Where was The Fog filmed?

When a host of supernatural events are set off by Elizabeth touching an antique pocket watch that washed up on the beach, of course she sets out to find why – she’s never had a similar effect on other old objects. While researching the hallmark, a set of scales, she noticed on the watch, she learns about the tragic history of the Elizabeth Dane, a clipper ship that was destroyed just off the coast.

When she approaches Father Malone, a descendant of one of the murderous founding fathers, he’s the only one who doesn’t seem taken aback by her discovery.

“So now you know,” he says, as if he’s glad he doesn’t have to keep the poisonous secret any longer.

“That our forefathers murdered every man, woman and child on the Elizabeth Dane?” replies Elizabeth.

“And now they’ve come for revenge,” Malone says, motioning out to sea where the fog is creeping ever closer. It’s not clear what that entails yet, but Malone indicates that all the descendants of the original founders are in danger.

How to get there: This scene was filmed in the town of Antonio Bay, which is a fictional place. Fort Langley, located in Langley Township, British Columbia, is just southeast of Vancouver. The charming downtown area, with its colonial-era buildings, gives the scenes the Americana atmosphere of an old fishing town.

To get there, take the Trans Canada Highway east from Vancouver and exit at 216th Street. Follow 216th Street north to Telegraph Trail, turn right, and follow the road all the way to Fort Langley.

The movie is called The Fog for a reason, and that’s because the Elizabeth Dane was cloaked in a heavy fog the night the town’s founding fathers lured her onto the rocks of Antonio Bay, killing all aboard – it now envelopes the doomed crew as they return to the island that snuffed them out more than a century ago.

Stevie Wayne, who runs the local radio station broadcasting from the lighthouse, is one of the first to notice the ethereal fog rolling in – even though the wind is blowing offshore.

“Now what kind of fog moves against the wind?’ she asks her listeners, although it’s really more of a rhetorical question. She contacts her friend, Dan the Weatherman, to ask if he’s ever seen anything like it.

It turns out he hasn’t, although unfortunately for Dan, he’s the first to find out exactly what the otherworldly fog is bearing with it.

How to get there: As in the original film, Stevie’s fictional radio station is located in the Point Reyes Lighthouse, an iconic structure located in the Point Reyes National Seashore of the coast of San Francisco. It has the distinction of being one of the foggiest places in the continental US.

After learning that his best friend, Spooner, has taken their boat out to party with a couple of the local girls, and he hasn’t come back, worry sets in. In a classic example of horror movie characters going to see for themselves instead of, you know, calling the coast guard or the Navy, Nick and Elizabeth set out on the open ocean to find him.

When they come across the boat, Nick is puzzled to find it seemingly abandoned with half a tank of gas and an engine that still turns over. Further exploration, however, yields a nasty shock – Spooner’s friend Sean is dead below deck with his eyelids sewn shut.

“He’s dead! His eyes…” says Nick, trailing off.

At the same time, Elizabeth reels in the line to find Mandi and Jennifer drowned in a fishing net.

She then goes below deck and Nick’s command and finds, to her shock and amazement, that Spooner is locked in the freezer but still alive. He’s about to be framed for the gruesome murders of his friends, but for now, he safe.

How to get there: This scene was filmed in Cowichan Bay, located across the Strait of Georgia southwest of Vancouver. There are several marinas in the area that can take you out on the water for a look inland.

Mayor Tom Malone is immensely proud of Antonio Bay – and the fact that his forefather, Patrick Malone, had a hand in building it. When confronted at the town’s cemetery with a spectral Captain William Blake, however, Malone is a bit more contrite.

Blake’s ghostly face is one area in which the special effects of a new century might be considered an upgrade to John Carpenter’s original film, although Blake does look vaguely like the Cryptkeeper. Still feigning innocence, Malone tries to appease the ghost, to which Blake hands him and old piece of parchment and simply says, “The contract.”

It’s the contract that Blake originally signed with the town’s founders to purchase half of the island to build a leper colony for his afflicted people.

As soon as Malone takes the paper, it – and he – bursts into flames. Although it seems the fire could have easily been put out by stopping, dropping and rolling, Malone succumbs to the ghostly fire, the final descendant who must pay for the crimes against Blake’s people.

How to get there: As spooky as it is, and perfect for an atmospheric horror film, it’s just a bit too perfect. It was filmed on a sound stage at Lions Gate Studio in North Vancouver.

Shortly after Malone burns to death, and Nick and Elizabeth are rightly turning to run away from the cemetery, something causes Elizabeth to stop, turn, and walk right into the pack of vengeful spirits. She’s been dreaming of the Elizabeth Dane for years, and tonight, she’ll find out why.

Elizabeth walks directly toward Blake, seemingly without fear, and just when it looks like the skeletal captain is about to strangle the life out of her – she is a direct descendant of the founders, after all – he inexplicably kisses her. It’s about as romantic a kiss as a spectral skeleton can give, but as they continue to embrace, the devastating effects of the shipwreck melt away from Blake and his followers, revealing them as the sick, scared travelers they were a century before.

Elizabeth, it turns out, is the reincarnation of Blake’s wife, also named Elizabeth – the same Elizabeth that the ship, Elizabeth Dane, is named for. As Nick watches from the corner of the cemetery, Elizabeth Williams becomes Elizabeth Blake, and the ghostly entourage fades away, lifting the fog from Antonio Bay.

How to get there: This scene was filmed on a sound stage at Lions Gate Studios in North Vancouver, British Columbia. The cemetery set was built for the movie and was featured in a few other scenes as well.

Flashback scenes almost always serve to show the audience what happened, rather than writing cumbersome dialogue for the cast. That’s the case of one of the best scenes in The Fog, not because it’s spectacular, but because it gives us a visceral knowledge of exactly why these ghosts are so intent upon wreaking vengeance on Antonio Bay.

As William Blake and his followers, who also happen to be suffering from leprosy, sail into Antonio Bay to start anew, the founders of the town cook up a scheme to betray them. Under the cover of a heavy fog, Patrick Malone, Norman Castle, Richard Wayne and David Williams row out to the Elizabeth Dane and loot it. Not content to simply make away with their treasure and leave the colonists with no money and no recourse, the four men also set the clipper ship ablaze.

The tragedy of this act, and hence the impetus for Blake’s ghostly retribution, is that the men weren’t simply stealing money and perhaps killing a few armed men – they caused the death of innocent women and children. As the men watch the Elizabeth Dane founder and sink, the screams can be heard echoing along the cliffs.

Only one man, Patrick Malone, seems to feel any guilt over the act.

“I tell myself Blake’s gold will allow the church to be built, and our small settlement to become a township,” Malone says as he writes in his journal. “But it does not soothe the horror that I feel becoming an accomplice to murder.”

In the end, his remorse is not enough to save his family – both Mayor Tom Malone and his son, Father Robert Malone, pay for the sins of their fathers.

How to get there: Because a 19th century clipper ship couldn’t reasonably be built on a budget, this scene was filmed at Lions Gate Studios in North Vancouver. A model ship and wave tank were used, along with some CGI effects.