Arriving hot on the heels of the Dark Star / Assault on Precinct 13 release, comes the reissue of the year 2000 soundtrack of John Carpenter’s 1979 horror classic The Fog. Again, it is issued by Silva Screen as a limited CD release or download, and this time significantly expands on the running time content of the original. The arrangement is by long-time Carpenter collaborator, Alan Howarth.

My copy was downloaded as MP3 files and, although they play just as well, giving you the option of dragging on to an MP3 player or burning to disc - I do miss the finished package which comes as part of a collection. Call me old-fashioned, but there’s nothing like walking into a shop (or even shopping online) to possess the official product complete with booklet, etc. and having it sitting on a shelf with others of its kind.

Anyway, on to the music itself. I am a big John Carpenter fan. He was/is a master craftsman, and much of his music composed for his own films has become iconic. The compositions greatly enhance the already fantastic content, but never more so than on The Fog, which slowly builds tension by having slow piano pieces, eerie electronic wave moods, and the ultra effective slamming of the brilliant 'Reel 9' track, during which the fog moves menacingly through the town towards the survivors in the church.

Included with the music we get a couple of dialogue pieces, the most significant of which is the opening scene of the film wherein the old-timer tells the camp fire ghost story of what happened here on a foggy night many years before. In addition, there is radio interview with Jamie Lee Curtis about her part in the film. The 14-track 2000 release of this soundtrack his been remastered and further expanded by Howarth to include ten new tracks. Truth be told, most of these are, again, variations on familiar themes. But there are some welcome differences, with stand-out new tracks being 'Stevie’s Lighthouse', 'Knock at the Door' and 'Fog Reflection'. 'The Fog Enters Town' is a shorter version of 'Reel 9'.

This is the most comprehensive collection of John Carpenter’s music for The Fog. It will certainly appeal to Carpenter fans, and almost certainly to many film music collectors. I can say one thing with conviction: “There’s something in The Fog.”

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Ty Power