Silly 'Ghost Ship' starts strong, then sinks
By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service
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| GHOST SHIP (Rated R with nudity, profanity and strong violence; One-and-a-Half Stars (Poor-to-Fair)
Imagine "The Shining" on a derelict ocean liner, discovered at sea. Then imagine it running aground on irrational thinking and rampant implausibility. Gabriel Byrne, Julianna Margulies and Isaiah Washington co-star for "Thirteen Ghosts" director Steve Beck. Warner Bros., 88 mins. |
People swimming and floating for hours in the frigid arctic waters of the Bering Sea and not freezing to death — now that's preposterous. (Heck, they don't even shiver.)
But that's just part of the silliness of "Ghost Ship," Hollywood's latest attempt to revive the haunted house story.
Director Steve Beck and several in his production crew previously put spirits and humans in competition in an all-glass structure in "Thirteen Ghosts." This time, the ghosts haunt an ocean liner found floating in the Bering Sea after 40 years.
The ship is discovered by a crusty Alaskan salvage team, headed by Gabriel Byrne, Julianna Margulies and Isaiah Washington.
To be honest, "Ghost Ship" starts strong — with effective visual effects, and a lot of the spooky ambiance and decadent opulence of "The Shining," transposes to the open sea.
But it's too good to last. When it comes time to explain things, "Ghost Ship" founders hopelessly and runs aground on irrational thinking and rampant implausibility.
And that's when you wonder why Margulies and the other soaked actors aren't freezing to death. At least that would make sense.
Rated R, with nudity, profanity and strong violence, especially a horrifically gory opening sequence.
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