"Fog Closing In" is the third entry of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' directed by Herschel Daugherty. The other two being "The Belfry", very good and underrated, and "The Creeper", which was one of the standout episodes of Season 1. It is also the second episode that sees Phyllis Thaxter in the lead role, the other being the very good "Never Again", which she is excellent in. The premise did sound unnerving and was really hoping that it would a lot better than the disappointing previous outing.
Luckily it most certainly was and it would definitely take a lot for anybody here to be as awful as Tita Purdom was in that. "Fog Closing In" is not great and is far from perfect, with it being a case of the lead performance being better than the episode itself. It is also not on par with Daugherty's previous outings. For all its faults though, "Fog Closing In" does have more than enough to make it worth recommending. Particularly the acting.
It is an episode that would have benefitted from a much longer length, a lot happens and there is a lot of complex psychology attempted but it did ideally need to be feature length to do it justice. This way, it felt too short and too hasty.
Also thought it could have done a lot more with the subject, it starts off very promisingly and unsettlingly but then feels rushed and suffers from the shortness of the length. The psychological aspect is intriguing initially but is too under the surface and not skin deep enough, it's complex stuff that is under-developed and could have done with more clarity.
With all that being said, Thaxter is truly excellent and is both chilling and moving as a rootable character. George Grizzard has some nice sympathetic support with her and Phillip Langton is easy to hate. Daugherty directs asssuredly and provides a nice unsettling atmosphere in primarily the first half. Hitchcock is suitably dry-humoured, likewise with his lines.
The production values are solid enough and the main theme fits like a glove. The script is intelligent and not rambling or overwrought, while there are enough moments that are suspenseful and emotionally investable. The ending could have had more time to develop but doesn't feel too much like a cop out or anaemic, it certainly surprised me.
Overall, a big improvement if not great. 7/10.