End of Days (1999)

“End of Days” is a great example of a movie about cults. You have a group of dedicated individuals who have committed theirs lives to kidnapping and then raising a girl who has been cosmetically chose to be the bride/sacrifice to Satan himself at the turn of the millennium. And in proper cultist/deity fashion, the Devil (Garbriel Byrne) has no problem killing a follower or two when he gets pissed off. On the other side of the coin, you can almost call the priests who are trying to stop the Devil from completing his sacrifice a cult as well; they are members of the Catholic Church but belong to an ultra-secretive sect. So it’s Cult vs. Cult in deciding Robin Tunney’s fate…and there’s Arnold Schwarzenegger doing what he does.

1999 is quickly coming to an end and Jericho, a private top notch security/body guard stumbles upon a plot that involves a group of unknowns that are trying to kill a young woman named Christine. While saving Christine from Church assassins, Jericho finds out that Christine’s adopted family are a cult that worships Satan and that Christine is to be sacrificed so he may walk the Earth again in his real body (he is possessing the body of Gabriel Byrne at the moment). More priests die, more cultists die, Jericho’s friends are possessed and die, a train blows up, and a final showdown between Jericho and the Devil takes place in a church. Happy New Year, it’s Y2K!

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.