Ghost Ship (2002)

A salvage crew discovers a long-lost 1962 passenger ship floating lifeless in a remote region of the Bering Sea, and soon notices that its long-dead inhabitants may still be on board.

Director:

Steve Beck

Writers:

Mark Hanlon (story), Mark Hanlon (screenplay)

Stars:

Julianna Margulies, Gabriel Byrne, Ron Eldard

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gabriel Byrne	...	Murphy
Julianna Margulies	...	Epps
Ron Eldard	...	Dodge
Desmond Harrington	...	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

Storyline

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

ghost ship | characters murdered one by one | evil spirit | death trap | reference to the bering straits | 

---

Taglines:

Sea Evil

---

Genres:

Horror

---

Certificate:

18A

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although not mentioned in the actual episode, the original Mythbusters (Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman) proved that a cable could not, in fact, cut a person in half, let alone an entire deck full of people, on their Season 4 episode MythBusters: Killer Cable Snaps (2006).

---

Goofs

In the shockingly gruesome beginning, after the cable wire whips through the crowd and cuts the passengers in two, some passengers are shown alive and moving after they've collapsed to the floor. This is not accurate, as people who have their upper and lower halves separated will go into massive shock and die quickly thereafter.

---

Quotes

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

---

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.

---

Alternate Versions

The film was released in Germany in both its uncut form (rated "Not under 18") and in an edited version ("Not under 16"), which misses many gory shots (i.e. from the wire scene in the beginning, the squashed diver or the "hooked up" singer). For commercial reasons most cinemas showed the cut version.

---

Connections

Featured in Phelous & the Movies: Top 10 Phelous Moments 2012 (2013)

---

Soundtracks

Senza Fine
Written by Gino Paoli
Produced by John Frizzell
Performed by Monica Mancini
Courtesy of Concord Records
[Francesca sings the song in the opening sequence; the salvage crew later hears her singing the song]

User Reviews

Half and half

Now this I would call exactly an average film. For me, it landed precisely at the very center of imdb's 10 point scale, right at 5.5. This means that I found exactly as much to like as I did to dislike. There is a bit of inspiration here, but just as much that's stolen from other better horror movies. If it had opted for tone and real fear instead of cheap shocks, the movie could have been great. The story is good enough that it could have been great if handled well. But we do live in these times, and, although there are scholars of the modern era who would try to have us believe that the current generation consists of a bunch of kids who get everything instantly and process it on a billion levels at once, the truth is indeed the exact opposite. No, there is no subtlety here. It would go over your average teenager's head in a heartbeat. Nope, better play it safe and provide us with a gruesome scene up front where a couple of dozen people are sliced in half by a loose cable during a ball. Gore is not scary. I did however produce a dry heave during this sequence, which is more than I can say for any other gore scene that I've viewed lately. As the gore accumulates, I began to appreciate the artistry that was put into the enormous number of deaths. These are some sickeningly creative people, let me tell you. Unfortunately, the director (or screenwriters or whoever) ruins any real potential by revealing every detail about what happened on the titular boat in a fast-motion sequence accompanied by techno music! It's the kind of moment where you just slap your head for the lack of talent involved. And then there was more stuff I liked. For example, the art direction is very impressive. The revelation of one character's identity, while not particularly surprising, is at least somewhat new. I give this film a 5/10, rounding down because I felt the final moment was a bit groan-inducing.

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros Warner Bros. [France]

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

English Italian Spanish

Release Date:

25 October 2002 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Le vaisseau fantôme

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,503,423, 27 October 2002

Gross USA:

$30,113,491

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$68,349,884

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, NPV Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1