The Fog
AVCO Embassy Pictures | Release Date: February 8, 1980 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
EmpireWill Lawrence
Ghoulish, tense and utterly fantastical, John Carpenter's tale of shipwrecked spectres squelching their way through a fluorescent fog to wreak vengeance on a seaside town is a classic campfire yarn. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonStaff (Not Credited)
Expanding enormously on the fantasy elements of his earlier films, Carpenter has turned in a full-scale thriller of the supernatural, as a sinister fog bank comes rolling in off the sea to take revenge on the smug little town of Antonio Bay. Read full review
70
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
John Carpenter is anything but subtle in his approach to shocker material. Story exposition and setting are well-established before the opening titles are over, and The Fog proceeds to layer one fright atop another. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
Removed from its context as the highly anticipated follow-up to a horror classic, The Fog lingers as a crafty and loving assemblage of pulp gimmicks, played out in a location that rivals Hitchcock locales for pure eye-vacation appeal. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJ. Hoberman
The Fog is more spooky yarn than streamlined scream machine; it’s the sort of crowd pleaser best enjoyed with an audience. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyCraig D. Lindsey
Even amid all the campy, uneven creepiness The Fog unleashes, you have to give it up to Carpenter for continuing his knack of making women just as ready as men to get into heroic, survival mode whenever some strange shit goes down. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The Fog is encouraging because it contains another demonstration of Carpenter's considerable directing talents. He picked the wrong story, I think, but he directs it with a flourish. This isn't a great movie but it does show great promise from Carpenter. Read full review
50
NewsweekDavid Ansen
The Fog needs more suggestive magic to sustain its farfetched premise. There's no doubt that Carpenter has talent to spare, but he's misjudged his gifts this time. The Fog ought to come on little cat feet, but its tread is heavy and literal. The harder it tries, the sillier it gets. [03 March 1980, p.68]
50
The New York TimesVincent Canby
The Fog is constructed of random diversions. There are too many story lines, which necessitate so much cross-cutting that no one sequence can ever build to a decent climax. The movie looks quite pretty but prettiness of this sort is beside the point in such a film. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
The film's real problem is Carpenter's diffuse narrative, which introduces far too many characters--forcing the director consistently to cut away to each story strand, thus destroying much of the suspense. What does work, however, is Carpenter's unmatched visual style and the marvelous photography of Dean Cundey. Read full review
40
Washington PostGary Arnold
An acceptable scene-setter, Carpenter reveals glaring inadequacies as a storyteller. [15 Feb 1980, p.C3]
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