How was the "fog" depicted in the movie "The Fog"?

Influence on subsequent works

``The Fog'' also had a great influence on subsequent works. In his conversation with director Makoto Shinozaki, `` History of Horror Movies Kindle Edition '' (Boid), director Kiyoshi Kurosawa talks about the men wearing hats who attack the main character in ``They Came Tonight'' (1989). Although he admits that he was not particularly aware of ``The Fog'' at the time, he does say that the image of eerie figures standing like shadows in the fog must have had some kind of influence. This book also includes an interesting examination of Carpenter's design of ``ghosts.'' Also, when you watch Shinji Aoyama's `` Lakeside Murder Case '' (2004), it appears as if fog is hanging in the air from beginning to end outside the villa built on the shore of the lake. There are scenes in this movie with children that are reminiscent of Carpenter's `` Glowing Eyes '' (1995), but there may also be some homage to ``The Fog.''

Mati Diop, the director of ``The Fog.'' In this film, set in Dakar, Senegal, the ghosts of young men who went to sea in search of work abroad come back to life every night in the bodies of women. A story of men's anger and sadness told through the bodies of women. Although the fog itself does not appear here, if you look at the beautiful, strong women walking in the darkness, you will immediately realize that this is a quote from ``The Fog.'' Director Mati Diop is said to be a big fan of Carpenter's films, so much so that he wrote the script for this film while listening to the soundtracks of his films. In particular, he says that he was greatly influenced by ``The Fog'' not only in its visual aspect, but also in its political attitude, which eloquently speaks about the voiceless people who are hurt in society.

"The Fog" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

Other works include director Jordan Peele's ` `NOPE '' (22), in which a cloud that suddenly appears causes a murder, and ` `Pink, '' directed by Iuri Gerbase, which depicts an absurd drama in which people are trapped in their homes by a toxic cloud. Movies such as ``The Cloud '' (2020) that deal with the fear brought about by fog or clouds are still being made one after another. If you think of ways to use fog other than horror depictions, you'll find Tarkovsky, Angelopoulos, and others appearing one after another, and there's no end to it.

In fact, Carpenter himself said that when he saw the first version of The Fog, he realized that it wasn't a horror movie at all, so he drastically reworked the film. The reason is also interesting. ``Fog is at the heart of this movie, but there's nothing scary, mysterious, or elusive about fog.'' The scene in which the crew members are attacked by ghosts on a ship was originally intended to just be covered in fog, but the director saw Rush and decided that this didn't make for a horror movie at all, so he decided to have them armed with deadly weapons. It is said that they added a new scene where the ghosts are brutally murdered, making the scene even more brutal. How can we make the fog, which has no sense of mystery or fear at all, into something frightening? It is ironic and amusing that ``The Fog,'' which has influenced many films throughout the ages, was completed out of the director's despair, believing that there was nothing in the fog.

References

Poetics of Fear John Carpenter, edited by Gilles Boulanger, translated by Masaaki Inoue, 2004, Film Art Publishing.

Text: Rie Tsukinaga

Film writer and editor. Editor of the magazine "Eiga Yokocho". He writes film reviews, columns, and interviews for Asahi Shimbun, Metropolitana, Weekly Bunshun, iD JAPAN, etc. He also edits books and movie pamphlets under the name Eiga Bar Editorial Office. Currently in charge of MC for the web program "Katsuben Cinema Club". eigasakaba.net

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