Ghost Ship (2002)

A salvage crew that discovers a long-lost 1962 passenger ship floating lifeless in a remote region of the Bering Sea soon notices, as they try to tow it back to land, that "strange things" happen...

Director:

Steve Beck

Writers:

Mark Hanlon (story), Mark Hanlon (screenplay),

Stars:

Gabriel Byrne, Julianna Margulies, Ron Eldard

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gabriel Byrne	...	Murphy
Julianna Margulies	...	Epps
Ron Eldard	...	Dodge
Desmond Harrington	...	Ferriman
Isaiah Washington	...	Greer
Alex Dimitriades	...	Santos
Karl Urban	...	Munder
Emily Browning	...	Katie Harwood
Francesca Rettondini	...	Francesca
Boris Brkic	...	Chief Steward
Bob Ruggiero	...	Captain (as Robert Ruggiero)
Iain Gardiner	...	Purser
Adam Bieshaar	...	First Officer
Cameron Watt	...	Second Officer
Jamie Giddens	...	Friendly Officer

Storyline

After discovering a passenger ship missing since 1962 floating adrift on the Bering Sea, salvagers claim the vessel as their own. Once they begin towing the ghost ship towards harbor, a series of bizarre ocurrences happen and the group becomes trapped inside the ship, which they soon learn is inhabited by a demonic creature.

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Plot Keywords:

sea | ghost ship | ghost | salvage | passenger | 

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Taglines:

Sea Evil

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence/gore, language and sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros Warner Bros. [fr]

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

English Italian Spanish

Release Date:

25 October 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chimera

Filming Locations:

Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$373,380 (Brazil) (14 February 2003)

Gross:

$1,057,934 (Brazil) (7 March 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Village Roadshow Pictures, NPV Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene on the foredeck where the Captain and the passengers were dancing, and the scene in the ballroom, was a common tradition at the time near the end of a trans-Atlantic voyage. These were usually held as the ship approached the end of the trip, near the coast and these Balls were called the "Captain's Ball".

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Goofs

When Epps is walking down the hall looking for Katie's room she is clearly wearing the heart necklace which she has not found yet.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Greer: I can't hold her much longer, Murph. Port bow is heeling. She's taking on way too much water.

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Crazy Credits

The opening logos are tinted brown, and the typical Warner Bros. logo is instead an intentionally chintzy 60s style logo. All this ties into the infamous cruise ship opening.

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Connections

Referenced in SOS: The Bunnyguards on Board (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Not Falling"
Written by M. McDonough, G. Tribbett, R. Martinie and Chad Gray (as C. Gray)
Produced by David Bottrill
Performed by Mudvayne
Courtesy of Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

an honest horror movie. Starring Gabriel Byrne

The third movie produced by the production company "Dark Castle" and managed by Joel Silver and Robert Zemeckis, "Ghost Ship" (2002) marks a step forward and constitutes a neat improvement in comparison with the two previous movies, "the House on the Haunted Hill" (1999) and "13 Ghosts" (2001). This can be checked at the level of a meticulous making and quite outstanding special effects. It is all the more positive as with "Ghost Ship", we deal with a B movie. Another good point: the change of scenery. It is a judicious choice to have replaced the threadbare topic of the haunted house by the haunted ship.

If the screenplay doesn't avoid all the Hollywood conventions, neither all the clichés of the horror film, the director Steve Beck makes up for it by shrouding his movie an atmosphere of mystery as soon as the crew discovers the ship. He's also imposing (slowly but surely) a progressive rise of the tension which reaches its climax in the end. The result: we come in for a few real moments of fright and Beck, in the long run puts the spectator in his pocket.

As far as the cast is concerned, there are two surprises. First: Julianna Margulies who for once decided to give up scalpels in the "ER" series and especially Gabriel Byrne. An ambitious actor who isn't reluctant to sometimes act in a horror movie which is potboiler for him like "End of Days" (1999) or "Stigmata" (1999).

It is a shame that the end isn't really satisfying and suits badly to the whole. But no matter, "Ghost Ship" remains a nice little horror movie whose main function is to make shiver. For this, it reaches its goal. One last thing, if the movies that come out of the "Dark Castle" production company keep on gaining in quality, maybe will they create a masterpiece one day...

NB:it borrows a bit from "shining".