Ghosts of Mars Movie Review

Ghosts of Mars (2001)

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Written by: Larry Sulkis, John Carpenter
Directed by: John Carpenter
Starring: Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Pam Grier, Jason Statham, Clea DuVall
Rated: R
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Plot
In 2176, a Martian police unit is sent to pick up a highly dangerous criminal at a remote mining post. Upon arrival, the cops find that the outpost has become possessed by deathly ghosts.

Verdict
Carpenter has done some great movies, but this isn't one of them. It feels straight from the '80s, but it's not a parody. It's a budget throwback that's just out of place. The idea isn't bad, but everything after doesn't work. The production, dialog, and action all fall short. The idea isn't fully explored. This is a movie from the 80s that was rejected and somehow escaped twenty years later.
Skip it.

Review
I detest the how we got here trope. This opens with Natasha Henstridge as Lieutenant Melanie Ballard on trial after the events of the movie. Throughout we cut back to this trial, but it serves no purpose other than to slow down the pacing. It's a terrible choice.

Watching this after Jackie Brown is a testament to how good direction can really elevate a movie. I watched this movie because of Pam Grier and John Carpenter and that was a mistake on both fronts.

To be a Mars set movie, there isn't a lot of world building. Glasses serve as a breathing apparatus, but that isn't explained well. This movie looks like every scene is filmed on a set. I was hoping it would pick up once the horror kicks in, but it doesn't. This is an 80s B movie released in 2001. Even being a throwback this has some odd choices. It's not a throwback that's overt and knows what it's doing. This isn't a smart movie nodding to the past. It's earnest which is all the more strange. If this had released in the mid-80s I could be more forgiving, but this ignores the advancements of film and story telling. The industry moved past this type of movie long ago.

The inhabitants of Mars are possessed by ghosts and in to self mutilation. It's gross for the sake of being gross. One inhabitant files his teeth down while in a cell and without a file in a short amount of time. The movie just doesn't seem well thought out. There's a lot of fighting, but it's mindless and ultimately boring.

This could have been a good Jason Statham vehicle, but this is before he was an action star. That wouldn't have made this good, but it could have helped make it less bad. In this he plays a generic male chauvinist. I haven't seen all of Carpenter's movies, but this is easily the worst I have seen.

This is a budget, less interesting version of Pitch Black, yet this came out a year later. Pitch Black  does a lot of the same things, and does them all better. The dialog is also terrible.

The concept is cool. An alien race created a defense of sorts that possesses people, causing them to destroy themselves and others. It's a cool idea and this movie does nothing to build on that.