Jay can confirm that I'm pretty easy going when it comes to reviewing movies-  I can be fairly forgiving of a movie as long as it's entertaining. But if a movie fails to entertain me, Jay will tell you (and those that have read my more... um... "stern" reviews will attest), I'm not as forgiving. Sadly, the 2005 remake of John Carpenter's " The Fog " failed to entertain me.  It didn't just fail me- it failed pure and simple. I don't know- maybe the fact that the original is one of my favorite movies of all time, put it up for closer and potentially harsher scrutiny. Maybe it's the fact that this movie involves a lackluster retelling of the story from the 1980 version, lackluster characterization, lackluster acting, and lackluster scares. I don't know. I really don't know. But I just didn't enjoy this movie.  It wasn't scary, it was slow, and dreary.  None of the characters were interesting e...

One of the things I enjoy doing is reading books based on movies.  I always find it interesting to compare the two... The small, sleepy town of Antonio Bay is celebrating it's 100th birthday when an ill wind blows a strange fog onto it's shores... a fog that creeps along the streets with malicious intent... a fog that is seeking to collect payment on a long overdue debt. .. Amazingly, there aren't that many differences between the book, and the original movie.  What differences that do exist are extremely minor things that don't detract from the enjoyment of the story. I was able to visualize the characters as portrayed by the actors- and heard their voices in the dialogue as well- which isn't an easy task to do. Even though I knew how it ended, I still wanted to see how the book would deliver them to that final destination.  I wanted to keep reading, and I did keep reading.  I don't often read a book in a single reading, but I did with this one. An...

I received an e-mail a while ago from Sam Harding of Invaluable.com asking if I could write an article about my favorite movie prop/props. It took me a bit of time to come up with one.  But each time I thought of one, another cool one would come to mind... so, I decided I'd write up a quick list of my top five horror movie props. So, there they are in chronological movie order: 1.  " Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror " (1922)- Count Orlok's Coat. While technically not a prop, I would absolutely love to have the coat worn by Count Orlok in " Nosferatu ". This item was such a simple thing that added so much to the character, and the mood of the film.  The dark contrast of the coat with the paleness of Count Orlok's skin, when combined with the shadowy lighting- made you feel as if he was coming out of the shadow physically. It also turned a rather hideous looking creature into a solid, strong looking figure of menace, and added a touch of ...

1980 saw the town of Antonio Bay, California celebrating it's 100th birthday, and some uninvited guests showing up to wish them a "Happy Deathday" in John Carpenter's "The Fog"... After the success of "Halloween" Carpenter was given a budget of one million dollars, and filmed "The Fog".  after creating a rough cut, he realized that as it was, the movie didn't work- so he added and reshot many scenes to highten the gore and horror elements.  In fact, one third of the movie comprises of the added and reshot material. As with "Halloween", John Carpenter showed great skill in directing.  He deftly builds up tension and suspense to a good level before releasing the audience from Death's cold grip.  His use of sound and visual effects, enables the fog itself to become as much a menacing character as it is a mood setter.  I also like John Carpenter's brief cameo as well. The characters are well developed and engaging,...