If there’s one thing you can count on in Hollywood, it’s a horror remake. Remakes of horror hits have been a foundational element of the Hollywood studio system for decades, reaching as far back as the ‘30s and ‘40s and stretching into the modern era with upcoming movies like The Mummy, The Faculty, and The Entity. As fans look ahead to those upcoming releases, a remake of a 46-year-old horror classic is about to leave Tubi and stop streaming altogether.
John Carpenter is a horror legend, and so it’s no surprise that several of his movies have received the remake treatment. 25 years after Carpenter reunited with Jamie Lee Curtis for a chilling ghost story about a coastal town haunted by the vengeful ghosts of mariners murdered by the town’s founders 100 years prior in 1980’s The Fog, Rupert Wainwright tackled the movie for the 2005 The Fog remake. After joining the platform back in May, the movie has landed a spot on Tubi’s “leaving soon” list, meaning it will most likely stop streaming by the end of the month.
The Fog Remake Couldn’t Live Up to John Carpenter’s Classic
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Horror remakes have a pretty bad reputation, and The Fog unfortunately didn’t make a strong argument against that. The movie can commonly be found on lists of the worst horror remakes ever and only managed an absolutely abysmal 4% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes compared to the originals’ “Certified Fresh” 76% Tomatometer rating, and this unfortunately wasn’t a case of a critic and audience divide. The movie only holds a 19% Popcornmeter score. The movie failed to replicate the slow-burn dread of Carpenter’s original and instead relied too heavily on generic jump scares and unconvincing ghost effects, transforming it into something that felt more like a soap-opera, TV movie than a remake of a classic.
It’s not all bad for The Fog remake, though. Although the movie isn’t one that is better than its initial reception, it’s a pretty passable standalone horror. The movie creates its own distinct vibe with the shift to Antonio Island, Oregon, and delivers a faster-paced, more violent take on the original. The movie is packed with brutal, creative death scenes, and the fog itself has a pretty effective, menacing presence. The Fog remake also features a photogenic cast, with Selma Blair delivering a standout performance as Stevie Wayne, bringing a modern “rocker chick” energy to the character. The Fog fails as a remake, but it’s still a pretty enjoyable, albeit forgettable, popcorn thriller.
Where to Stream The Fog After It Leaves Tubi?
The Fog remake currently doesn’t stream outside of Tubi, meaning the movie will disappear from streaming altogether unless it moves to a rival service, something that hasn’t yet been confirmed. This doesn’t mean The Fog will be impossible to watch, as there are still online renting and purchasing options. As for Carpenter’s 1980 original, that movie can be streamed on Plex, Pluto TV, and The Roky Channel.
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