Not Coming to a Theater Near You
You know him?”
“Not socially. His name’s Jaws, he kills people.
Decent and generally faithful remake of the Carpenter/Hill classic offers a well-spun ghost story, creepy special effects, and a young, attractive cast. And the plot here actually makes more sense than the original. Instead of the bizarre insta-relationship between Tom Atkins and the hitchhiking Jamie Lee Curtis, for example, we have the roadside reunion of an established couple. And instead of Tom Atkins suddenly taking it upon himself to save the DJ’s son, we have the DJ’s romantic interest coming to the rescue. In other words, the loose threads of the original are here neatly knotted.
On the other hand, the actors in this updated telling generally lack the charisma of their late ’70s counterparts. From Atkins, Hal Holbrook and John Houseman to Jamie Lee, Janet Leigh, and Adrienne Barbeau, the original cast of The Fog was a colorful bunch that easily outshined the loose plot points. Do we really care that the Atkins/Curtis relationship makes no sense? Of course not. It happens, it’s funny, and that’s enough.
by Thomas Scalzo | Source: OnDemand Cable Feature
26 Mar 2006 1:21 PM | Submit Comment
