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Ghost Ship (2002)
Just Floating Along
Directed By: Steve Beck
Starring: Julianna Margulies, Gabriel Byrne, & Desmond Harrington
Starring: Julianna Margulies, Gabriel Byrne, & Desmond Harrington
MPAA Rating: “R” (for strong violence/gore, language and sexuality)
Dark Castle Entertainment is one of those horror studios that has never warmed horror fans’ hearts. For example, in his review of House of Wax (2005), The Arrow (of www.arrowinthehead.com) said “they went on to make lots of crap. I’m talking: 13 Crap, Ghost Shit and Gothikrap!” Obviously, one must go into their movies with the knowledge that they are infamous for making essentially basic ghost stories (with the exception of the aforementioned slasher flick, House of Wax). With that thought in my mind, I went into Ghost Ship expecting a rather basic haunted house...well, ship film. For the most part, I got just that, minus one essential ingredient: solid characters. In fact, Ghost Ship has no characters; it has cardboard cut-outs that walk, talk, and die. Did they even have names? I don’t really know...and neither did the filmmakers.
Our cut-outs, led by the older-than-everyone-else captain (Byrne) and the woman (Margulies), are a team of salvagers who salvage shipwrecks and claim small fortunes for each one. When a stammering stranger (Harrington) tells them about a seemingly-abandoned ocean liner floating aimlessly in the ocean, the team knows that it could be worth millions. So, they all embark out to salvage the ship and claim the biggest fortune of their careers. Almost immediately, strange things begin to happen: the pool fills with blood, a female voice sings from the radios, and a ghostly girl (Emily Browning) makes many cryptic appearances. The team realize that they have boarded a “ghost ship” and that they must fight to escape before the ghosts kill them all. The discovery of a fortune in gold makes the decision all the more desperate and difficult.
Ghost Ship could have transcending the trappings of its standard plot by improving its characters, perhaps giving them names and relationships instead of merely slapping a few lackluster connections together right at the end, and by actually showing some fear in these characters. As it is, they all encounter ghostly apparitions, chat with them, share a few drinks, try to have sex with them (!), and then die. Therefore, the only thing we know about these people is that they are salvagers and that they are not afraid of ghosts. So, the only question is this: why should we really care? There is no one to root for here and even the ghosts prove to be rather bland, with the exception of the young girl, well-played by an adorable Emily Browning, who is the only one that amounts to something more than a plot device.
There just isn’t enough behind Ghost Ship that isn’t mere fluff. The performances, even from the amazing Gabriel Byrne, are nothing more than standard stuff used to breathe the bare minimum of life into characters that would otherwise just lie there limply. The movie may sport some intriguing special effects (with the sinking of the ocean liner at the end being perhaps the highlight) and a few special death sequences, but the rest of it all is just, for the lack of a better word, boring. I loved the entire opening (the credits, the “Love Boat” theme music, and the very gruesome wire sequence) as well as the later flashback that is stylish and vibrant, but they are in a movie that sadly has very little else to offer. Ghost Ship isn’t an awful movie--it is technically-appealing and well-directed--but it is just attractive nothingness. It is like a balloon, bright red on the outside, but with no helium inside. It may look like a balloon, but it just lies there on the floor with no fun to be had.
Our cut-outs, led by the older-than-everyone-else captain (Byrne) and the woman (Margulies), are a team of salvagers who salvage shipwrecks and claim small fortunes for each one. When a stammering stranger (Harrington) tells them about a seemingly-abandoned ocean liner floating aimlessly in the ocean, the team knows that it could be worth millions. So, they all embark out to salvage the ship and claim the biggest fortune of their careers. Almost immediately, strange things begin to happen: the pool fills with blood, a female voice sings from the radios, and a ghostly girl (Emily Browning) makes many cryptic appearances. The team realize that they have boarded a “ghost ship” and that they must fight to escape before the ghosts kill them all. The discovery of a fortune in gold makes the decision all the more desperate and difficult.
Ghost Ship could have transcending the trappings of its standard plot by improving its characters, perhaps giving them names and relationships instead of merely slapping a few lackluster connections together right at the end, and by actually showing some fear in these characters. As it is, they all encounter ghostly apparitions, chat with them, share a few drinks, try to have sex with them (!), and then die. Therefore, the only thing we know about these people is that they are salvagers and that they are not afraid of ghosts. So, the only question is this: why should we really care? There is no one to root for here and even the ghosts prove to be rather bland, with the exception of the young girl, well-played by an adorable Emily Browning, who is the only one that amounts to something more than a plot device.
There just isn’t enough behind Ghost Ship that isn’t mere fluff. The performances, even from the amazing Gabriel Byrne, are nothing more than standard stuff used to breathe the bare minimum of life into characters that would otherwise just lie there limply. The movie may sport some intriguing special effects (with the sinking of the ocean liner at the end being perhaps the highlight) and a few special death sequences, but the rest of it all is just, for the lack of a better word, boring. I loved the entire opening (the credits, the “Love Boat” theme music, and the very gruesome wire sequence) as well as the later flashback that is stylish and vibrant, but they are in a movie that sadly has very little else to offer. Ghost Ship isn’t an awful movie--it is technically-appealing and well-directed--but it is just attractive nothingness. It is like a balloon, bright red on the outside, but with no helium inside. It may look like a balloon, but it just lies there on the floor with no fun to be had.
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