Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Fog’ (2005)

Written by Scott Edwards

​Mother Nature is one woman that I have learned to never piss off. She always has the final say about what I can do, since she has a way of making roads un-driveable, skies un-flyable and she can keep the lights off for as long she likes. I know that last one did not flow, but she can be very mean if she wants to be and the weather can dictate what you do on a daily basis, whether you want to admit it or not. I am still a little hesitant when there is snow and ice on the streets these days, even with my kick ass car that handles it well, I am worried for everyone else that has problems when they are not able to see the lane markers.

During his last fishing outing, Nick has found that he needs to get a new wench for the anchor on his boat since the last one just burnt out. Not placing blame on his first mate Spooner, it will be a costly venture and with another repeat customer dropping his services, money is starting to become scarce. While driving into town, Nick sees a beautiful woman walking on the side of the road and thinking that it is his girlfriend for the time being, he sees that his lost love has returned to the island. Seeing Beth in the flesh takes him by surprise since he has not seen her in six months and was questioning if she would ever return to the island, much less to him.

While Nick gets the new part for his wench in the shop, Elizabeth is approached by the town’s treasure hunter and he has found something that she should see for the first time. An old watch washed up on the shore and when she puts it up to her ear, she hears it start ticking. Looking at the engraving marks on the old piece, she thinks that there is something familiar about it, but cannot put her finger on it. Digging through the old books in her mother’s shop, Beth is able to date the watch, but still there is something about it that makes this find extremely special. While the adults are inland, Spooner takes the boat out for a joyride with some young ladies to unwind and have some fun. When news of a massive fog bank comes across the wire, Spooner and his guests do not believe the report until the fog has surrounded the boat completely. Trying to get a better look, Spooner searches the water with his spotlight and swears that he sees a boat in the distance, although nobody else sees it. But this is just the beginning of a night that he would soon like to forget as his passengers are killed before his very eyes.

Getting word that his boat is no longer in the harbor, Nick has to take to the high seas to find out what happened to it. Locating Spooner and a video camera, Nick hands off the evidence of what happened to his friend to Beth to get a better idea of what went down. As Beth reviews the tape, she sees something impossible and when a ghostly figure comes knocking at the door, she loses the tape, but finds an old diary that belonged to one of the founders of the city. Turning the pages, she finds out that there is more to founding of the city than even the city council knows about and with the frequent fog moving in, it is now too late. As people around the town start to die, there is only one answer to stopping the evil hidden in the low hanging clouds, but will somebody be able to step up to it, or will everyone in the town have to succumb to the wrath of the unknown?

As far as remakes go, this one is not as bad as people make it out to be. The story is the same, only the actors are different and it has some better special effects. Now, nothing can compare to the original, especially when you are comparing the remake to it, but a movie is a movie overall and that means that they are all different in one way or another. The subplot of the town’s radio personality Stevie and her son Andy seem to take center stage since nobody wants to see a child hurt. That is all right in my book since the returning love story always gets a little bit lame in horror movies. I really enjoyed the effects that were put on the screen, as you can tell there is someone in the fog, but you’re not really able to tell who it is until a character is about to lose their life. It might not be as good as the original, but in reality, the originals are the best since they have solidified the storyline in the hearts and souls of the viewers. Stay Scared.

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