Fog City review.
A dangerous fog rolls into an island town trapping a group of friends together inside a house. How long will they be friendly? How long will they last?
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Fog City
Directed by Steve Wolsh
Written by Steve Wolsh
Starring Luke Benward, Juliette Goglia, Noah Gray-Cabey, Cody Kennedy, Victoria Konefal, Johnny Beauchamp and Connor Weil
Fog City Review
Some of cinema’s most lasting images come from George A. Romero’s 1968 masterpiece Night of the Living Dead. While the zombie craze that he served as Godfather for will shamble on forever…you can argue that the most important thing Romero discusses in that (and subsequent) Dead films is the immediate breakdown of community in a stressful situation. Romero understood, no matter what is lurking outside the door, real horror always comes from within. Who can you trust? Are you even yourself in the worst moments? Who is crazy…and who will survive?
Fog City takes the concept and splatters it with blood and betrayal. Ostensibly the story of a group of friends trying to survive a dangerous fog that rolls into their sleepy island town…you might ask why I would start this review off with a discussion of Night of the Living Dead and not John Carpenter’s The Fog. Despite the similar inciting incident…Fog City has more in common with Romero’s story. No…there are no zombies wrapping at the door. But there are monsters inside the house.
Georgia (Victoria Konefal) is at a crossroads in her life. As complicated as her relationships and the future in general may appear to be…nothing can prepare her for what’s about to happen. When an apparent leak at her father’s factory ushers in a potentially lethal fog…Georgia and friends take refuge together. Tensions between the group quickly threaten to overwhelm them. With nowhere to run…Georgia and company must face the dangers that lie within.
Georgia is joined by best friend Reegan (Cody Kennedy), sexually frustrated boyfriend J.K. (Connor Weil), gun-toting hothead Blake (Reese Mishler) and his girlfriend Cassie (Brianne Cordaro) as well as couple Tanner (Luke Benward) and Chelsea (Juliette Goglia). After a playful beginning…they spot the fog approaching. They set out in different directions to find a path to escape. Discovering they are surrounded…everyone heads back to seal up the house. Tanner and Chelsea are late to return and get caught in the fog. Their exposure to the substance causes the second major divide within the group. Reegan chooses to let them in but forces them to stay in the front hall…away from the uninfected.
The first conflict arises as the result of the fog itself. Namely, Georgia’s connection to it. She claims to have no idea what her father is doing in the family factory…just that any leak would spell imminent disaster. The group begins to argue…until cooler heads prevail. For a time.
Georgia’s personal issue arises due to her failing relationship with J.K. It leads to a heated argument that leads to a betrayal. Reegan disagrees with her friend’s life choices…starting with her refusal to sleep with her long-term boyfriend. Their shared situation forces the situation to boil over and causes Reegan to make a choice she will come to immediately regret. Her heartfelt apology is met with the film’s first portrayal of shocking violence. A reaction caused by internal conflict…or external forces? That’s the question left to the group as they restrain her.
The pressures of seeing a level-headed friend snap and the threat of dwindling oxygen causes tensions to boil over quickly. Tanner continues to pound on the door to be let in, Blake attempts to take charge but his gun waving act poses a threat to everyone, Georgia frees herself. Three separate groups under one roof. Who is crazy…and who will survive?
Fog City chooses violence. That’s the best way to describe the bloody third act of the film. Whereas the final act of writer/director Steve Wolsh’s previous film Kill Her Goats felt like a sharp turn out of left field…Fog City’s climax feels earned while retaining the sense of wild abandon. Both films fall under the banner of putting ridiculously attractive people in peril. Hasn’t that always been at the heart of horror movies? Wolsh’s camera finds the beauty in the bloody.
And bloody it is. Fog City answers both questions we’ve brought up…but not in the order we presented them. The movie understands that nothing is more dangerous during a disaster than the person standing next to you. Except, perhaps, for the person inside of you.
Scare Value
Fog City features beautiful people being filmed beautifully. It traps them inside an intense situation to reveal how ugly they can be. The concept of a group of people falling apart in a crisis is pushed to its bloodiest extremes. An external threat reveals every internal issue…and violence is the only way out. Fog City asks two important questions: Who is Crazy? And who will survive?
3/5
Fog City Links
Rent/Buy on VOD from VUDU and Amazon
Physical media, Limited Edition SteelBook UHD/BR and Blu-ray/DVD/HD Digital 3-Pack available now on WatchFogCity.com
