If you like the scary movies this one is well worth watching. I liked it alot!

...but "Ghost Ship" has its' moments, and is far from the worst horror-movie I've seen. Now I must add; I am a big fan of movies involving old ships and ocean (I don't know why) -so of course this "a bit b-scripted" movie may recieve some of its' credit by the fact that it is that type of film. From me that is.

The opening-sequel of "G.S" is something of the most grotesque that I've ever seen, and I'm not easily scared actually -it just looks so... hm... yes, painful. The scene the way it is arranged and "made" is a well-worthy opening for a horror-movie, and impressive done and thought-out. But from here it's not going anywhere near this scary again. It made me jump a couple of times, and the ship looks really fantastic (as new, and as a wreck) -but once again the effects dominate, the plot is weak (and if not predictable, not very convinsing or exiting to put it like that). But I enjoyed the movie anyway, ignoring the bad acting, and the unsympathetic characters involved. When it comes to quality I'd compare it to "Deep Blue Sea". But it's not a floating "The Shining" as some has described it as. The "personality" of the production simply isn't there, and there's not much style -and the story not very inspiring. It's easy to forget, and has not much originality. But turn your mind off, lean back -and you might just feel entertained.

~May Contain Spoilers~


This movie really doesnt offer anything new to horror addicts...but it does have a sort of "different" thriller to it...and it is sort of scarier because of the whole atmosphere, but other than that its nothing we horror lovers havent seen before. The gore is typical and normal, not very creative, but there were some "out there" scenes that were sort of wierd.

A group of people go to investigate a boat floating off the local coast, only to realize that it is haunted with spirits of the previous "riders". As time goes on they are slaughtered in different ways until the girl, of course, who else? realizes that the person who asked them to investigate the boat isnt nessecarily says he is, and finds a way to thwart his evil plans before he gains more and more power, unfortunately, this doesn't have a "protaginist winning" story...

For as long as man has slapped together sturdy, seaworthy craft and pitched out across the Earth's black seas, there have been legends of ghost ships, tales of brigantines and merchant-men that have disappeared, only to turn up months or years later: abandoned, no sign of struggle, decks left neat, hatches battened, crew gone.

The tale of old Captain Van der Gelder and his Flying Dutchman haunted the minds of sea captains and inspired an opera by Richard Wagner, and maritime legendry is rich with tales of the Marie Celeste (which plays a brief role in this film), the Andrea Doria, and even the Titanic, which has become a ghost ship of sorts, its supple staterooms hosting fat white sea-slugs and sharks instead of tycoons.

With this in mind, I was looking forward to "Ghost Ship", which has all the ingredients of a good haunted house story: a mysterious (and shocking, right from the lurid opening sequences) tragedy aboard the Italian luxury ocean-liner Antonia Graz; the sighting of the monstrous, rusting hulk in the Bering Strait 40 years after its disappearance; and a slap-dash rush by a band of salvagers to get to the hulk and tow it back to port in Anchorage.

Oh, not to mention the fact that the movie is helmed by Steve Beck, who may not be the most profound director, but as 13 Ghosts proved, is not a fellow who is shy about gore.

So you've got a haunted ghost ship in the north Pacific, you've got great shiploads of goop in the cargo hold, you've got a nasty little decades-old sub-plot of murder and greed and treachery, and you've got some excellent actors (among them Gabriel Byrne and Julianna Margulies). What's not to like about "Ghost Ship"?

Actually, there's a lot to like about this little film, which is sleek, well-shot, occasionally very creepy, has solid acting and a decent story, and possibly the most masterful gore-effects I've seen in the last 5 years. And best of all, most of the gore and special effects is hand-made, and (blessedly!) not the cheap CGI that ruined other enjoyable creature features like "Deep Rising".

When the salvage team boards the rusting Antonia Graz, all the lifeboats are gone, as well as the anchors---and that's not all. The story itself seems to have been jettisoned: while there is a nasty little plot (the tale of betrayal and murder is well told and awfully grisly), once the salvage guys turn up the movie turns into a little supernatural murder-by-numbers flick, so predictable that you can guess who is going to get it---and when, and how.

And the climax, which should have been terrifying, seems grafted on; besides which the villain, who should have been literally diabolic (perhaps Gabriel Byrne?), is far too bland to be frightening.

But let's get back to why "Ghost Ship" merits a look: the special effects in the movie are visionary, some of the best I've seen in a horror film. There is a little nugget in the DVD extras called "A closer look at the Gore" which is worth the price of admission alone.

And really, the opening sequence is worth the price of admission: it is incredibly well done and brilliantly edited, an entire sequence in which director Beck probably stepped away from the camera and gave the film over to the special effects guys. The scene is so lurid, so gory, and so disturbing, that I found myself still thinking about it days after I saw the movie. If you've seen "13 Ghosts" and remember what Beck did with the lawyer, this is about 100 times as good (or bad, depending on your gore-threshold).

All in all, "Ghost Ship" is a great little nugget of gloriously gory horror that is slightly undermined by a story that feels cobbled together. The movie isn't frightening, but it is stylish. Like most modern cruises, "Ghost Ship" is great for a visit---but you wouldn't want to live there.

JSG

This movie looked good right up until it's release, but even in the trailer it didn't look like all that. Then when I finally saw it on dvd, I thought it was great. It's open boat scene was nicely shown. and all of its characters were very enjoyable to watch.
As for a horror movie it doesn't deliver completely like it could have. For a slasher thriller if you want to call it that, it doesn't give you a whole lot of gore. I just think it only deserves 3 stars because to me it just wasn't scary, and didn't appear to be to anybody. I rather see half the other ghost movies ever made before seeing this, sorry to say.
The plot of a salvage team finding a ghost ship, is one of the only things to make this movie curious to watch. Virus(Jamie Lee Curtis) and Deep Rising(Treat Williams), were far better abandoned boat movies. Although they were both science fiction not ghosts... still I recommend you watch those before this.
It's nice to watch, to unsolve the mystery of this ghost ship. But I would recommend Steve Beck's first movie he directed before this... the remake Thir13en Ghosts(matthew Lillard). That had a stronger story to follow I thought, and made a stronger attempt to be scary.