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Ghost Ship: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review

“Ghost Ship” is largely forgettable.

After getting a hot tip from a pilot (Jack), a salvage crew seeks out an ocean liner ghost ship (the SS Antonio Graza). Unbeknownst to them, the ship has a horrific past 40 years prior. Upon arrival, the crew find literal gold, but there’s something really off about the ship as they uncover dead bodies. It only gets worse from there when ghosts begin to pop up and the crew members start dying off. What really happened on the ship in the past and how does it tie in to the present?

Back in the early 2000’s, Dark Castle Entertainment released a string of reasonably popular horror movies and 2002’s “Ghost Ship” was one such title. You can practically see how this movie was pitched as “Titanic” with ghosts and that sounds like a great pitch on paper. Alas, all of that potential sinks underwater in the rushed final product.

Aside from a brutal gory opening sequence in which bodies and heads are sliced apart, director Steve Beck’s “Ghost Ship” is a mess of a movie. The script penned by Mark Hanlon and John Pogue is in dire need of more than a few rewrites. Not only is there barely any characterization, but the story gets progressively more absurd with each passing minute. Once the big “villain” revelation and the ending come around, you’ll likely find yourself shaking your head at how dopey this horror movie really is. Let’s not forget the idiotic character actions, the dreadful editing, the tired jump scares, and seemingly endless scenes of characters wandering around with flashlights either.

Perhaps the film’s biggest sin is the waste of a truly talented cast which contains the likes of Julianna Marguiles, Gabriel Byrne, Isaiah Washington, Karl Urban, Emily Browning, and Ron Eldard. Aside from Byrne who classes up the movie (and provides the film’s best performance), everyone is wasted in their cardboard parts here.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.85:1 1080p. How does it look? An all-around quality upgrade (even if it’s not flashy).

Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? A mostly satisfactory track that is a little flat in parts.
Extras:
* “Ghost Ship” theatrical trailer
* Brand new separate interviews with producer Gil Adler and makeup effects supervisor Jason Baird.
* A new 6 1/2 minute  interview with actor Isiah Washington.
* A music video for Mudvayne’s “Not Falling.”
* “Max On Set: Ghost Ship”- A standard featurette with interviews.
* A behind-the-scenes visual effects featurette and a designing the ship featurette
* “A Closer Look At The Gore”- The title says it all
* “Secrets Of The Antonia Graza”- A series of mini-videos related to the ship’s past.

September 15, 2020 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Gabriel Byrne, Ghost Ship: Collector's Edition Blu-ray Review, Horror Movie, Julianna Margulies, Karl Urban, Scream Factory