Death Ship (1980)

A mysterious ghostly freighter rams and sinks a modern day cruise ship whose survivors climb aboard the freighter and discover that it is a World War II Nazi torture vessel.

Director:

Alvin Rakoff

Writers:

John Robins (screenplay), Jack Hill (story)

Stars:

George Kennedy, Richard Crenna, Nick Mancuso

Cast

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

Storyline

Survivors of a tragic shipping collision are rescued by a mysterious black ship which appears out of the fog. Little do they realize that the ship is actually a Nazi torture ship which has sailed the seas for years, luring unsuspecting sailors aboard and killing them off one by one.

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | psychotronic film | nazisploitation | exploitation | canuxploitation | 

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Taglines:

Those who survive the ghost ship are better off dead!

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Genres:

Adventure | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The setting was the Carribean Sea, but the exterior water filming location was the Gulf of Mexico.

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Goofs

When Marshall is searching the meat locker where the bodies are hanging, despite all the bodies being covered in ice indicating that it is extremely cold inside, Marshall's breathe never shows as it ordinarily would.

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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.

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Alternate Versions

The German TV version was cut by several minutes including nearly all scenes of violence, dead bodies and Nazi content. The old Videoversion (VPS Video) is uncut.

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Connections

Referenced in Road Games: Audio Interview with Grant Page (2016)

User Reviews

The Big Cheese

The only reason I find myself talking about this movie is that it seems to have wound up on many late night reruns lately. As a nightowl, I keep watching it. This is a cheesy movie, the effects aren't great, but dammit, if I'm flipping the stations and its on, I just can't stop watching it. Maybe its the atmosphere, because this movie has one of the greatest creepy atmospheres I have ever seen. An abandon, rusty, Nazi torture ship, roaming the seas, looking for victims. Ok, so its not real believable, but the concept is scary as hell! The horror of who the Nazis were and what they did, adds a whole other dimension of terror to this movie. Do not watch this movie if you only like good movies and good acting. Your prudish sensibilities will be very disappointed. However, for the rest who aren't as picky, this is a great chilling movie. N.B. beware of the severe late 70's early 80's problem with lighting. This movie is very dark, lots of shadows.

Details

Country:

UK Canada

Language:

English German

Release Date:

7 March 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Death Ship

Filming Locations:

Dauphin Island, Alabama, USA

Box Office

Budget:

CAD4,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Astral Bellevue Pathé, Bloodstar Productions, Lamitas

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min 94 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1