The Ferryman (2007)

The story of a group of twenty-something's who charter a boat to Fiji for the trip of a lifetime, before stumbling upon an evil that demands vengeance at any cost.

Director:

Chris Graham

Writers:

Matthew Metcalfe (story), Nick Ward (screenplay),

Stars:

John Rhys-Davies, Kerry Fox, Sally Stockwell

Cast

Credited cast:
John Rhys-Davies	...	The Greek
Kerry Fox	...	Suze
Sally Stockwell	...	Tate
Amber Sainsbury	...	Kathy
Tamer Hassan	...	Big Dave
Craig Hall	...	Chris Hamilton
Julian Arahanga	...	Zane
Lawrence Makoare	...	Snake
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Imogen Cassin	...	Imogen
Ben Fransham	...	The Ferryman
Robbie Magasiva	...	Man in Club

Storyline

A voyage from New Zealand to Fiji aboard a large sailboat seems to be a perfect holiday until a mysterious mist appears on the second day and a distress call is picked up on the radio. Going to the aid of the ship in trouble the yacht comes across a drifting fishing boat, and find one lone survivor. When this man is taken aboard the yacht strange events begin to happen and people start acting as if they were not themselves.

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Plot Keywords:

fiji | yacht | new zealand | fishing boat | mist | 

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Taglines:

Everybody pays.

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brutal horror violence, language, some sexuality and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

New Zealand UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

July 2007 (New Zealand)

Also Known As:

The Ferryman - Jeder muss zahlen

Filming Locations:

Auckland, New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

NZD 7,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Atlantic Film Productions, General Film Corporation, Lipsync Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 100 min (European Film Market)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The back tattoo which Davis is wearing shows a snake, that bites itself - in figure of an eight. It's the symbol for eternity and immortality.

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Connections

References The Love Boat (1977)

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Soundtracks

"Dirty Creature"
(T.Finn / N. Finn / N. Griggs) Mushroom Music Publishing
Performed by Split Enz
Courtesy of Warner Music

User Reviews

Average

This movie has been advertised as being pretty bloody. I don't know if my version was cut down, but at least mine wasn't by any of todays standards. The movie revolts around 2 couples taking a boat trip on the yacht of another couple (so you start off with 6 potential victims, he he). After introducing the characters with 1 annoying blonde and the angel in form of an ex-nurse with a back story they stumble across an abandoned boat where they pick up an old sailor who soon starts the countdown from 6 down. By stabbing people with an ancient knife he is able to switch bodies and seems to have done so for a while angering death (here of course in form of the ferryman who is implemented into the movie as halfhearted as the nurses past). So the body-hopping starts pretty fast and the way it is executed is the most interesting thing which keeps the movie entertaining. Its more about that subject than about the kills which happen rather secondary and the uncertainty of who is who and people trapped in other bodies seemed fresh to me.

I liked the premise of immortality by shifting bodies. Beside that there was some aspects reminding me of The Fog mixed in with modern Teenage-Slasher Films. But as much as I liked the premise there was some real annoying parts in "The Ferryman". The different stories and ideas were rather loosely tied together which made the script look like a fast shot. Also the women in this movie were clichéd and annoying in their permanent hysterical screaming... since it was both blondes who got that attribute its yet another cliché.

I think the movie could have gone somewhere, especially since I liked the ending but its too halfhearted in implementing its influences from here and there. That makes "The ferryman" a little more than average since it still manages to keep the attention until the end.