Early 2000s horror had a particular flavor to it. Its grim, gothic aesthetic quickly gave way to cheap jump scares, faux “cool” character designs, and oceans of CGI gore. Folks in their late 20s or early 30s today would have been the perfect age to have stumbled onto something likeGhost Shipin their youth and let it stick in their mind forever. A look back would reveal that it was always terrible, but give it some credit for frontloading its best scene.
The tale ofGhost Shipwould be incomplete without mentioning the company that made it. Dark Castle Entertainment was formed with the noble goal of remakingWilliam Castle’s iconic gimmick-driven B-movies.Ghost Shipwas their third production and the first after giving up on their original mission. Dark Castle producedThe House on Haunted Hill, 13 Ghosts, Ghost Ship, Gothika, House of Wax, The Reaping,andReturn to House on Haunted Hillbefore moving on to more diverse fare. In short, those nostalgic for that distinct 2000s brand of horror have them to thank.
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What isGhost Shipabout?
Ghost Shipfollows a crew of scavengers who collect sunken treasure from the bottom of the sea. Pilot Jack Ferriman tasks Captain Sean Murphy, Maureen Epps, Greer, Dodge, Munder, and Santos with retrieving theAntonia Graza, a luxury cruise liner set adrift after an unknowndisaster in the 60s. The crew boards the empty ship, quickly discovering several terrifying events. Most of the vessel is stained with viscera. They suffer hallucinations that seem to connect to the long-dead passengers. Epps keeps seeing a mysterious little girl. Though they’re afraid, they find a massive hidden collection of gold below deck. When the crew tries to leave with their bounty, their tugboat inexplicably explodes, killing Santos.
The crew is forced to repair theGrazato escape being stranded at sea. Bodies start to drop asapparitions trick and tormentthe scavengers into deadly fates. Captain Murphy goes mad as he sees Santos' spirit everywhere he looks. Greer is seduced by a long-dead lady who lets him fall down an elevator shaft. Eventually, Epps discovers the truth about the vessel’s passengers, thanks to the little ghost girl. TheGraza’s crew found the gold in the wreckage of a downed cruise liner. Jack Ferriman, its only survivor, allowed the employees to fall into in-fighting and violence. Epps must escape theGrazaand free all the damned souls aboard.
What makesGhost Ship’s opening scene so memorable?
The first scene ofGhost Shipdepicts the disaster that killed the passengers of theAntonia Graza. An unseen hand loosens a steel wire cord. The wealthy innocents enjoy a fancy ball. They dance and drink as a stunning cabaret performer sings. Thewire suddenly slices throughthe entire deck. Flowers and decorations split instantly. The cord sweeps through the victims without a moment’s pause. All at once, dozens of people are cleanly bisected in a spray of blood. It’s a masterful showcase of effects, violence, and set design. As a short film, these few minutes would be perfect. It’s not the first example of an impossibly sharp object cutting through victims.Resident Evilcame out the same year and depicted a laser array slicing soldiers to pieces.Vincenzo Natali’s 1997 classicCubesent a steel fence through a person, reducing them to tiny cubes.Ghost Shiparguably holds the record for the most substantial example of this clean-cut trope. Most bad films don’t have anything memorable to hang their hat on. Being drowned out by the first five minutes isn’t the worst thing.
How doesGhost Shipend?
Greer, Santos, and Murphy are dead. Munder iscrushed while scuba diving. Only Epps and Dodge remain to face Jack. Epps tasks Dodge with keeping the ghost sailor busy while she plants explosives all over the ship. Jack taunts Dodge for being too cowardly to admit his love for Epps. Dodge shoots Jack with a shotgun and prepares to go after Epps, believing he’d killed his enemy. Dodge finds Epps and tells her they could escape with all the gold and start a new life. She realizes he’s actually Jack, who has killed Dodge and taken his form. Jack is a demonic spirit tasked with convincing others to sin and dragging their souls to Hell. He intends to keep using theGrazato lure people in and kill them, trapping their ghosts aboard the vessel until he’s ready to return. Epps detonates the explosives, ripping Jack apart and sinking theGraza. All the souls aboard ascend to heaven. A cruise ship saves Epps and takes the gold. Epps sees a resurrected Jack overseeing the crewloading the gold and screamsas the ambulance doors close.
Ghost Shipis a bizarre mess with one extraordinary scene. The opening is available for free on YouTube. There’s no reason to check out the 90-minute disaster it’s attached to.Ghost Shipharkensback to a simpleryet much worse time for horror cinema. Those nostalgic for the 2000s might enjoy one good horror set piece and a few laughs along the way. ThisGhost Shipshould’ve sunk right after the first scene.
