Though mist and fog are considered to be similar types of hazy weather, the two movies that share these names have very little connection throughout them. The 1980 hit horror film, The Fog, which was directed by John Carpenter is a classic when it comes to monsters hidden in the obscure air. Twenty-seven years later, Frank Darabont brought Stephen King’s book, The Mist, to life following in suit of this idea with supernatural forms of creatures haunting the town of Bridgton, Maine. Though both movies are involved with the misty air creating a haunting aura between the characters and their tormenters, these movies are set in different time periods from one another. In both the fog and the mist, the time periods and special effects separate the two movies from mimicking each other while both films use music and hold deeper plot meanings to tie them together.
The movie The Fog was based almost three decades apart from the movie The Mist. Although that does not seem to be a major time difference, a lot of principles changed from the 80’s to today. An example of when this difference is demonstrated is when The Fog uses a hitchhiker as a main character because though that was seen as normal and safe to do in the 80’s, it would never be considered in today’s world. This draws a line between how safety has transformed between yesterday’s society and now. Another difference between the time periods is the technology. In the earlier movie, “Technology has not yet been assimilated nor has its reconstruction of everyday life rendered familiar as a ‘second nature,’ (Botting 92). Though technology was not completely missing in the 80’s, it was not prominent in the movie The Fog nor was is as depended on as it is today. In The Fog, the radio station has a set of tapes recorded that they use to play music. The main character in this movie also uses a pay phone to contact the local police; In The Mist, everybody would have a cell phone on hand in emergency situations and radio stations have programs on computers for their shows. The different time periods separate these movies from one another while showing society advancing over the years passed.
Also, the amount of special effects grows with The Mist. The use of CGI creatures is at an all-time high throughout this film from an octopus-like creature to the giant insects. The movie, The Fog, does not contain these special enhancements but relies more on the use of costumes and makeup to get the revulsion across to the audience. The reason for these abilities is a result of the increasing technology throughout film over the years. The use of technology is what gives visuals their effect, “The role of visual effects has expanded as a result of evolving technology,” (Cram 170). This quote confirms the development of visual effects and how they will continue to grow. The amount of change that occurred from the 80’s to modern day expanded the opportunities in these two films of the horror genre. The Mist would not have been able to create the same plot line without the use of computer-generated imagery because it would not have been able to create the same fear of supernatural beings. This differs from early examples of horror and the use of masks and makeup to bring the story to life. Though both of those elements are still important, they can easily be replicated and expanded with the use of technology.
The monsters of the two films are both hidden within the hazy air. Though mist and fog are similar in the way they look with the only difference being visibility, the substance in the films holds two different monsters inside of them. The Mist holds supernatural beings within its depths such as giant bugs and birds. It releases these unknown creatures that are said to have escaped from another dimension. Noel Carroll states, “Along with fission and fusion, another recurring symbolic structure for generating horrific monsters is the magnification of entities or beings already typically adjudged impure or disgusting within the culture,” (Carroll 49). This explains the monsters that belong to the movie The Mist. Insects are already considered disturbing creatures, and this movie magnifies them making them even less appealing. Spiders are already measured as frightening to many in their normal form and enlarging them while having the insect attack heightens the freight response of the audience. The Fog holds different creatures who are more examined as ghostly spirits who are seeking revenge. Ghosts are considered more normal in horror films and are not as shocking when used. These haunted pirates in the film have laser red eyes linking them to evilness and satanic ideals. Though these creatures are the physical monsters of the movies, both films have deeper meanings behind them.
In the movie The Mist, there is an underlying lesson to be taught throughout. While based on the novel, it strives to bring the indication that in crisis, people will always resort to their primitive responses as well as violence. Also, it hints that people will always fall back onto their religious beliefs when in a deathly situation. Both of these are shown when the character, Mrs. Carmody, starts preaching throughout the film and convinces everyone that God was speaking through her. They sacrifice a human to the beast and later try to sacrifice the main characters son to protect themselves. In The Fog, the deeper meaning behind the plot is that history is what shapes the future and never truly leaves. The past will continue to haunt until made right by humanity. The pirates were haunting because of what happened in the past. This movie also uses religion as a point of conflict. The church which is usually made out to be the safest place for people is the focal point of all of this evil. It is where the hidden objects are given back to the spirits to rid them of their vengeance. Horror films often use religion to haunt their audience, “Horror culture shows us the dark side of religious belief, the side far too often written off by the good, moral, and decent fallacy as ‘inauthentic’ or ‘insincere’,” (Cowan 134). Religion is a main point in most horror movies for the fact that it is what scares people who both believe and those that do not. It takes an already touchy subject, brings the ideas to life, and continues to draw controversy.
While both films are separated with the different elements mentioned, both The Mist and The Fog use music throughout to haunt the audience. The music in a film does not necessarily mean songs, sound effects and background noise are also considered as music. Music plays to create an eerie response and to eliminate the silence within the film. Though silence can be used to trigger a fear in people, music allows them to be aware of the scene that is to come. Music seems to pick up at the climax of the plots for both of these movies which is common throughout almost all horror movies. Both movies use classic sound effects such as glass breaking and the sound of fire igniting while also using music. In The Fog, a main character works for the radio station which happens to also be a main location representing the plot. Every time the character is on the air, music plays out. Music and sound give scenes a stronger emotional conncection, “Music has a well-established role in interpreting the image for the audience in mainstream cinema…” (Halfyard 21). Music gives the scene a different feeling than without it. The idea behind the sounds in film is to create a feeling for all of the viewers and to emotionally invest them within the movie. It helps draw the audience in and keeps their attention focused throughout the film.
While time periods, special effects, and monsters separate these two movies apart, the music and underlying messages help them remain similar. Both The Fog and The Mist use creatures hidden in an air that denies viewers the ability to see and know what is concealed within it. This taps into the fear of the unknown that every person holds on to. These films highlight the progression of horror films and how far they have come while still maintaining the same ideas behind them. In the end, both films successfully get their ideas across and pay tribute to the books and movies they were based off of.