Finally, (if you’ve been keeping up) we’ve reached the end of our creepy movie marathon. With all of our creatures being seaborne, I thought it would be appropriate to spotlight a horror movie about the people of our very own mascot, Pirate Pete.

There were a few movies to choose, such as ​“Jolly Roger: Massacre At Cutters Cove​,” and ​“The Curse of Pirate Death​,” but those are even worse than their titles suggest. However, there is one horror movie about ghostly sailors that is not only good, but still retains its power to frighten.

Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to be afraid of ​“The Fog.”

A movie from the mind of John Carpenter, the director of ​“Halloween” ​and all things scary itself, ​“The Fog” ​is an eerie movie, very reminiscent of campfire stories and urban legends. The basic gist is that one hundred years ago, a group of lepers trying to create a colony were tricked into running aground, killing all of them. Now, they have returned from the sea to enact revenge on the seaside town of Antonio Bay, with various townsfolk caught in the crossfire.

The movie’s strongest point is the atmosphere—i.e. the cinematography, lighting, music, and overall look of the film is incredible, up to par with the original “Halloween.” The whole movie has an uneasy feel, but its the night scenes when the fog strikes that are the absolute best.

The scenes where the fog creeps over the land have a cold, creepy feel to them, aided along by the movies soundtrack, provided by Carpenter himself, and the lighting, which gives the fog a ghost, unnatural hue of blue. Aided in this is how the film presents its ghoulish pirates. Rather than have them out in the open and in clear view, you only see them as shadows in the fog, sometimes with glowing eyes to boot.

This makes them seem far more supernatural, like they are the fog itself, which is kind of correct. All and all, the movie has a creepy, unnerving, and cold presence that aids in the horror of the overall situation. It is excellent in putting you in a creepy mood for the rest of the movie.

The scare factor is high too. While not as frightening as ​“Halloween,” it still has the ability to shock at certain points. I will not say at what point you should expect to jump, but just keep it in mind.

It seems to be a running theme throughout this little marathon that the human character and their focus end up dragging the movie down. Not this time. Most of the dialogue is actually good. The characters are all fleshed out, the lore behind the ghost ship is interesting, and you generally won’t be bored during these scenes.

Of course, like the rest of the movies, this also presents a flaw, mainly that while there is a lot of character development, it comes at the expense of showing the titular fog, which can make this movie a bit disappointing.

Speaking of the lack of fog, we know pretty early on that the fog only strikes at nighttime. Needless to say, this makes problems for the daytime scenes, as without any major danger, it is hard to maintain the tension. To Carpenter’s credit, he does try to increase the tension by use of dead bodies and other supernatural occurrences, but we still know that the characters are never in any real danger, which can wear on your patience a bit.

In addition, you only really see it at the beginning and the end of the movie, which can be disappointing.

But, don’t let any of this keep your guard down. At this movie’s best, it is a chilling, thrilling movie. While it may not be ​“Halloween” or ​“The Thing” level quality, it is still something not to miss.

Think of this as a campfire ghost story made into film, and if that does not scare you away, then be sure to do yourself a favor and venture into ​“The Fog.”