Chattanooga Film Festival 2026 Coverage
The Thing in the Fog review
There’s something out there…but we’re in here.
Festival reviews will not contain spoilers.
The Thing in the Fog
Directed by Chedey Reyes
Written by Juan Ramirez Mascaro
Starring Martin Garabal and Elena de Lara
The Thing in the Fog Review
It didn’t take long for me to realize that we weren’t going to be leaving the cockpit of the plane. I’d say…roughly five minutes into The Thing in the Fog it hit me that this was set to be a one (very small) location movie. Aside from the final moments of the film…we spend the entire runtime inside of the cockpit of an airplane. But I’ll be damned if it doesn’t work. Halfway through The Thing in the Fog I wondered if they could keep things rolling as briskly and entertainingly as they had been to that point. Another 45 minutes locked in a small cabin with (usually) two characters seemed like a daunting task. But I’ll be damned if it doesn’t pull it off.
The story, as you’d imagine, is simple. An airplane encounters something strange and is transported to another dimension. Ok…that actually looks far less simple than I made it out to be. It’s the execution that’s simple here. Sticking us in one spot and mostly discussing the chaos around us keeps things feeling grounded even as multi-dimensional plots are unfolding. That sounds like a bad thing…but it works in The Thing in the Fog. We learn all about the species that the pilot (Martin Garabal) and his new co-pilot Daniela (Elena de Lara) have literally run into. Most of the action takes place off-screen…our view only extends to the cockpit door. We barely even look out the window…though there are some otherworldly colors flying around when we do.
What makes The Thing in the Fog work is how completely it embraces its ridiculousness. Ismael (the pilot) is as unprepared for his new flight path as he is confused by every little reveal that happens around him. Daniela, for reasons we learn over the course of the story, is far more prepared. Ismael never gets to let go of the controls. Daniela gets her hands dirty. The inter-dimensional species they’re dealing with takes over a person’s body…and they have a flight full of the converted. But we don’t really see them. Aside from a couple cabin visitors…we’re as clueless about what’s going on as poor Ismael at the yoke.
But we know enough to believe it’s all happening. When the chatty flight attendant returns to the cabin acting stoic and detached…we know something has gone wrong. Daniela fills us (and Ismael) in on what that is. We’re quicker to believer her than Ismael is. Daniela does most of the heavy lifting in The Thing in the Fog. She’s an exposition machine…the only person who knows what’s going on. Packing an ultrasonic gun…carrying a vaccine to inoculate them…knowing the deep lore of these creatures and their situation…getting covered in green blood. She’s starring in an action movie that we are only seeing the dialog parts of. Ismael…is flying the plane. It’s a funny set-up that manages to extend its welcome throughout the movie.
The Thing in the Fog is a comedy…but it’s more of an enjoyable romp than a movie full of punchlines. The entire ordeal is fun…setting it within the confines of a cockpit adds to the absurdity. As interesting as the creatures are…I genuinely think that the movie plays out better this way then it would have with a big budget and sightlines beyond the cockpit door. Hearing the carnage works better than seeing it. When we do see a bit of action…the effects are played for fun and heightened low budget absurdity. I can’t imagine a movie packed with a lot of that maintaining the strange appeal The Thing in the Fog musters out of showing us so little.
A lot of that is owed to the enthusiasm de Lara and Garabal bring to their roles. Ismael’s constantly befuddlement and reticence to believe what’s going on around him…even when he sees it with his own eyes is fun. Daniela’s badass with all the answers delivers time and time again. She makes the story feel fresh and vibrant despite…you know…our seat on the plane. I don’t know exactly what my hopes were for The Thing in the Fog when I realized we weren’t going to find a better seat…but I know this movie surpassed them.
Scare Value
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that The Thing in the Fog is the best-case scenario for a one location comedy/horror film…but it certainly fares better than I would have guessed. It manages to bring the fun to your almost total lack of viewpoint. A wild story we get to hear…some wild action we don’t get to see…and a couple of fun performances are enough to make this a flight worth taking. Even if the best seats were already booked.
