Review #264: Ghost Ship (2002)

This review was originally written in October 2023.

Gabe's Horror Movie October Review #18 - Ghost Ship (2002)

Ghost Ship is a movie I've seen many times, and always enjoyed. I think it's not on the same level as some of the other films I've watched this month, but it's a fun movie with some spooky setpieces and a great atmosphere (and one of the most memorable opening scenes in all of horror, I think most people would agree).

The movie follows the crew of the Arctic Warrior, an oceanic salvage ship. After coming back from a job and ready to take some time off, the crew is approached by Jack, a weather service pilot who spotted a ship adrift in international waters. He took some photos, and it appears to be an abandoned ocean liner- if they can get it back in one piece it'll be worth a lot of money, so the crew agrees to take the job, but Jack insists that he come along. So they head out, and find the ship- the Antonia Graza- derelict and taking on water. Aboard the ocean liner they find dead bodies, signs of deadly struggles, ghosts, and most importantly- crates and crates full of gold bars. But the sinister forces aboard the Antonia Graza don't want to let the crew leave... at least not until they've met their quota, that is.

Now, one thing I need to get right out there: do you all remember Event Horizon? I do. In fact, I feel like I've watched it twice this month, because when I was watching it, I began to realize that GHOST SHIP IS JUST EVENT HORIZON ON A CRUISE SHIP.

Think about it. Both movies are about a trained crew traveling to a derelict vessel with a tagalong who eventually has ulterior motives. They try to patch up the ship to get it home, their own ship gets destroyed, and they need to destroy the derelict ship so that it can't be allowed to reach civilization. In both movies, the crew members are haunted by visions of the past, and eventually are shown a montage of horrific debaucherous events that led to the ship being left derelict. Both movies have a person lured into walking off a ledge while trying to embrace a ghost, and both movies have the captain confronted by the ghost of a burned figure they feel personally guilty for. The list goes on.

I am fully convinced that whoever made Ghost Ship was trying to ape the success of Event Horizon, by just taking the same plot beats and shoving them into a different (but similar) setting.

Now don't get me wrong, I love Ghost Ship. It's no masterpiece, it's pretty corny, but I really enjoy it. But come on, it's SO SIMILAR to this wildly-popular film that came out a few years prior that I can't believe it was all coincidence.

Anyway, if you haven't seen Ghost Ship I recommend it. As I said, it's a fun movie, and even if it IS just Event Horizon on a boat, it's definitely worth watching (even if you only watch the opening scene).

Overall Rating: 8/10 Cans of Worms

Additional Additional Media: I already told you about the time I ran a tabletop RPG inspired by The Thing, but would you believe that a year earlier I ran one based on Ghost Ship? Because I did! As before, if you have some time and you want to give it a listen, you can find it here: Inter-Party Conflict Plays: Ghost Cruise