John Carpenter’s THE FOG — Forty-Five Years Old This Month |

John Carpenter’s The Fog — Forty-Five Years Old This Month

It’s one of my favourite Carpenter films, and it’s forty-five years old this month. And that’s hard to believe.

The John Carpenter classic is a great ghost story combined with slasher film. Here are some interesting facts:

John Carpenter was so enthralled with the filming location on the California coast at Point Reyes that he bought a house there.

The lighthouse interior was a set created on a soundstage. The spiral staircase is apparently the one from 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA.
Carpenter took the photo of Jamie Lee Curtis, the door, and the arm at his home, and it was used on the poster and promotional stills, but the scene never occurred in the film.

The original cut was a ghost story, and after the success of HALLOWEEN, execs were concerned with the lack of gore. They felt audiences wanted it, especially after the previous film. Because of this, reshoots added blood and violence, such as the scenes on the fishing boat near the beginning.

The opening monologue by John Houseman was also added during reshoots. It was filmed on a soundstage.
Rob Bottin, the special f/x guru behind THE THING and AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, portrayed Blake in THE FOG.

Janet Leigh (from PSYCHO) also starred in THE FOG; she is Jamie Lee Curtis’s mother in real life.

Adrienne Barbeau (ESCAPE FROM NY) was married to Carpenter.

Bennett, Father Malone’s assistant, is played by John Carpenter.

Carpenter scored THE FOG. Do you remember this classic horror theme?

John Carpenter came up with the idea during a visit to Stonehenge on a foggy morning.
Dean Cundey, the cinematographer from HALLOWEEN, worked on this film. It was early in his career, and his distinctive style (framing and lighting) added so much to Carpenter’s films. He later also did ESCAPE FROM NY, THE THING, and BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA. Cundey achieved massive success, eventually working on movies like JURASSIC PARK, APOLLO 13, and BACK TO THE FUTURE.
The story is based on “wrecking,” but to the best of my knowledge there are no known examples of it ever being attempted successfully.

If you don’t already know, I am a huge fan of Carpenter. His movies hit during my creative formative years and have played a role in the writer that I am today. This month, let’s all raise a glass and toast John Carpenter, and let’s watch THE FOG in his honour. Thank you, John.

— Timothy S. Johnston, 13 February 2025

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Praise for Timothy S. Johnston’s A Blanket of Steel

“Fans of Clive Cussler’s NUMA Files will be delighted with Timothy S. Johnston’s undersea novels. Truman McClusky and Dirk Pitt are cut from the same adventurer’s cloth.” — Nick Cutter, author of The Deep and The Troop

“Action that ranges from close range combat to torpedo-fueled attacks. The result is a thriller that keeps moving from confrontation to confrontation … with constant danger and the vast depths of the ocean as a setting, there is always reason to keep reading.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Read the book and prepare to be blown away by one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure to read. Timothy S. Johnston is simply amazing.” — FIVE Stars from Readers’ Favorite

“A Blanket of Steel is not simply a ‘daring do’ thriller … It’s prescient.” — Amazing Stories

“A priority selection. An action-packed story that is hard to put down. A Blanket of Steel is outstanding.” — D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“Innovative technology, Mac taking risks no one else would dare and thinking his way through to brilliant solutions … But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is it. The countdown to the final battle … Johnston does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut as he plays with the reader’s perceptions of characters we thought we knew and trusted …” — SFcrowsnest

“Expect to be left breathless. Trust me here. Please. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.” — Michael Libling, author of The Serial Killer’s Son Takes A Wife and Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels

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A BLANKET OF STEEL is out now!

WATCH THE GRIPPING BOOK TRAILER HERE.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

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A Blanket of Steel from Timothy S. Johnston and Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd.

Book Cover & Jacket Copy:

AN UNSTOPPABLE THREAT!

A mysterious assassin has murdered Cliff Sim, Chief Security Officer of the underwater colony, Trieste. Cliff was a mountain of a man, highly trained, and impossible to defeat in combat. And yet …

Someone brutally beat him and left his broken body in a secret Chinese facility at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

And included a calling card for Truman McClusky, Mayor of Trieste.

Taunting him.

Mac has led the underwater colonies in their fight against the world’s superpowers. Climate change has devastated the surface; nations suffer famine, drought, rebellion, rising waters, and apocalyptic coastal flooding. But now, as Mac leads the underwater colonies to freedom and independence, he’s faced with the gravest threat of his life: a Russian assassin, hellbent on killing Mac and everyone he cares for. Now Mac must uncover the identity of the killer, face him in combat, and at the same time lead people in battle against the largest underwater force ever assembled. It’s Mac’s final test, and to win the war, he must use every tool at his disposal, including the most surprising and devastating underwater weapons ever invented.

If Mac fails, all hope is lost for the future of human colonization on the ocean floors.

But the assassin could be anyone …

Watch your back, Mac.

A Blanket of Steel is the most gripping thriller yet in The Rise of Oceania.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

The other books in The Rise of Oceania series by Timothy S Johnston:

The War Beneath 9781771484718
The Savage Deeps 9781771485067
Fatal Depth 9781554555574
An Island of Light 9781554555819
The Shadow of War 9781554556007

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TSJ’s Awards

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THE WAR BENEATH: FIRST PLACE 2018 GLOBAL THRILLER Action / Adventure Category Winner, 2019 Silver Falchion Award Finalist, 2018 CLUE Award Semi-Finalist, 2019 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist, & 2019 CYGNUS Award Shortlister

THE SAVAGE DEEPS: FIRST PLACE 2020 CYGNUS Award Winner, 2019 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards Finalist, 2022 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist; 2019 CLUE Award Shortlister

FATAL DEPTH: FIRST PLACE 2021 GLOBAL THRILLER Award Winner, 2022 Silver Falchion Award Finalist (Best Action Adventure), 2021 CYGNUS Award Semi-Finalist

Praise for THE WAR BENEATH

“If you’re looking for a techno-thriller combining Ian Fleming, Tom Clancy and John Le Carré, The War Beneath will satisfy … a ripping good yarn, a genuine page-turner.” — Amazing Stories
“One very riveting, intelligent read!” — Readers’ Favorite
“If you like novels like The Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising,
you will certainly enjoy The War Beneath.” — A Thrill A Week
“If you’re here for thrills, the book will deliver.” — The Cambridge Geek
“… an engaging world that is highly believable …” — The Future Fire
“This is a tense, gripping science fiction/thriller of which Tom Clancy might well be proud . . . When I say it is gripping, that is the simple truth.” — Ardath Mayhar
“… a thrill ride from beginning to end …” — SFcrowsnest
“… if you like Clancy and le Carré with a hint of Forsyth thrown in,
you’ll love The War Beneath.” — Colonel Jonathan P. Brazee (RET),
2017 Nebula Award & 2018 Dragon Award Finalist
“Fast-paced, good old-fashioned Cold War espionage … a great escape!” — The Minerva Reader