Just viewed THE GHOST OF MARS and found it entertaining. I would never say its one of my favorite, the film has some things going for it like Pam Grier, music that pumps you through the action, the whole idea of ghost on Mars, Martial Arts, the train, and some gory endings to some of the main characters. Ice Cube was both a plus and a minus in this film.
The draw backs were the look of the possessed humans and some of the sets seemed to enclosed. Some of it was to cheap looking, maybe b/w would have made it less noticeable.
**1/2 stars.
When I saw this theatrically it seemed like a complete waste of time. After all the villian was some Marilyn Manson look alike. The audieance I viewed it with, actually murmured for a refund as we walked out .
As can often happen, the movie got better when released on DVD. Watching what is now a familiar story, give the all night shot movie a warm creepy feel that I am glad to include in my sci-fi collection.
Despite all of the mixed reviews,this John Carpenter film isn't really as bad as some folks say it is,with its "Evil Dead-In-Space" plot, and self-homages to many of his own films("Assault on Precient 13","the Thing","Escape From New York","Prince Of Darkness"),despite its mild negatives(told in long flashbacks,which kill the build for suspense that this film strongly tries to build,and Pam Grier and Robert Carradine could have had their roles lengthened,for seeing a possessed,zombified Grier would have been lots of fun).
Overall,the film is still tons of fun,and rips massively with the gore.Too bad its poor release(at the end of the Summer,usually the kiss of death for any movie released in that seasonal period)and unfortunate box office failure caused Caprenter to take an extended vacation,one that hopefully isn't too long,and helps re-spark interest in returning to film,for he's one unique horror maestro that American horror cinema surely can't be without.
I love it. It's so cheesy, so deliciously bad it's good. Even Pam Grier, Ice Cube, and Clea Duvall, all good/great at acting (Cube's worst work is obviously this movie), delivered b-movie performances in this movie. I think it was purposefully "bad," as the only companies that still make purposefully bad movies is Troma and the Troma rip-offs.
The soundtrack was done by Carpenter, Anthrax, and Buckethead, so it's a definite must-have. Blends techno and old-school heavy metal WONDERFULLY.
Oufff.... After the amazing "Vampires" this was an absolute dissapointment. I mean, if it wasn't a Carpenter film it would be OK, it is professionaly directed and everything, but can't believe Carpenter just wasted all the politic and fantastic possibilities of the story. We are talking of the guy who did "Escape from NY" and "The fog", aren't we? However I guess main problem with the movie is that characters and dialogues were really poor.
On the other hand, there are some things: the action, the zombies (coooool!), and one of the best one liners I can remember: "I would sleep with you if you were the last person on Earth, but we are not on Earth". Not likely to ever used, anyway.