How John Carpenter Rescued ‘The Fog’ from a ‘Terrible’ Rough Cut with Major Reshoots!

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In a rough, initially disappointing version of his spine-tingling ghost tale titled “The Fog“, John Carpenter realized the necessity to reshoot substantial parts, which ultimately proved beneficial for the film. Typically, Carpenter’s films garnered mediocre reviews and box office success upon their initial release, eventually being celebrated as classics years later; a rare exception was “Halloween“, the movie that catapulted his career and spawned an enduring franchise. For his next project, Carpenter sought to deviate significantly from his previous work, with “The Fog” being inspired by the ghost stories of M.R. James.

John Carpenter once again collaborated with Jamie Lee Curtis, and despite not reaching the box-office heights of “Halloween”, their film titled “The Fog” earned a decent $21 million on a budget of just $1.1 million (as per Box Office Mojo). The movie offers chilling moments of suspense and unexpected scares, but compared to the gory slashers prevalent in the early ’80s, its violence is relatively mild. Interestingly, the filmmaker initially feared disaster upon seeing a rough cut of “The Fog”, expressing his concerns (via “John Carpenter: Prince of Darkness”) that he had created a movie that wasn’t effective, admitting, “It was terrible. I had a movie that didn’t work, and I knew it in my heart.

John Carpenter Reshot A Third Of The Fog After Viewing A “Terrible” Rough Cut

Carpenter had to clear up The Fog a month before release

Debra Hill, along with the movie director, realized that “The Fog” required significant improvements before its release. It was deemed too slow, some of the frightening moments didn’t have the desired impact, and Carpenter’s original music score lacked resonance. With just a month left before the premiere, the director informed the production company that he intended to reshoot a considerable portion of the film, as well as re-edit and re-score it. According to Carpenter’s own calculations, approximately one-third of the final edit consisted of reshoots, including the chilling prologue; he also cut scenes that he believed slowed down the pace.

The Jamie Lee Curtis horror film, while not perfect and showing signs of last-minute revisions, turned out to be a more intense and frightening experience thanks to Carpenter’s intervention. Despite the challenges during production, _The Fog_ was critically acclaimed and another box office success for Carpenter. In contrast to the seamless production of _Halloween_, where everything fell into place, _The Fog_ was a project that required Carpenter to dig in and perform extensive repairs to ensure its success.

Everything John Carpenter Added To The Fog

Most of The Fog’s creepiest scenes were late additions

In the beginning, a classic tale unfolds on screen under the title “The Fog,” with an elderly fisherman named Mr. Machen (John Houseman) sharing a spooky yarn by the campfire with some beach-dwelling children. This spine-tingling narrative about deceit and bloodshed serves not only as entertainment but also sets up important background details for the film. While it’s challenging to imagine any other introduction, this opening scene was actually a fresh addition. Carpenter decided to introduce “The Fog” as a supernatural thriller, which prompted him to create this new prologue. Additionally, the director felt that the movie needed more intensity, so he incorporated scenes of ghostly apparitions brutally slaying a group of fishermen during their initial assault.

In a recently added scene, Tom Atkins’ character narrates an eerie story about an abandoned ship to Curtis, who appears unsettled. As the tale concludes, a dead body unexpectedly tumbles out of a locker onto her. Additionally, a scene was included where Curtis is assaulted by a corpse in a morgue to heighten the suspense level. A significant late addition takes place at the climax, featuring Adrienne Barbeau’s character, DJ Stevie Wayne, being attacked by spirits within her lighthouse radio station.

In the initial version of “The Fog,” Stevie didn’t interact with any ghosts, but director John Carpenter believed the ending required more depth. This led to the introduction of the “worm-faced ghost” that Stevie strikes with a hook. Through various changes, omissions, and Carpenter’s enchanting new score, “The Fog” was salvaged. Although Carpenter would perform reshoots on some future projects – like “The Thing” – he never went to such extremes to revamp a film again.

It’d be intriguing to see the initial, “troublesome,” version of “The Fog” that gave Carpenter so much trouble, just to grasp the extent of his efforts in re-editing it. Unfortunately, that original edit might be gone forever, but you never know! Just like the fog, there’s a chance that footage could reappear someday.

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2025-05-22 17:09