Plot: What’s it about?
In 1962, the luxury vessel Antonia Graza was lost at sea and even though the ship was massive, it was never found. After four decades pass, a salvage crew is approached about a large ship spotted in a remote location. The vessel hasn’t moved much and since it is abandon in international waters, whoever recovers it owns all rights. As they celebrate a successful recovery mission, a man named Murphy (Gabriel Byrne) and his crew are approached by a young man named Ferriman (Desmond Harrington), who promises some important information. He tells them about the abandon ship and that if he is given a share in the profits, he is willing to hand over the data, so long as he can go with the crew. So Murphy and the others head off and after a strange bout with the radar, they crash head on with the massive vessel. Murphy instantly recognizes the Antonia Graza and the immense value of the mission, so he and the others quickly begin to plan out how to recover the valuable find. A scan of the ship reveals a large amount of gold bars, worth hundreds of millions of dollars. This leads the crew to leave the ship behind and take the gold, but when their vessel explodes, the survivors are stranded on the Antonia Graza. What spirits lurk on the abandon ship and can anyone survive its cursed existence?
After a dynamic, impressive start, Ghost Ship starts a slow slide that continues until the less than memorable conclusion. As a huge fan of horror movies, I wanted to like Ghost Ship, but it fails to offer even a moderate level of thrills. The recent wave of remake horror like House on Haunted Hill and Thirteen Ghosts even looks good by comparison, as this one lacks the visual flair and dark comic sense. I simply loved the opening sequence, but there is just a total lack of real atmosphere and tension, which sinks this picture. I think some filmmakers assume darkness and eerie sounds are enough to scare us, but that’s not the case. Instead, we want creepy visuals, atmosphere that drips eerie texture, and above all else, some genuine fright now and again. I don’t mean sudden shock scares either, though even those come off as flat in Ghost Ship. The premise has some potential, but the writers chose to spend too much time on needless scenes, when the movie needed more thrills and chills. The storyline begins to unravel soon after the opening credits, right through the contrived, lame ending. I wanted to like this one, but even as a genre buff, I have to push this junkpile back out to sea and hope it sinks to the bottom. If you’re still interested, a rental is in order, but don’t waste your cash and purchase this clunker.
This movie has a solid cast, but with such weak material, the performances aren’t too memorable at all. I suppose the work is passable, since you can’t expect too much in this instance, but with this cast, this movie could have been much better. I would say Julianna Margulies has the most substantial part here, even though she isn’t the leader of the cast, nor the highest billed player involved. But she is the sole female on the main team and has a lot of screen time, most of which is important to the storyline. Margulies has been around for over a decade now, but she hasn’t been all that active, in television or motion pictures. So its obvious she doesn’t take every role offered to her, which makes it odd she would sign on for Ghost Ship. I’m sure the paycheck was solid and she could work with her boyfriend, Ron Eldard, but even so, this project couldn’t have looked good, so I can’t imagine why she agreed. She does decent work here, but even she is held back by the thin writing involved. You can also see Margulies in The Newton Boys, Paradise Road, Out for Justice, Evelyn, and of course, Tv’s ER. The cast also includes Gabriel Byrne (Smilla’s Sense of Snow, The Usual Suspects), Isaiah Washington (Dead Presidents, Out of Sight), and Ron Eldard (Deep Impact, The Last Supper).
Video: How does it look?
Ghost Ship is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. As the old saying goes, it just doesn’t get much better than this. Warner has issued a gorgeous treatment here, one which starts with a pristine source print. This means no grain or debris to muck up the visuals, so they can come through in bold, effective fashion. I was almost stunned by the depth of the image here, as detail is very sharp and fine, which really enhances the visual experience. I have never seen this kind of three-dimensional presence on a DVD transfer and I have to say, I’d rank this as the best DVD transfer to date. The colors are well rendered, though the film sometimes skews them for visual impact, while flesh tones remain normal and consistent. The contrast is superb also, as black levels look rich and refined at all times, even in the darkest scenes and underwater sequences. I have to take my hat off to Warner for this presentation, as they have raised the bar on just how good a DVD treatment can look.
Audio: How does it sound?
The included Dolby Digital 5.1 option is an aggressive, in your face soundtrack, but it sometimes fails to make full use of the material’s potential. Yes, this is a loud treatment that rocks all the speakers, but often when more subtle touches are needed, this track is unable to deliver the goods. In some of the more tense moments, some subtle audio could have enhanced the atmosphere and added eerie presence, but in most instances, those moments come off as flat and ineffective. I think that since many people associate loudness and deep bass with a good soundtrack however, only a small fraction of folks will be disappointed. And if all you care about is loud, then this track will thrill you to no end. I just more care were taken with the more reserved, subtle scenes to enhance the experience. This disc also includes a French language option, as well as subtitles in English, Spanish, and French.
Supplements: What are the extras?
A fourteen minute promotional featurette is found here, as well as three additional featurettes, each about five minutes in duration. These are the usual promotional fluff, with minimal actual production insight at best. As always, I would rather have one half hour or longer piece, one that includes real production information, instead of these lame promotional tools. A few more very short vignettes can be found by solving a puzzle about the Antonia Graza, while the film’s theatrical trailer rounds out the supplements.
