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 prepare to tow it back to land, that strange things happen.
When Cyrus Kriticos, a very rich collector of unique things dies, he leaves it all to his nephew and his family. All including his house, his fortune, and his malicious collection of ghosts!
Director:
Steve Beck
Stars:
Tony Shalhoub,
Shannon Elizabeth,
Embeth Davidtz
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.Written by
EliMai
Was the first Dark Castle Entertainment horror film released to be based on an original concept, as the original idea for the company was to remake William Castle horror films which the previous few films were. Though it was still critically panned like their previous releases. See more »
Goofs
The ship is supposedly caught up in a rotating current in the Bering Sea. North of the equator, this would be moving the ship in a counterclockwise direction, driving its right (starboard) side into the rocky islands at the edge of the current. As shown, the ship's left (port) side is at risk, meaning that the ship is drifting in a clockwise rotation. This would be the norm south of the equator, where the movie was filmed. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Greer:
I can't hold her much longer, Murph. Port bow is heeling. She's taking on way too much water.
See more »
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. See more »
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".
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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".