Passes the Bechdel test

The Fog

Name: The Fog
Released: 1980

1980. Directed by John Carpenter, written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
6 women characters. 4 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 10 scenes out of 164.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.

The film

Against the backdrop of spine-chilling stories of drowned mariners and a 100-year-old shipwreck lying on the bottom of the sea, the peaceful coastal town of Antonio Bay, California is making preparations to celebrate its centennial. However--as strange supernatural occurrences blemish the festivities--a dense fog starts to shroud the seaside town, leading to unaccountable disappearances. A century ago, a hideous crime was committed by the town's elders. Now, the restless dead have returned for revenge. Is there something evil lurking in the fog?

Released: 08 Feb 1980
Genres: Horror, Thriller
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.8 / 10
Metascore: 55 / 100
Awards: 1 win & 3 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Steve 102 lines, woman
Nick 72 lines, man
Kathy 53 lines, woman
Andy 41 lines, man
Father Malone 30 lines, man
Elizabeth 28 lines, woman
Sandy 25 lines, woman
O' Bannon 17 lines, man
Williams 16 lines
Mrs. Kobritz 11 lines, woman

Full cast, 26 people

Adrienne Barbeau as Stevie Wayne
Tom Atkins as Nick Castle
Jamie Lee Curtis as Elizabeth Solley
Hal Holbrook as Father Malone
Janet Leigh as Kathy Williams
Nancy Kyes as Sandy Fadel
Ty Mitchell as Andy
John Houseman as Mr. Machen
James Canning as Dick Baxter
Charles Cyphers as Dan O'Bannon
John F. Goff as Al Williams
George Buck Flower as Tommy Wallace
Regina Waldon as Mrs. Kobritz
Jim Haynie as Dockmaster
Darrow Igus as Mel
John Carpenter as Bennett
Darwin Joston as Dr. Phibes
Fred Franklyn as Ashcroft
John Strobel as Grocery Clerk
Tommy Lee Wallace as Ghost
Lee Socks as Ghost
Ric Moreno as Ghost
Rob Bottin as Blake
Charles Nicklin as Blake (voice)
Debra Hill as Blonde Girl on Bleachers (uncredited)
John Allen Vick as Sheriff David Simms

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 12% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 164

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers

Scenes	Women's lines	Men's lines
1 to 4	1	7
5 to 8	6	6
9 to 12	16	17
13 to 16	1	10
17 to 20	0	1
21 to 24	0	0
25 to 28	7	10
29 to 32	11	6
33 to 36	32	16
37 to 40	5	4
41 to 44	11	7
45 to 48	3	6
49 to 52	2	11
53 to 56	23	22
57 to 60	11	6
61 to 64	8	5
65 to 68	1	9
69 to 72	5	3
73 to 76	6	4
77 to 80	5	6
81 to 84	1	3
85 to 88	2	2
89 to 92	3	4
93 to 96	1	0
97 to 100	2	0
101 to 104	2	0
105 to 108	5	1
109 to 112	2	1
113 to 116	3	1
117 to 120	6	10
121 to 124	0	5
125 to 128	7	0
129 to 132	2	2
133 to 136	11	0
137 to 140	1	0
141 to 144	3	7
145 to 148	6	7
149 to 152	3	4
153 to 156	5	8
157 to 160	1	6
161 to 164	2	2

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scenes

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.

ELIZABETH: Maybe you got weak glass. STEVE: It’s a quiet fitty-nine degrees in Antonio Bay and the weatherman tells me we may be in for some rain tonight. cuT To:

ELIZABETH: You said, ‘Can I ask you something?'. ‘Something’, meaning one thing. That's two things. NIC£ . Okay . ELIZABETH: Los Angeles, and that's the last one you're getting free. STEVE I: “ _ It's one o'clock straight up...

STEVE: 4 . and it's time for me to sign off. STEVE: Until tomorrow at six o'clock’ when KAB comes back on the air this is Steve Wayne hoping you have a nice rest of the night. ELIZABETH: Who was it?

SANDY: A work of art. KATHY: Sandy, just be civil to me for another five hours, that's all Task. It's my project and if it falls apart it's my... SANDY: Anything you say, Mrs. Williams. KATHY: Did you order the candles. God, what a thought! A candlelight procession with no candles.

SANDY: That is a little worse than if they were bankers, KATHY: Please, Sandy, you're not helping us out here. . Where did you find this?

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 50 are women's.

222 lines from women, 219 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

6 women and 20 men in the cast. 4 women and 20 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 12 of 500. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 36 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 55% of the words (2,886), men 45% (2,353). Women have 50% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.

Exhibit E: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Two women

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

2 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 15% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: John Carpenter (man)
Written by: Debra Hill (woman), John Carpenter (man)
Produced by: Barry Bernardi (man), Pegi Brotman (gender not listed), Debra Hill (woman)
Shot by: Dean Cundey (man)
Edited by: Charles Bornstein (man), Tommy Lee Wallace (man)
Music by: John Carpenter (man)
Production design by: Tommy Lee Wallace (man)
Costumes by: Stephen Loomis (man), Bill Whitten (gender not listed)