Ghost Ship (2002)

Another fun and stupid ghost movie is “Ghost Ship”.  And when I say stupid, I’m referring to a movie where you shouldn’t try to take it seriously and just enjoy the ride because the plot or production mistakes or a million other little details might make you go nuts. It stars Gabriel Byrne, who was going on his own horror movie tour around this time (“Stigmata” and “End of Days”), and is supported by a decent cast including Isaiah Washington and  Karl Urban. Of course the main star is the cruise ship itself; by no means nearly as fantastic as James Cameron’s version of the Titanic but still pretty cool. This ship, the Antonia Graza, is very similar to the Event Horizon is nature and overall character; they have both been somewhere that we would rather not go and are determined to take us there against our will…and will find the perfect minion to make sure it happens.

The film opens as a salvage crew is desperately trying to save their current find. Just when they are about to lose the wreckage, they manage to save it at the last moment and cash in. That’s just the kind of crew that they are so it’s no wonder that they are approached by a shifty pilot who wants to hire them to salvage a large mystery vessel floating in international waters. The crew agrees and set off to the Bering Sea. They find the Antonia Graza, a ship that disappeared on its maiden voyage (Event Horizon?). The crew explores the ship and start repairing the areas that need immediate work. Then ghosts show up, the salvage crew becomes stranded on the Antonia Graza when their own ship is sabotaged and destroyed (Event Horizon?), piles of gold bars are found, and people die. The plot is sketchy and has a “meh” ending but is worth watching for the hell of it.

Favorite moment – The opening scene of a party taking place on the Antonia Graza in 1962 is pretty amazing.