“Ghost Ship” sacrifices good suspense for standard jump scares. Which is a shame since the setting and concept are perfect for terror. The result is a plot that’s messy, and a film that’s bogged down with special effects and attempted but failed horror.
This 2002 picture has a memorable cover image – a phantom ship emerging from the shadows emblazoned with a skull. It’s only ninety minutes and despite the weakness of its scope, I watched dutifully until the very end.
Hard to imagine that 2002 was only five years post “Titanic” – the movie not the disaster. Boats and the ocean were on everyone’s mind. The opening sequence is absurd. Its brutality has garnered high praise, with most critics finding it to be the only good part of the entire film. It succeeds at setting the stage.
A salvage crew led by Captain Sean Murphy (Gabriel Byrne) is tasked with finding a mysterious ship drifting in the Bering Sea. His crew consists of the rebellious Maureen Epps (Julianna Margulies) and a bunch of also-rans.
I love Julianna Margulies, and she portrays the tough salvager Epps with great tenacity. I recognized Gabriel Byrne from “The Usual Suspects” and he does what’s needed with a lackluster script. The rest of the cast is like the movie itself. Whatever.
“Ghost Ship” does one thing well. The setting is perfectly ripe for horror. It’s the middle of the ocean. It’s dark. There’s a seemingly abandoned ship that’s been missing for decades. The vessel is massive in size. A great shot shows the scope compared to the tug boat and it’s quite impressive.
There are some good scary elements, but the score completely ruins any momentum of the mayhem. And the ending, where the explanation of the story is revealed is completely disjointed and senseless.
I have since read that several issues plagued this film from the start. Issues that include a complete re-write of the script just before filming began. A re-write that was more Hollywood than horror, and has left several members of the cast denouncing themselves from the film in the years since.
“Ghost Ship” is pretty standard. It’s CGI and action scenes make it feel more like a 90s blockbuster pretending to be horror than an actual horror movie.
“Ghost Ship” can be streamed.
