Death Ship (1980)

Director:

Alvin Rakoff

Writers:

Jack Hill (story)
David P. Lewis (story)

Release Date:

7 March 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Those who survive the ghost ship are better off dead!

Plot:

Survivors of a tragic shipping collision are rescued by a mysterious black ship which appears out of the fog...

Plot Keywords:

Ship | Nazi | Survivor | Ghost Ship | Boat

Cast

George Kennedy	...	Captain Ashland
Richard Crenna	...	Trevor Marshall
Nick Mancuso	...	Nick
Sally Ann Howes	...	Margaret Marshall
Kate Reid	...	Sylvia
Victoria Burgoyne	...	Lori
Jennifer McKinney	...	Robin Marshall
Danny Higham	...	Ben Marshall
Saul Rubinek	...	Jackie
Murray Cruchley	...	Parsons
Doug Smith	...	Seaman No. 1
Tony Sherwood	...	Seaman No. 2

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

UK | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:18 (video premiere) | Germany:18 | France:-12 | Finland:(Banned) (1980) | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 (1988) | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | Norway:(Banned) (1980-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Dauphin Island, Alabama, USA

Company:

Artemis Films

Trivia:

The footage showing the movement of the Death Ship was the result of filming from a small boat moving around the Death Ship. The crew shot for about an hour before the 'Death Ship' broke down. The rest of the required shots were achieved by faking movement, as the broken vessel was anchored and stationary.

Quotes:

[on collision course with the titular ship]
Ashland: Signal him to alter course.
Seaman No. 1: I already have, sir.
Ashland: Well, signal him again, damnit.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Svengoolie: Death Ship" (2000)

Not as bad as they say

This is one of those movies I saw as a kid, was terrified by and have been trying to find ever since.

I finally obtained a copy and watched it again for the first time in twenty years.

Until that moment though, I had sought out various opinions of the movie on the internet, the place where everyone has an opinion on everything, and I must say, the majority of comments I recieved were less than encouraging, however my mission would not be swayed.

Now, here I am having seen this obscure little flick again and I must say, it wasnt as bad as all that.

I think the sense of atmosphere and eeriness, while quite tacky, were effective and charming.

One scene that stood out in my mind since that fateful night I watched it as a child, is where Mrs. Morgan eats that poisoned lollie, turns into some creature, is killed and tossed overboard. Ah joyous memories