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)
Natasha Henstridge is Melanie Ballard, a headstrong police lieutenant on Mars in the year 2025. Humans have been colonizing and mining on the red planet for some time, but when Ballard and her squad are sent to a remote region to apprehend the dangerous criminal James "Desolation" Williams, played by Ice Cube, they discover that he's the least of their worries. The mining operations have unleashed a deadly army of Martian spirits who take over the bodies of humans and won't stop until they destroy all invaders of their planet. With a stellar cast including Pam Grier, Jason Statham and Clea Duvall as well as explosive special effects, John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars is an intergalactic terror fest like you've never seen. (Sony Pictures Releasing)
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Reviews (7)
Carpenter is no longer at the top of his game, but this film doesn’t deserve to be called garbage, it’s not that bad, it’s an average B-movie that shouldn’t piss-off anyone (unless you’re expecting another The Thing). The story is fast-paced, the actors are alright, so are the make-up effects, but Ghosts of Mars won’t leave any lasting impression; if that is what you want, better watch The Thing again.
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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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Undoubtedly the weakest of John Carpenter's films that I've had the chance to see. Frankly, I don't understand how the director of The Thing or In the Mouth of Madness could have been involved in this creation at all... That one star is basically for his previous merits. The acting performances are, to put it diplomatically, uneven, the direction uninspired, but the crown jewel of it all is the screenplay, for which the author should probably roast in hell. Similar botched films are occasionally saved by grand production design, but that's not the case here either. So, all in all: a complete waste of time. Overall impression: 20%.
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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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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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