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I do so very much love a good ghost story; and, yet, one of the things I loathe the most is lazy storytelling.
Though some might disagree, I think the ingredients for a good ghost story include an atmosphere that oozes creepiness (not necessarily blood); a reasonable degree of mystery and/or suspense (not necessarily overblown to the point of be exploitative); a central spooky entity that both establishes and plays by its own set of rules, including a backstory grounded in tragedy; and – perhaps most importantly – a cast I can care about. That last bit is where I do tend to diverge from mainstream audiences: typically, they get more excited about an endless parade of victims who might be superficially relatable, but I need to spend time with people who are doing more than waiting to be another notch on the ghost’s proverbial bedpost. I have to care about them – even if it’s in some small, negotiable way – or the gig is up. I might still enjoy the resulting procedural, but I’m very likely not going to enthusiastically sing its praises across the board.
A quick Google.com search indicates that 2002’s Ghost Ship – despite some fairly negative reviews – still emerged as a minor box office hit. On a reported budget of $20M, the flick went on to gross nearly $70M worldwide; and that’s certainly nothing to laugh at. Directed by Steve Beck (his last motion picture, if IMDB.com is to be trusted), the script was penned by Mark Hanlon and John Pogue. The cast included such familiar faces as Julianna Margulies, Gabriel Byrne, Isaish Washington, Ron Eldard, Karl Urban, Desmond Harrington, and others. Despite some rather impressive scenery bolstered by good production design, the story winds up being a somewhat waterlogged potboiler that, sadly, succumbs to predictability in its second half, never quite delivering a central ensemble that deserves some extra attention.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“A salvage crew discovers a long-lost 1962 passenger ship floating lifeless in a remote region of the Bering Sea and soon notices that its long-dead inhabitants may still be on board.”
Though some might disagree, I think the ingredients for a good ghost story include an atmosphere that oozes creepiness (not necessarily blood); a reasonable degree of mystery and/or suspense (not necessarily overblown to the point of be exploitative); a central spooky entity that both establishes and plays by its own set of rules, including a backstory grounded in tragedy; and – perhaps most importantly – a cast I can care about. That last bit is where I do tend to diverge from mainstream audiences: typically, they get more excited about an endless parade of victims who might be superficially relatable, but I need to spend time with people who are doing more than waiting to be another notch on the ghost’s proverbial bedpost. I have to care about them – even if it’s in some small, negotiable way – or the gig is up. I might still enjoy the resulting procedural, but I’m very likely not going to enthusiastically sing its praises across the board.
A quick Google.com search indicates that 2002’s Ghost Ship – despite some fairly negative reviews – still emerged as a minor box office hit. On a reported budget of $20M, the flick went on to gross nearly $70M worldwide; and that’s certainly nothing to laugh at. Directed by Steve Beck (his last motion picture, if IMDB.com is to be trusted), the script was penned by Mark Hanlon and John Pogue. The cast included such familiar faces as Julianna Margulies, Gabriel Byrne, Isaish Washington, Ron Eldard, Karl Urban, Desmond Harrington, and others. Despite some rather impressive scenery bolstered by good production design, the story winds up being a somewhat waterlogged potboiler that, sadly, succumbs to predictability in its second half, never quite delivering a central ensemble that deserves some extra attention.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“A salvage crew discovers a long-lost 1962 passenger ship floating lifeless in a remote region of the Bering Sea and soon notices that its long-dead inhabitants may still be on board.”
A fact regarding 2002’s Ghost Ship that may’ve escaped casual watchers is that there was a surprising powerhouse of names involved in bringing this curious fright to the silver screen. The much-praised Robert Zemeckis (1985’s Back To The Future and 1994’s Forrest Gump), was on board as producer, as was Hollywood heavyweight Joel Silver (1988’s Die Hard and 1999’s The Matrix), Bruce Berman (1999’s Analyze This and 2007’s I Am Legend), and Susan Downey (the wife of Robert Downey Jr. and producer of 2005’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and 2010’s Iron Man 2). I bring this up only to establish that Ship had a plenty of talent behind-the-scenes as well as it did up there in the spotlights; and yet what emerges is a rather tepid paint-by-numbers fright that never quite exceeds the sum of these pieces.
Murphy (played by Gabriel Byrne) and Epps (Julianna Margulies) operate an ocean salvage team consisting of the motley crew of irregulars, each and every one pretty much fulfilling some single aspect of the male psyche. There’s the mechanic – Santos (Alex Dimitriades) – and the pragmatist – Greer (Isaiah Washington) – along with the constantly dueling ‘brothers from other mothers’ – Dodge (Ron Eldard) and Munder (Karl Urban) – who all combine to make about as dysfunctional a family dynamic that’s ever been conceived by Hollywood scribes. Individually, they’re misfits. As a group, however, they owe their success to bucking safety, flying (or sailing) by the seat of their pants as they chase what little fortune and glory they can find on the high seas. So, it’s only natural that when a total stranger – Ferriman (Desmond Harrington) – comes calling with a find too good to be true that they’ll risk all and go for broke. He believes he’s found the Antonio Graza – an ocean liner that disappeared forty years ago – floating derelict in open waters; and claiming it before anyone else does could be the answer to all of their prayers in more ways than one could possibly imagine.
Murphy (played by Gabriel Byrne) and Epps (Julianna Margulies) operate an ocean salvage team consisting of the motley crew of irregulars, each and every one pretty much fulfilling some single aspect of the male psyche. There’s the mechanic – Santos (Alex Dimitriades) – and the pragmatist – Greer (Isaiah Washington) – along with the constantly dueling ‘brothers from other mothers’ – Dodge (Ron Eldard) and Munder (Karl Urban) – who all combine to make about as dysfunctional a family dynamic that’s ever been conceived by Hollywood scribes. Individually, they’re misfits. As a group, however, they owe their success to bucking safety, flying (or sailing) by the seat of their pants as they chase what little fortune and glory they can find on the high seas. So, it’s only natural that when a total stranger – Ferriman (Desmond Harrington) – comes calling with a find too good to be true that they’ll risk all and go for broke. He believes he’s found the Antonio Graza – an ocean liner that disappeared forty years ago – floating derelict in open waters; and claiming it before anyone else does could be the answer to all of their prayers in more ways than one could possibly imagine.
What they don’t know but the audience does – thanks to the film’s opening reel – is that something went so horribly, horribly wrong aboard the Graza before it went missing, leaving the ship infested with dead souls all caught between Heaven and Hell thanks to a curse enacted by … well, I won’t spoil it. Let’s just say that the entire film – much like a good number of serviceable chillers – operates largely one secret identity fueling a great deal of the successively bloody, bloodier, and bloodiest exploits awaiting Murphy, Epps, and the whole gang; so, kudos to the scripters for – at the very least – knowing exactly what they wanted. Basically, the Antonio Graza is a central haunted house transplanted from land onto the sea; and – on that level alone – Ship works in spite of the fact that most in the audience will know what’s coming before these single-dimensional characters ever do.
This is what I meant above when I stated that I tend to disagree with mainstream audiences: while they likely scarf up Ship because they find its taste suitable, it just never quite whet my appetite. Its ensemble – while undeniably talented – aren’t really given enough substance here, instead playing out their respective characterizations as stereotypes and never given any measurable depth. The only interesting relationship that kinda/sorta defies conventions and deserved a bit of extra screen time was that of Murphy and Epps, an unlikely father/daughter pairing that “just is” because the script said so and not because it was ever demonstrated on screen. While there were hints about where they both came from and how they turned out together, it was all too ‘cut and dried,’ with Epps even turning against her mentor for paltry reasons in the second half. The actors deserved better, as did their inevitably shallow characters.
In true ghost story fashion, the Graza does effectively become something worth watching. Its dingy corridors are occasionally lit up via flashbacks to show just how far from grace the big boat has fallen; and the production details are smart enough to life up even the slowest sequences by giving audiences something to look at. Such attention to detail could’ve and should’ve been applied to the individuals, and I might’ve found more delight in watching them fall 10 Little Indians-style as the screws get turned against them. Alas, that wasn’t the case, and even the final scene twist – when all is fundamentally revealed and might even have viewers scratching their heads – sinks when it should’ve swum.
Or is that “swimming?”
This is what I meant above when I stated that I tend to disagree with mainstream audiences: while they likely scarf up Ship because they find its taste suitable, it just never quite whet my appetite. Its ensemble – while undeniably talented – aren’t really given enough substance here, instead playing out their respective characterizations as stereotypes and never given any measurable depth. The only interesting relationship that kinda/sorta defies conventions and deserved a bit of extra screen time was that of Murphy and Epps, an unlikely father/daughter pairing that “just is” because the script said so and not because it was ever demonstrated on screen. While there were hints about where they both came from and how they turned out together, it was all too ‘cut and dried,’ with Epps even turning against her mentor for paltry reasons in the second half. The actors deserved better, as did their inevitably shallow characters.
In true ghost story fashion, the Graza does effectively become something worth watching. Its dingy corridors are occasionally lit up via flashbacks to show just how far from grace the big boat has fallen; and the production details are smart enough to life up even the slowest sequences by giving audiences something to look at. Such attention to detail could’ve and should’ve been applied to the individuals, and I might’ve found more delight in watching them fall 10 Little Indians-style as the screws get turned against them. Alas, that wasn’t the case, and even the final scene twist – when all is fundamentally revealed and might even have viewers scratching their heads – sinks when it should’ve swum.
Or is that “swimming?”
Ghost Ship (2002) was produced by Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, NPV Entertainment, Dark Castle Entertainment, Ghost Ship Films Pty. Ltd. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Warner Bros. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I found most of the provided sights and sounds to be quite good: there’s a bit of visual – some in-camera, some post-production stuff – that helps the flick even in its darkest spots. Spooky, spooky, spooky. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? The disc is loaded with some short featurettes that explore both the cast and the production, but I found most of it negligible at best. A bit disappointing.
Alas … only Mildly Recommended.
Truly, the best thing about Ghost Ship (2002) for me was the actual Ghost Ship itself. The cast – while impressive – never gets used to the level of their capabilities, mostly owed to the fact that the writing relied too much on a curious twist about what was truly transpiring when far simply ideas have produced much more rewarding films elsewhere. The most unforgivable sin is wasting Margulies and Byrne – two talents who’ve likely forgotten more about crafting memorable characters than most actors ever learn – and I wanted to care more about their bond than I was ever asked to do. Tonally, the film’s opening even loosely suggests this one might be a Comedy, a sentiment that disappears as soon as the first head hits the ground … thankfully.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Warner Archive (via Allied Vaughn) provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of Ghost Ship (2002) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
Alas … only Mildly Recommended.
Truly, the best thing about Ghost Ship (2002) for me was the actual Ghost Ship itself. The cast – while impressive – never gets used to the level of their capabilities, mostly owed to the fact that the writing relied too much on a curious twist about what was truly transpiring when far simply ideas have produced much more rewarding films elsewhere. The most unforgivable sin is wasting Margulies and Byrne – two talents who’ve likely forgotten more about crafting memorable characters than most actors ever learn – and I wanted to care more about their bond than I was ever asked to do. Tonally, the film’s opening even loosely suggests this one might be a Comedy, a sentiment that disappears as soon as the first head hits the ground … thankfully.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Warner Archive (via Allied Vaughn) provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of Ghost Ship (2002) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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