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"THE FOG" (2005) (Tom Welling, Maggie Grace) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Extreme Extreme *Heavy Mild Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild Heavy Extreme None Mild Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy None Moderate Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Horror: Residents of a small town must deal with the supernatural fog that rolls in carrying the malevolent and vengeful spirits of those killed a century ago. PLOT: Antonio Bay is located on a remote island off the coast of Oregon, and many of the people there make a living by fishing or taking others fishing, such as Nick Castle (TOM WELLING). Yet, when he and first-mate Spooner (DERAY DAVIS) accidentally snag a centuries old bag on the sea floor with their anchor, little are they aware of what's soon going to wash up. Part of that's Elizabeth Williams (MAGGIE GRACE), Nick's one-time girlfriend who suddenly disappeared six months ago and moved to New York to get away from her mother Kathy (SARA BOTSFORD). She's now returned following a series of disturbing but confusing dreams about terror and murder on a centuries old schooner. It doesn't make any sense to her, but it soon will and already has to the local priest Father Malone (ADRIAN HOUGH) who's taken up drinking and has packed his bags to get off the island while the going's good. And that's because a mysterious and thick fog bank is headed their way. First reported by Dan the weatherman (JONATHON YOUNG) to solo radio deejay Stevie Wayne (SELMA BLAIR) -- who leaves her young son Andy (COLE HEPPELL) with his Aunt Connie (MARY BLACK) when she broadcasts from the top of the island's lighthouse -- the fog rolls in and brings with it something from the past. While entertaining two young women on Nick's boat, Spooner and Nick's cousin Sean (MATTHEW CURRIE HOLME) are the first to encounter the vengeful spirits that reside in the fog. As those ghastly apparitions -- led by the long dead Captain Blake (RADE SHERBEDGIA) -- make their way through the town, killing anyone who crosses their path, Nick and Elizabeth try to figure out what's going on and avoid the vengeful spirits. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of the original movie, horror films in general, or someone in the cast, they might. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For violence, disturbing images and brief sexuality. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: TOM WELLING plays the captain of a charter fishing boat who unknowingly dredges up spirits from the past. Once he knows what's occurring, he tries to save himself, Elizabeth and others. He also has sex with Elizabeth in the shower. MAGGIE GRACE his girlfriend who returns home due to disturbing dreams about centuries old murder. She doesn't get along with her mom, tries to figure out what's behind her dreams and has sex with Nick. SELMA BLAIR plays the local deejay and single mom who owns the radio station and worries about her son's safety once things turn bad. She uses some profanity. DERAY DAVIS plays Nick's first-mate who parties with some young ladies before they end up dead and is then the prime suspect (although the ghosts killed them). He uses some profanity. ADRIAN HOUGH plays the local priest who's taken to drinking and being drunk once he knows of the retribution that's coming. SARA BOTSFORD plays Elizabeth's mother who's not welcoming to her returning home and is more concerned about a statue of the town's founding fathers. COLE HEPPELL plays Stevie's young son who disobeys his mom's rules and must then avoid the deadly fog. JONATHON YOUNG plays the local weatherman who's sweet on Elizabeth. RADE SHERBEDGIA plays the captain of the schooner in the past who must not only deal with his people being afflicted by leprosy, but also the treachery of the founding fathers of Antonio Bay. As a vengeful ghost, he gets revenge on their descendants. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this horror film that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 3 "s" words, while other mild expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Some sexually related dialogue is present as is a sexual encounter in a shower (more sensual and steamy than explicit). Several women are briefly seen in varying types of revealing attire. Violence includes various people being killed in various fashions (by people in flashbacks and supernatural beings in the present), with some of that having bloody and/or gory results. The ghosts have a decomposed/skeletal appearance to them and might -- along with the sight of facial lesions on leprosy victims, various moments of peril, and supernatural material -- be unsettling, suspenseful or downright scary to some viewers (mainly younger ones and those with low tolerance levels for such material). A slew of related "jump scenes" are present. Various characters have bad attitudes and some drink, including a priest who's intoxicated in several scenes. An adult daughter and mother have a strained relationship, where there are some familial deaths (although no grieving is present as they occur during scary/suspenseful moments). If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Some of Nick's fishing clients have beer. Spooner has a beer. Some young women with Spooner and Sean holds beers. Stevie tells her listeners that if she were them, she'd whip up a pitcher of martinis. Father Malone appears to be intoxicated out on the street at night. Elizabeth's mother has a drink. We see Father Malone drinking from a flask and he appears intoxicated again. Miscellaneous people drink in a bar where Nick gets a glass of wine for Elizabeth. We see the priest drinking again. BLOOD/GORE We see Spooner slicing a fish open and then seeing him holding up the bloody entrails. We see a dead dog lying on a pier, steaming or smoking from some unseen violence against it. We see a few minor bloody scrapes on the body of a woman who's just been blasted through a window. A local man has progressively worsening facial lesions on his face that we assume are leprosy and that only get worse as the story progresses. We see a dead young man whose eyes have either been cut out or stitched shut in an X shape. We later see him again, along with some other dead bodies. We see various leprosy victims in the past with bad looking facial lesions. A woman sees the water in her kitchen sink suddenly drain away and be replaced by fog. A grisly looking hand then suddenly grabs her from the sink. She screams and then does so again as her hands and arms suddenly turn black and gross-looking, followed by her face doing the same. We then see her fall to the floor as a smoldering, blackened skeleton. We see various close-up views of the ghastly looking ghost figures that have a mostly decomposed and skeletal appearance, including Capt. Blake with his milky white "eyes." We see a little bit of blood on a man. Stevie has a few dried scrapes on her face. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE We see that Elizabeth and her mother have a strained relationship when the former returns home. Her mother notes no luggage and then says that she wishes she had called, adding that she's not running a motel. We then see Elizabeth leaving while mad at her mom. Stevie's son disobeys her orders to stay away from the beach. Wanting to protect their town and island from a leper colony (that's negotiated to buy land from them but didn't bring enough payment), the four main men in the past burn a schooner and kill everyone inside it. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. As Spooner tries to raise their boat's anchor, it gets stuck on something on the bottom, thus causing the boat to tip to one side as the motor keeps trying to pull the now taut line (but all are fine despite some slipping and sliding toward the side). As the surf rolls up, we then see that it's uncovered a skeletal arm in the sand. We see a dead dog lying on a pier, steaming or smoking from some unseen violence against it. The electricity goes out and the fog starts rolling in at night. We see the old ghost schooner pass by Nick's boat at night with silhouetted figures on it. Elizabeth sees wet footprints on the ceiling above her and then sees them form and hears the footsteps as they move above her. She then hears a thump-style pounding at the door and voices faintly calling out her name. She then goes outside at night in the fog, eventually ending up on the beach where she follows footsteps in the sand that disappear into the fog. A figure then passes behind her and a hand grabs her shoulder, but that turns out to be Nick. Elizabeth finds Spooner looking quite frosty and dead in a large freezer. His eyes then suddenly open. Elizabeth ends up accidentally falling into sea water inside an open boathouse, sinking to the bottom unconscious. When she comes to, she panics and swims for the surface, but gets tangled up in what looks like kelp and is then pulled down by an unseen force twice before finally getting out. Stevie hears loud thumps and screaming coming through her broadcast speakers. She then sees the old hairbrush her son found now glowing and then catching on fire, igniting part of her wall before she puts it out with an extinguisher. She then sees various balance scale symbols on the wall that weren't there before. Elizabeth slowly pulls back the sheets covering several dead bodies in a makeshift morgue. When she gets to the third, we see the first body sit up in the background, get down onto the floor and then slowly walk up behind her. It then grabs her and menacingly says "Blood for blood" before collapsing to the floor dead as she screams. A surfside treasure hunter suddenly spots a dining room set sitting upright in the surf, beside a chandelier. He then finds a rope that he unearths and which leads him into the rough surf. The large rope eventually gets tangled around him and he disappears under the water, only to come up and then go back down for good. Stevie's young son sees all of this and then flees the rapidly approaching fog, racing back to his house and getting inside just in time. The power goes out at Dan's weather station and we then see a figure pass through the fog at night. He then hears a thumping sound at the door, and Stevie (who's on a video phone) pleads for him not to answer, but he does and no one's there. He then goes outside at night in the fog and then suddenly sees a menacing figure standing behind him. As Stevie tries to call home to her son, the fog shorts out the phone lines. A woman sees the water in her kitchen sink suddenly drain away and be replaced by fog. A grisly looking hand then suddenly grabs her from the sink. She screams and then does so again as her hands and arms suddenly turn black and gross-looking, followed by her face doing the same. We then see her fall to the floor as a smoldering, blackened skeleton. Stevie's son later sees that sight and runs away. Stevie's car stalls in the fog as she's trying to get home to her son. The fog then surrounds the car and wisps of it enter through the vents. A large truck then suddenly blasts through the fog and crashes into her car, sending it tumbling down an embankment, off a short cliff and into the water where it sinks. She comes to after the car fills with water and first can't get her seatbelt off and then can't get the door open. When she does, a menacing, decomposed and ghostly white apparition shows up at the door, causing her to recoil and race out the other side. As she tries to get to the surface, it grabs her foot and pulls her back down, but she eventually gets up there. Having seen his dead aunt's body, Stevie's son races to his bedroom where he puts tape around his door and then retreats to his bed where he looks terrified as something pounds on his door and moves the doorknob from the other side. Nick then breaks through the side window just as a menacing ghost appears and lets out a scream. Nick grabs the kid and removes him from the room. A ghostly figure forms in front of Nick but he drives right through it, making it splat onto his windshield. Wanting to protect their town and island from a leper colony (that's negotiated to buy land from them but didn't bring enough payment), the four main men in the past hold guns on Capt. Blake, rough up some of those on his ship, rob them and then seal them inside as they set the schooner on fire. Blake rams his hand through a portal and tries to grab one of the men who then falls backwards into the quartet's rowboat. We then see the same shot from before of a figure on fire and falling into the water. We then see more people on fire falling or jumping into the water as well as Blake and his young bride sinking below the water and drowning. We see ghostly figures coming through the fog. There's pounding on the door, but it turns out to be Spooner and the priest. Various statues and paintings suddenly start melting. We see various close-up views of the ghastly looking ghost figures that have a mostly decomposed and skeletal appearance, including Capt. Blake with his milky white "eyes." Somewhat in a trance, Elizabeth walks toward the ghostly figures when they all turn and look at her. The decomposed ghost of Capt. Blake then grabs her by the face and she tries to pull away, but he kisses her and then transforms back into his original self (with her turning into his Elizabeth from a century ago). They and the other ghosts then all dissolve away. GUNS/WEAPONS A supernatural force causes a regular knife to fly through the air and impale a man in the head, killing him (no blood). IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Oh sh*t," "Damn, you're sexy as hell when you're mad," "Freak," "What the hell/did you do/was that/is that/are you talking about?" "Get your ass up here," "It sucks," "A damn good story" and "Jeez." It's possible the film could inspire some kids to try to scare others by imitating material from the film. JUMP SCENES As a man looks down into the water from his rowboat after it becomes stuck on something in the water at night, a hand suddenly grabs and yanks him into the water. The back glass in Nick's pickup truck suddenly shatters, causing him to swerve and run into something. A figure then suddenly shows up at his window, but it's just Father Malone. The electronics and such on Nick's boat suddenly explode. We hear a sudden loud thump sound. A hand suddenly slaps against a fogged up window and then slides away. Two young women's bodies suddenly blast out (one by one) through the glass windows on Nick's boat and land in front of Spooner and Sean. A knife we had previously seen rolling back and forth on a table or counter suddenly goes upright and then strikes Sean in the head, killing him (no blood). A computer screen suddenly goes crazy. A hand suddenly grabs a person's shoulder. Some bodies suddenly show up when a boat winch pulls up a net holding them. Elizabeth finds Spooner looking quite frosty and dead in a large freezer. His eyes then suddenly open. We see a person who's on fire blasted back through a door and against a wall, spreading the fire inside the building. A sudden sound might startle some viewers. A grisly looking hand suddenly grabs a woman from the sink. Nick suddenly crashes his truck into a boat that's in the middle of the road. Someone suddenly grabs Andy, but it's his mom. A body suddenly blasts through a window. A woman is suddenly yanked out through a window (we don't know her fate, but it's presumed she's dead). MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of suspenseful and ominous music plays during the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 3 "s" words, 13 hells, 6 damns, 1 ass and 1 use each of "God," "Jesus," "My Lord," "Oh God" and "Oh my God." SEX/NUDITY Seeing Nick shirtless as he changes his shirt, Spooner jokes that the former is "sexy as hell" when he's mad. Spooner then makes comments about Nick sleeping with some woman three times, with some non-explicit dialogue, including Spooner saying that women (meaning Elizabeth) have "testicle telepathy" (meaning they know when they're guy is cheating -- although we then hear that Elizabeth just got up and left six months ago). Nick and Elizabeth passionately kiss (clothed) in his truck upon being reunited. Spooner and Sean are partying with two young women on Nick's boat, with Spooner video taping them dancing around in their bikini tops (that show a little cleavage). When Dan says he has something on his Doppler (radar), Stevie jokes that it sounds kinky. Elizabeth asks if it's okay if they go back to Nick's place, with him joking "for some wild and crazy sex" and her replying "You wish." We then see varying views of Nick and Elizabeth embracing and making out in the shower. Some are through the frosted shower stall doors where we can see the shape of their bodies together, but no details. Others include close-up views of their mouths kissing, hands running down non-explicit skin and then a head and shoulders shot of them kissing and him nuzzling her neck. We never see any explicit nudity (although they're obviously nude) nor any actual sex, but the scene is highly sensual. Later, however, we see them in bed asleep, under the covers. When they're awakened, we see his bare chest, but she holds the sheet up over her chest. We see Elizabeth in a camisole type top that shows cleavage. As she walks away from the camera, we then see a rear view of her in that as well as small panties (but not a thong). We see several brief/partial shots of Stevie in her shirt and panties (in bed and standing in the kitchen) where we see a lot of leg as well as some of the side of her butt. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES We see that Elizabeth and her mother have a strained relationship when the former returns home. Her mother notes no luggage and then says that she wishes she had called, adding that she's not running a motel. We then see Elizabeth leaving while mad at her mom. Stevie worries about her son when she can't contact him to make sure he's okay. Andy sees his aunt's dead body on the floor (but there's no time for grieving). Elizabeth sees her mom sucked out a window to her presumed death (but there's no time for grieving). TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT How the sea has a way of washing up old artifacts and secrets etc. Leprosy. Ghosts. Elizabeth's statement that she doesn't belong there on the island. VIOLENCE We see a brief flashback to the schooner of old burning at night, with one person (who's on fire) falling off the ship into the water as the four culprits row away. As a man looks down into the water from his rowboat after it becomes stuck on something in the water at night, a hand suddenly grabs and yanks him into the water. We see a dead dog lying on a pier, steaming or smoking from some unseen violence against it. The back glass in Nick's pickup truck suddenly shatters, causing him to swerve and run into something. The electronics and such on Nick's boat suddenly explode. Two young women's bodies suddenly blast out (one by one) through the glass windows on Nick's boat and land in front of Spooner and Sean. A knife we had previously seen rolling back and forth on a table or counter suddenly goes upright and then strikes Sean in the head, killing him (no blood). We then hear the sound of Spooner's scream in the thick fog. We see a view of one of Elizabeth's previous dreams that show flash images of the burning schooner and people on fire on her. Elizabeth ends up accidentally falling into sea water inside an open boathouse, sinking to the bottom unconscious. When she comes to, she panics and swims for the surface, but gets tangled up in what looks like kelp and is then pulled down by an unseen force twice before finally getting out. Stevie sees the old hairbrush her son found now glowing and then catching on fire, igniting part of her wall before she puts it out with an extinguisher. A man apparently drowns due to a large rope around him in the surf. We see a person who's on fire blasted back through a door and against a wall, spreading the fire inside the building. A woman sees the water in her kitchen sink suddenly drain away and be replaced by fog. A grisly looking hand then suddenly grabs her from the sink. She screams and then does so again as her hands and arms suddenly turn black and gross-looking, followed by her face doing the same. We then see her fall to the floor as a smoldering, blackened skeleton. Stevie's son later sees that sight and runs away. A large truck suddenly blasts through the fog and crashes into Stevie's stalled car, sending it tumbling down an embankment, off a short cliff and into the water where it sinks. She comes to after the car fills with water and first can't get her seatbelt off and then can't get the door open. When she does, a menacing, decomposed and ghostly white apparition shows up at the door, causing her to recoil and race out the other side. As she tries to get to the surface, it grabs her foot and pulls her back down, but she eventually gets up there. Nick breaks a bedroom window to save Andy from a ghost. Nick suddenly crashes his truck into a boat that's in the middle of the road, damaging both and throwing him, Elizabeth and Andy around inside the cab. Moments later, we see the wreckage and see Elizabeth lying in the middle of the road, but she's okay after that. Wanting to protect their town and island from a leper colony (that's negotiated to buy land from them but didn't bring enough payment), the four main men in the past hold guns on Capt. Blake, rough up some of those on his ship, rob them and then seal them inside as they set the schooner on fire. Blake rams his hand through a portal and tries to grab one of the men who then falls backwards into the quartet's rowboat. We then see the same shot from before of a figure on fire and falling into the water. We then see more people on fire falling or jumping into the water as well as Blake and his young bride sinking below the water and drowning. We hear a sound off in the distance and then hear a dog squeal, but don't see or know what happened to it. A body suddenly blasts through a window. A woman is suddenly yanked out through a window (we don't know her fate, but it's presumed she's dead). Glass from display cases shatters and then swirls around a man before several shards go completely through him, killing him (no blood). A man is knocked back into a glass display case that breaks beneath him. He's then thrown out through a window, tumbled across the ground and street by a supernatural force and then surrounded by ghostly figures. He's handed an old contract that then ignites and catches him on fire (we finally see him completely engulfed in flames). Reviewed October 14, 2005 / Posted October 14, 2005

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