Directed by:
John CarpenterCinematography:
Gary B. KibbeComposer:
John CarpenterCast:
Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Jason Statham, Clea DuVall, Pam Grier, Joanna Cassidy, Rosemary Forsyth, Duane Davis, Liam Waite, Rodney A. Grant, Peter Jason (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
In the year 2176, Earth has colonized Mars, and all positions of power are held by women. Police Lieutenant Ballard (Natasha Henstridge) is assigned to take a crew via train from the metropolis of Chryste to the deserted mining town of Shining Station to capture an extremely dangerous convict, Desolation Williams (Ice Cube). When Ballard and her crew arrive at Shining Station, an eerily deserted town, they find not only Williams, but also scientist Dr. Whitlock (Joanna Cassidy), who has secluded herself in the colony for safety. She tells Ballard and her crew that a mining project released a mysterious cloud from beneath the planet's surface. It is possessing the colonists, causing them to hunt down and kill off any non-possessed beings. Ballard and her crew decide that they must destroy the possessed beings for the good of the planet, a job which is more difficult than anyone predicts. (Sony Pictures)
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Reviews (7)
Ghost of Mars is a B-movie that takes itself way too seriously, thinking it’s super cool, while viewers just shake their heads in disbelief. It is artificial and has no charm as it woodenly strives for bold genre anarchy (“action metal sci-fi horror with Ice Cube on Mars”!!!). Ghosts of Mars is the kind of film that everyone involved in it – the ranks of whom include a lot of rising stars as well as cult actors – wants to delete from their filmography.
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Terrible actors, crappy script, catastrophic sets, idiotic action, incredibly goofy editing... it's everything I expect from a Carpenter action movie. And from a director who made a name for himself partly by making action movies, despite never knowing how to shoot an action movie. In a way, Ghosts of Mars is a bit of a retread of both his Escape franchise (it was also originally intended to be the third installment of The Tales of Snake Plisskin, which was rewritten after the disastrous Escape from L.A.) and Assault on Precinct 13 taken to the extreme. I mean, B-grade like all get-out, a label everyone proudly swears by today, but back then you’d be very dignified and affronted.
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To say the least, a very mediocre B-movie from horror staple John Carpenter, who seems to have exhausted his creative potential in the first half of the 1990s. The open ending suggests that they were counting on a sequel, which I don't really believe and hope won't happen. I'm sorry that this obscure affair stars the charismatic Ice Cube, he deserves to be in better movies.
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I can not help the feeling that John Carpenter simply gave up during the making of this movie. This strangely structured horror, whose concept seems to be stuck in the 1980s and stars an attractive blonde and gangsta rapper, whom you probably just have to believe are "rugged cosmic desperados". This really has nothing to do with the classic good movies Carpenter used to make. In addition, the wannabe cool buddy ending was just a total slap in the face.
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If I didn't know that it was filmed by the same director who also made my favorite movie, The Thing (1982), I wouldn't believe it. I still find it hard to believe. This film had a considerable number of flaws, and some moments startled me. No, it wasn't fear; it was just that there were some poorly executed scenes with weird action or messed-up logic. The logic was being disregarded throughout the whole time. Plus, many action scenes looked very poorly done, and some of the performances weren't exactly up to par. Yet, I'm giving it four out of five stars. Why? Because it was a typical action B-movie without any unnecessary message, which is often supposed to compensate for the lack of a plot in movies today. Nobody was trying to guide me ideologically, and no matter what objections I had, the story itself wasn't bad at all, so despite all the negatives, I had a good time. / Lesson learned: An angry group of miners is dangerous enough; doping is redundant.
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