Tuesday, October 8, 2013

31 Days of Horror 4: Originals vs. Remakes DAY 8




The Fog (1980) vs. The Fog (2005)
Original
On April 21st, 100 years ago, the wealthy leper Blake bought the vessel Elizabeth Dane and relocated himself and his family from leper colony to California and effort to build a town for them to live with less aggravation and more comfort.
Problems occur when the family is crossing Spivey Point in a very thick fog. The problems only worsen when they are misguided by a campfire onshore, causing the ship to come to close to land and crashing into rocks - Blake, his family and crew die.
We are then brought to present day, where they are preparing for the Celebration of the centenary at the fishing town of Antonio Bay. On this very day a strange, glowing fog appears, bringing the zombies of Blake and his crew back from the dead with the intentions of killing the residents of Antonio Bay.
The zombies want revenge for their deaths and as the movie goes on we see why.
What worked with the original is its atmosphere, a memorable ghost story, and great direction by John Carpenter.
Yes, the movie does have its flaws; mainly with its action. The action isn’t all that exciting and because of that the movie lacks a lot of suspense.
Out of Carpenter’s movies this is definitely no Halloween or The Thing. Yet, it’s a fine ghost story that still holds up well today.
Remake
What was the point of this remake? I tried to come up with reasons this film didn’t work and my list consisted of everything about the movie.
The great thing about the original is the fact they accomplished effects with very little … well, everything. With the remake they try to impress us with the effects and the fact they can create fog, but I wasn’t impressed. I would be more interested if the movie could create atmosphere or suspense, but it doesn’t … it’s just bad.
The direction, script, characters, effects, and dialogue were all bad. I mean the guy from Smallville (Tom Welling) and the girl from Lost (Maggie Grace) couldn’t save this film. If Superman can’t save your film, than your movie has no hope.
So, which is better?
Original. Because, well, pretty much everything.

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