Rogue Cinema - Fog Warning (2008)

Fog Warning (2008) - By Nic Brown
Posted on Monday, September 01 @ Mountain Daylight Time by Duane

Writer/director Christopher Ward has brings an interesting twist to the vampire tale with his new film FOG WARNING. Ronnie (Michael Barra) is the manager of a local comic and gaming store whose shop is visited by a mysterious woman named Anna (Elise Rovinsky). Her seemingly harmless trip to find a gift for someone turns out to be a huge mistake as Ronnie becomes convinced from their short encounter that Anna is a vampire.

Ronnie kidnaps Anna and locks her in an antique circus cage in the attic of a historic home he’s temporarily watching. Ronnie ignores Anna’s evidence that she is not a vampire, claiming that they can live in sunlight and cast reflections when human. He wants her to confess what she is and accept responsibility for the recent series of “vampire murders” that have left a number of victims drained of blood in the city.

Anna refuses to cooperate and Ronnie realizes that he needs help. He enlists the aid of Eddie (Joe Kathrein) and Carl (Cuyle Carvin), two guys he went to school with who have both had repeated run ins with the law. The pair are slow witted, but ruthless and see a captured vampire as a way to become rich. So they agree to help break Anna and get her to confess.

After this continues to fail, Eddie brings his sister Trudy (Jacqueline Shea) in to help, thinking that his sister may be able to coerce the woman to admit that she is a vampire. Trudy, a sad girl who is mentally abused and mistreated, forms a bond with Anna and in many ways becomes the captive woman’s friend. However, Anna still won’t admit to being a vampire, even to Trudy, and the men become desperate but it also slowly becomes clear that Anna may actually be more dangerous than even they realize as her captivity begins to break down walls she’s built within herself, releasing… something else.

FOG WARNING is not your traditional vampire tale. It is a psychological thriller, not a tale of bloodsucking monsters. In fact, it is the self-righteous Ronnie and his two murderously self-centered accomplices Eddie and Karl that prove to be the real monsters, even if they are wholly human. One of the best aspects of the film is the relationship that develops between Anna and Trudy. Both characters are lonely and abused in different ways and both undergo dramatic changes as the movie approaches its climax. Elise Rovinsky and Jacqueline Shea both do an amazing job of bringing real emotional depth to their characters and stand out even among the film’s exceptionally good cast.

If you are looking for a vampire film that is all blood, guts and creatures of the night, then FOG WARNING isn’t your film. If you are looking for an intelligent thriller that will keep you guessing, then check out Christopher Ward’s FOG WARNING and remember what happens when you grab a tiger by the tail.