted by Grandi while dealing with her husband’s work. Finally, there’s Charlton Heston in a marvelous performances as Miguel Vargas as a man with an idealist idea about what it means to be a cop. Notably as he also tries to balance the role of being a husband as Heston makes Vargas a man that is very flawed though he is someone intent on doing what is right.

Touch of Evil is a magnificent film from Orson Welles that features top-notch leading performances from Welles, Charlton Heston, and Janet Leigh. The film isn’t just one of Welles’ best films but also one of the key films of the film noir genre. Notably as it plays to its schematics while taking on big themes of corruption and justice that adds a new layer of darkness to the story. In the end, Touch of Evil is an extraordinary film from Orson Welles.

Orson Welles Films: Citizen Kane - The Magnificent Ambersons - The Stranger (1946 film) - The Lady from Shanghai - Macbeth (1948 film) - Othello (1952 film) - Mr. Arkadin - The Trial (1962 film) - Chimes at Midnight - The Immortal Story - F for Fake - Filming Othello – The Other Side of the Wind

Related: Orson Welles: The One-Man Band - They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead - The Auteurs #69: Orson Welles: Part 1 - Part 2

© thevoid99 2013

Psycho

Based on the novel by Robert Bloch, Psycho is the story of a woman hiding out at a motel after stealing some money from her boss. There, she meets the motel’s disturbed owner while her sister tries to find out what happened the night the woman disappeared. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock with an adapted script by Joseph Stefano, the film is considered to be one of Hitchcock’s finest films of his celebrated career. Starring Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, John McIntire, and Janet Leigh. Psycho is a chilling yet engaging film from Alfred Hitchcock.

Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) wants to marry Sam Loomis (John Gavin) but he’s unable to due to debt and to pay for his ex-wife’s alimony. When Marion is suddenly given $40,000 in cash by a customer she works at to deposit at the local bank, she decides to steal it instead. Though she has to deal with a highway patrolman (Mort Mills) and trade her car for another, she stops at a motel run by a young man named Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). Marion has dinner Norman who talks a lot about his mother as she asks him if he wants to leave her but he couldn’t. Later that night, Norman finds something shocking as he realize something has gone wrong.

Meanwhile at Loomis’ hardware store, Marion’s sister Lila (Vera Miles) visits asking Sam about Marion’s whereabouts. Sam admits, he has no idea where she is as a private detective named Milton Arbogast (Martin Balsam) is also searching for her over the $40,000 she stole. Lila asks Arbogast to investigate where he searches for Marion where he stops at the Bates Motel where he talks to Norman. Arbogast becomes suspicious as he calls Lila about going further as he wants to meets Bates’ mother. When Lila doesn’t hear from Arbogast hours later, she asks a local sheriff in Al Chambers (John McIntire) who reveals some startling things about the Bates family. Sam and Lila try to figure out what is going on as they uncover a shocking secret.

The film has two narratives that eventually collides together into a shocking climax that is eventually tied together by a psychiatrist (Simon Oakland) who explains everything. In the first half of the film, there’s this secretary for a real estates firm that wants to get money so she and her lover can live a great life despite his debut. Therefore, she steals the money and tries to evade people until meeting this strange yet seemingly innocent man. Then there’s the second half where the woman’s sister tries to find her sister with a private detective who becomes suspicious about this strange man and the mother that he always talking about.

Joseph Stefano’s script is filled with a lot of intrigue and motives as characters such as Marion, Lila, and Sam all have motives in what they want to do throughout the film. Marion and Sam want to have better lives while Lila is concerned with finding Marion along with Sam. Then, there’s Norman Bates who is probably the most compelling character of the film. Here’s this young yet very sheltered young man who likes to do things calmly as he is someone clearly devoted to his mother. Yet, when he is also someone who doesn’t like confrontations as he stutters and becomes evasive. Still, he does do things to people that makes them re-think their motives or make them suspicious. Bates is truly a mystifying character that really drives the story for a large portion of the second half as he becomes more provocative in the third as Stefano’s script is truly mesmerizing in its suspense and character study.

Alfred Hitchcock’s direction is truly one of his finest in the way he opens the film with its wipe-driven opening credits to the first shots of the film overlooking Phoenix with mentions of what time it is and what day it is. Hitchcock’s camera is always engaged into what is going with the conversations and things as he always points his camera at something. The framing is very transfixing in the way Hitchcock allows the film to be shown whether it’s a simple of shot of people driving or the way he has two or three people at a frame. Then comes the way he builds suspense as he knows what to do with timing and once something horrifying happens. He just goes for it in the way he lets the camera move and to create something that is truly terrifying in tone. The overall work that Hitchcock does in his direction is amazing as he creates what is definitely one of his key films of his career.

Cinematographer John L. Russell does some excellent work with the film‘s black-and-white photography from the bright daytime scenes to create a much friendlier feel to the film. For many of the nighttime scenes, there is something much darker as the shading and eerie camera work presents a tone that is truly chilling. Editor George Tomasini does amazing work with the editing in creating stylish, rhythmic cuts to keep the film moving along with some wonderful transitions in the use of dissolves and fade-outs to keep the momentum going.

Art directors Robert Clatworthy and Joseph Hurley, along with set decorator George Milo, do some fantastic work with the art direction from the look of the Bates motel parlor to the interior of the Bates home as it‘s filled with an array of objects including stuffed birds. Costume designer Rita Riggs does very good work with the costumes from the dresses the women wear to the suits the mean along with the casual clothes that Bates wear throughout the film.. Sound recorders William Russell, Waldon O. Watson, and Harold Tucker do some superb work with the sound to capture the intimacy of the conversation and locations along with some amazing sound editing for the voice-overs that is prevalent in the film.

The film’s score by Bernard Herrmann is definitely a major highlight of the film with its sweeping orchestral opening theme that is filled with striking arrangements and chilling strings. Herrmann also creates some amazing pieces such as the famed violin screeches for a harrowing moment on the film along with some low-key cuts. Herrmann’s score is truly one of his best work of his celebrated career as he adds a lot of suspense and flair to the film.

The casting by Jere Henshaw is brilliant as it includes some notable performances from John Anderson as a used car salesman, Pat Hitchcock as Marion’s fellow secretary, Mort Mills as a highway patrolman, Frank Albertson as the client Marion steals from, Vaughn Taylor as Marion’s boss, Lurene Tuttle as Mrs. Chambers, Simon Oakland as the psychiatrist at the end of the film, and in the voices of Norman Bates’ mother, Virginia Gregg, Jeanette Nolan, and Paul Jasmin. John McIntire is excellent as the sheriff Al Chambers while Martin Balsam is great as detective Arbogast as they both bring some wit to their characters.

John Gavin is very good as Sam Loomis, a man who loves Marion but has a hard time dealing with debt until she goes missing as Gavin maintains a low-key but a strong presence throughout the film. Vera Miles is superb as Lila, Marion’s sister who is trying to find her as she ponders about the strange things happening about her sister’s disappearance as Miles brings a real sense of desperation to her performance. Janet Leigh is amazing as Marion Crane, a woman who steals money for a better life only to have an uncomfortable meeting with Norman Bates as it’s one of Leigh’s key performances.

Finally, there’s Anthony Perkins in his iconic performance as Norman Bates. Perkins brings a charming yet boyish performance as the disturbed Bates that makes him seem harmless although whenever he stutters and evasive, there’s a complexity to that character as it’s something only Anthony Perkins could bring.

Psycho is a smart yet hypnotic suspense film from the great Alfred Hitchcock that is a true standard bearer of what suspense films is and should be. Featuring a great cast led by Anthony Perkins, it’s a film that revels in style and intrigue over how it builds up its chills and its aftermath. This is a film that if anyone new to Hitchcock wants to see should find this as a great place to start. In the end, Psycho is a phenomenal film from one of cinema’s great masters in Alfred Hitchcock.

Alfred Hitchcock Films: (Number 13) - (The Pleasure Garden) - (The Blackguard) - (The Mountain Eagle) - (The Lodger) - (A Story of the London Fog) - (The Ring) - (Downhill) - (The Farmer’s Wife) - (Easy Virtue) - (Champagne) - (The Manxman) - (Blackmail) - (Juno and the Paycock) - (Murder!) - (The Skin Game) - (Mary) - (Lord Camber’s Ladies) - (Rich and Strange) - (Number Seventeen) - (Waltzes from Vienna) - (The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934 film)) - The 39 Steps - (Secret Agent) - (Sabotage) - (Young and Innocent) - The Lady Vanishes - (Jamaica Inn) - Rebecca - (Foreign Correspondent) - (Mr. & Mrs. Smith) - Suspicion - (Saboteur) - (Shadow of a Doubt) - Bon Voyage - Lifeboat - (Spellbound) - Notorious - (The Paradine Cage) - Rope - (Under Capricorn) - (Stage Fright) - Strangers on a Train - I Confess - Dial M for Murder - Rear Window - To Catch a Thief - (The Trouble with Harry) - The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 film) - (The Wrong Man) - Vertigo - North by Northwest - The Birds - Marnie - (Torn Curtain) - (Topaz) - (Frenzy) - (Family Plot)

Related: Psycho (1998 film)

© thevoid99 2011