Ghost Ship (2002)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Steve Beck

Writers (WGA):

Mark Hanlon (story)
Mark Hanlon (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 October 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Sea Evil

Plot:

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...

Plot Keywords:

Ghost | Ghost Ship | Luxury Liner | Stabbed In The Back | Betrayal

Cast

Gabriel Byrne	...	Captain Sean Murphy
Julianna Margulies	...	Maureen Epps
Ron Eldard	...	Dodge
Desmond Harrington	...	Jack 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

Also Known As:

Chimera (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence/gore, language and sexuality.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Finland:K-15 | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Brazil:16 | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Denmark:15 | France:U | Germany:16 (cut) | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #39390) | Philippines:R-18

Filming Locations:

Australia

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The ghost captain tells Gabriel Byrne's character that the Antonio Graza rescued a ship called the Lorelei. Rescuing this ship is what eventually led to the destruction of the Antonia Graza and the death of all its passengers. "Die Lorelei" is a German poem about a siren-type woman who lures boats to ruin and sailors to their deaths.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the two crewmen take innocent Katie to her cabin to hang her, on the cabin door it says "A-104". Yet when looking through the passenger lists, Epps said Katie's cabin was on B deck.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

Senza Fine

A solid genre movie that builds a good atmosphere and tension across the 90 minutes even if it isn't anything that special

Sean Murphy and his crew are the top salvage experts in the land (well, sea). They have just completed one big job when a pilot, Jack Ferriman, comes tot them with a ship that he has spotted in remote, international waters. It hasn't responded to distress signals and it seems fair game if Murphy will give Jack a cut and let him come along. Murphy accepts and they set off. The fact that the ship doesn't show up on radar doesn't ring any alarm bells with the crew, who board the ship to find a deserted vessel ripe for the pickings. However she has sustained damage and has days before she will sink forever. Diver Maureen spotted a young girl on board is only the first of several strange things to occur and soon the crew find themselves in deeper than they planned.

Opening with a scene so brutal and gory (made all the worse for me knowing it was coming) that I literally couldn't watch, this film had me hooked at the same time as having me worried that this would just be a big gore fest with nothing else to it. Indeed this is what I had heard, having only read negative reviews for this film. However for the majority it avoids this by being spooky, atmospheric and engaging. The plot isn't anything amazing but it does the job. Many reviewers have said it turns rubbish in the final thirty minutes but to me it was still effective even if it did resort to genre by being gorier and more obvious. It will never win any awards for originality or anything else but it is an effective genre movie that avoids the b-movie schlock of stuff like Deep Rising.

Because it is mostly about atmosphere, the cast are only so-so as they are given little to do. Byrne is a good presence but is slumming it so obviously that he should probably have had a slot in his character's back with a studio exec feeding it every few minutes of screen time. Margulies is better as she has more to do and is a more interesting character; she can work at this level and does. Eldard has some terrible lines but does OK with Urban. Washington is better than this but is quite interesting and has a good screen presence. Harrington plays it so obviously that it is hard not to see him coming, which was a bit of a shame. The direction is good and the design/feel of the film is probably better than the material deserves – nicely building up tension and atmosphere as it goes.

Overall then a good genre movie. Better than b-movie stuff, it uses the gore sparingly for the most part and builds up to things well. In the end it may go just where you expect it to and not do anything that special but I found it quite enjoyable for what it was and, in the words of the advert, does exactly what it says on the tin.