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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 13, 2004)
9t58tO FREE TIL 10PM m CLOSE SUN & MON 99 WEST BROADWAY 683-3154 MCDONALD THEATRE Tickets at ail TicketsWest Outlets or call ^ All concerts will feature an opening band unless (800) 992-TIXX Service charges may apply ^ otherwise noted Times subject to change Interactive show Information available at www.mcdonaldtheatre.com 'M'JI il-fihlu m SALGMO ■SATE JUNE 3 9 PM DOORS -21+ Tix for concert AND Brew Fest sale mtstNTED IN COORDINATION WITH^ THE SASQUATCH BREW FEST BENEFIT . www.iaiqBatchbrewteit.org lor ialo J LIVE IN THE LOUNGE nil mm pm FRIDAY MAY 14 8 PM DOORS 9 PM SPINS 21 + FRIDAY MAY 10 10?M TO 1AM LOUNCE 21+ MUST 8E PRESENT TO WIN Carpenter classic The Fog' relies on mood for chills The simplistic 1980 horror film is one of the last real American ghost movies By Ryan Nyburg Senior Pulse Reporter Ghost stories, at least cinematic ones, seem to have fallen out of mass popularity in this country. There are a number of possible psychological and cultural reasons for this, as well as the reality that bloodless ghosts don't offer the same visceral thrills that audiences want out of their hor ror films these days. A good ghost film, like a good ghost story, depends heavily on at mosphere for the intended effect. Re cent ghost films suffer because the filmmakers never seem to understand this. They stuff their films with cheap thrills and dazzling effects, bowing down to a convention that states shocks must come quickly or the au dience will become bored. Good eye "The Fog" might be called one of the last real American ghost films. Recent examples, such as 2001's "The Oth ers" or 1999's "The Sixth Sense," bear the torch proudly, but aside from these exceptions, the genre has been fed only lackluster blockbuster exer cises for far too long. "The Fog" sticks to simpler joys of at mosphere and mood. Though its spe cial effects are ample; they serve the film and increase the murky atmosphere rather than detract from it. The mood is set from the very beginning, with an opening scene depicting a group of children sitting around a campfire lis tening to ghost stories told by an old man, for whom the term "salty old sea captain" was probably coined. This scene works in two ways: First, to introduce the film's back story, con cerning a ship that ran aground near a candy with bad cinema sense, John Carpenter's 1980 film “A TALI: Of NOCTURNAL. 11 HHi W' y Courtesy John Carpenter’s “The Fog” uses atmosphere and mood to create a true ghost story. v^amuuua ludauu iuwii iuu ytrdib dgu, and second, to let the audience know this is a contemporary ghost story. The film takes place in the fictional town of Antonio Bay, which is cele brating its centennial. On the night be fore the big event, a number of strange occurrences take place throughout the village. Objects move on their own, car alarms go off, glass shatters and a thick fog envelopes a small fishing boat and us uuce uiuiiKen crewmen, inis whole sequence is done smoothly and with grace, introducing most of the major characters with little fanfare, set ting up the chilling mood without lay ing it on too thick. When morning comes, the story gets rolling. We learn the ship that sunk in the bay 100 years ago was ac tually a boatload of lepers hoping to Turn to FOG, page 14 ithc Time tor tpRinc ciEnmnc tins arrived ill, • 555 High St., J444I {;> lour closest tocation »o campus, across from 5th St. Market}. • 201 Division Ave., 762-7837 {clothes, 3 computers, books, furniture, beds, appliances}. “ • 1)75 Highway 99, 607-4541 {our huge Cfttet}-* J
