Ghosts of Mars (2001)

In 2176, a Martian police unit is sent to pick up a highly dangerous criminal at a remote mining post. Upon arrival, the cops find that the post has become a charnel house.

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers:

Larry Sulkis, John Carpenter

Stars:

Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Pam Grier

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Natasha Henstridge	...	Lieutenant Melanie Ballard
Ice Cube	...	Desolation Williams
Jason Statham	...	Sgt Jericho Butler
Clea DuVall	...	Bashira Kincaid
Pam Grier	...	Commander Helena Braddock
Joanna Cassidy	...	Whitlock
Richard Cetrone	...	Big Daddy Mars
Rosemary Forsyth	...	Inquisitor
Liam Waite	...	Michael Descanso
Duane Davis	...	Uno
Lobo Sebastian	...	Dos
Rodney A. Grant	...	Tres
Peter Jason	...	McSimms
Wanda De Jesus	...	Akooshay
Doug McGrath	...	Benchley

Storyline

200 years in the future a Martian police unit is dispatched to transport a dangerous prisoner from a mining outpost back to justice. But when the team arrives they find the town deserted and some of the inhabitants possessed by the former inhabitants of the planet.

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Plot Keywords:

martian | mars the planet | jail | outer space | music score composed by director | 

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Taglines:

Terror is the same on any planet

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence/gore, language and some drug content

Did You Know?

Trivia

Much of the location shooting was done on a gypsum mine near Albuquerque, New Mexico. The gypsum, which is almost pure white, was sprayed with a biodegradable red food dye to give the appearance of a Martian landscape.

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Goofs

The gravity on Mars is a fraction of that on Earth, yet none of the character's actions or movements suggest that.

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Quotes

Jericho Butler: Eutopia, the ass end of the universe. A penal camp for thieving cutthroats.
Melanie Ballard: Sounds nasty. But you seem to be holding up pretty well.
Jericho Butler: Yeah, well, I have many hidden talents.

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Connections

Featured in HBO First Look: Ghosts of Mars (2001)

User Reviews

There´s still hope for John Carpenter!

After his awful "Vampire$"-flick I digged all hopes to see a good John Carpenter movie ever again, the more I was surprised how great this one was! Okay, cross out the word "original" from your vocabulary, because "Ghosts of Mars" is nothing else but a crossover from other films like Ridley Scott´s "Alien", Martin Campbell´s "Escape from Absolom" or Carpenter´s own "Assault on Precinct 13". Besides this shot has the charm of a 90 minutes long Heavy Metal video clip and some satirical sidekicks on colonialism are not further developed!

However, this is the best film of the director since a long time! Carpenter gets out the maximum of a simple plot, GoM is suspense-packed, entertaining and pretty violent, so what do you want more?!? It´s like a Western that takes place on Mars to describe it with simple words. Natasha Henstridge´s part as heroine is one of the toughest female roles ever featured in a John Carpenter movie and supporting actress Clea Duvall is really sweet, although you don´t see that much of her..! The film gets an extra bonus for the cast of blaxploitation queen Pam Grier, unfortunately she passes away after half an hour...

To me it´s the best Mars movie of the last few years and I´m really curious to see the next film of the director! 8 out of 10

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 August 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,804,452, 26 August 2001

Gross USA:

$8,709,640

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,010,832

Company Credits

Production Co:

Screen Gems, Storm King Productions, Animationwerks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (FotoKem)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1