"Ghosts Of Mars"

[Fearless Freep]

A few nights ago, I watched "Ghosts Of Mars".  This move is supposedly a reworking of "Assulat On Precinct 13", but since I haven't seen that movie, I cannot draw comparisions.

The plot for "GofM" is that, on Mars, a squad of cops are sent to a mining town to pick up a captured murderer, "Desolation" Williams.  When they arrive, the town is a ghost town, and the only people alive seem crazy and psychotic.  Williams is still locked up in his cell.  Something has killed the townsfolk and it's now coming after the few survivors and the cops.  Some of "Desolations" gang shows up to spring him, but the cops get the better of them. The cops and the gang form an uneasy alliance because something else is killing them off and they need each other to survive until the train arrives to take them out of town....  The "something" turns out to be the previous inhabitants of Mars, ethereal creatures that can possess people and turn them in self-mutiliating psychos


This is very much a movie of style over substance.  The photography and production looks bvery sharp and cool, and the music, some techno-rock curteosy of John Carpenter, fits the mood well.  Natasha Henstridge, as the lead cop (Bellard), does well, given some more to work with then "Species", and Ice Cube, as "Desolation" also does a good job. I was first expecting Ice T and he probably could've done a good job in the role, also, but there are some softer sides to the character that I don't think he could've pulled off quite as well.  So for being a 'cops and criminals band together to fight off the psycho killers', the movie looks and feels really good.

Now, with that in mind, there were some glaring weaknesses in the story and some things you just have to not ask yourself about.  First off, the whole premise of starting  the movie with finding the lone, half-crazed survivor who is supected of being the killer  and who has to recount the story in flashbacks...finishing just before the real killer shws up" has worn a bit thin. Heck, I just saw it two weeks ago in "Circuit Breaker", which arguably handled it much better.  I think the secret to the trick is to make the audience forget that 'this is a flashback so you know all the people you see fighting for survival are dead'.  In "GofM", they kept cutting back to Bellard being interviewed so it kept it fresh in your mind that 'they're all dead' so it was hard to really be rooting for the dead-people-walking.  The ending also left things hanging a bit in the sense that, in a movie the 'final guy/girl' shoud survive but given past events, it's very unlikely in this case, but you don't really know.  

Setting things on Mars never really had much of an impact.  It gave a chance for a backstory to where the 'ghosts' come from, but that was sorta unneccessary. It could've been "Ghosts On The Serenghetti" or "Ghosts In Vegas" for all it really mattered.  It also left untouched the whole issue of why the "ghosts" were locked up.  Was there another race on Mars that imprisoned them?  not really needed for the story, but would've helped the tension to reveal it slowly and with more of a reason than the simple "they were lokcked up, now they are loose" exposition that was dropped in.

The society is stated as a matriarchical society, although other than explaing why Bellard is in charge, which isn't needed, and a minor plot line that goes nowhere, it really is kinda a wasted device that doesn't impact the story.  The movie has a lot of such devices, ideas that are brought up that *could* be used to drive the movie in some interesting directions that just never happened, so you find yourself distracted wondering 'what was the point?'

In summary, the movie is pretty fun to watch, the look and sound is sharp and tight and the characters are not uncomfortable.  The story has a lot of minor holes in itm, though, so to enjoy it, you really have to suspend so disbelief and try not to think too much about why stuff is in the movie for little purpose.

[Chadzilla]

I've heard it said that the matriarchical society was created by Carpenter to placate those angered by the treatment of the female character in Vampires.  As weak as it is, I still enjoyed the movie.  In retrospect I found several of the plot elements quite similar to Stephen King's novel Desparation.

[Fearless Freep]

I've heard it said that the matriarchical society was created by Carpenter to placate those angered by the treatment of the female character in Vampires.

That's kinda odd.  I didn't think the female in "Vampires" was treated too...atypical for the genre.  However, as a plot point, though, it's pretty much a throw away, so it's hard to say it had much meaning (but maybe that was intentional)

As weak as it is, I still enjoyed the movie.

I enjoyed it quite a bit as well.  It had story holes, but it was fun to watch.

[Johnny Blister]

This movie promotes whory lesbianic b***hes,and I HATE whory lesbianic b***hes.

[wycked nick]

First thing I like to say is I love whory lesbianic b***hes.second is that this movie kicked ass.I understand that there were a few things problems but for the most part it rocked.

[Johnny Blister]

DIE,FEMINIST SCUM!

[Fearless Freep]

whory lesbianic b***hes

I think there was something alluded to of that at the beginning...but the plot point was dropped pretty soon.

[Chadzilla]

Pam Grier's character came onto the female lead (Natasha somethingorother from Species), offering her certain...career advantages in return for some affectionate attentions (evidently sexually stroking your superiors is still a way to get ahead in the b-movie future).  She was turned down.  I don't remember what the other cop on duty (played by Clea Duvall) felt about those arrangements, but she didn't seem turned off by it.

I guess this was Carpenter's way of showing that the chicks were just as much horny badasses as guys the guys were.  But then again, we don't see tough as nails guys giving smoldering looks at each other and saying stuff like.."Want to get ahead, then better give your boss man some right now."

Our repressed nature still has a lot to learn.

[Fearless Freep]

Pam Grier's character came onto the female lead...

Yeah, I remember that.  It just seemed to..not have any bearing in the rest of the movie.  I think that's what kinda bugged me about that and a few other issues, like that the "ghosts" were released from captivity.  Plot points that *could've* added some color and detail to the movie, but were sorta dropped and abandoned

[Andrew]

I have to admit that I hate this movie.  It failed to create any atmosphere for me, the ability of the Martians to take over bodies seemed to be poorly defined, and the characters were all so darn shallow.  Heck, even the Martians' love of defiling their possessed bodies was not very well explained.

What it needed was something more like the alien entities from "Lord of Light."  They reveled in torture and debauchery in celebration of once again having flesh.  Like Romans that cared not for their bodies, because they could always take another.

The quirky ending did not sit too well with me either.  (Spoiler below.)















Okay,  Ice Cube shows back up, lets her out and gives over a big chrome gun.  They go forth to kick some butt in the name of humanity.  Arrgghhh!  Suddenly both are just "devil may care" about what is certain death, because the Martians cannot be stopped!

[Fearless Freep]

the ability of the Martians to take over bodies seemed to be poorly defined,

I forgot to mention that but it was another one of those plot points that was brought up but never really fleshed out.  In the big outdoor fight I just kept thinking..."OK...kill a psycho and you're possessed yourself now...how do they escape without being taken over themselves?"...but...didn't happen

and I didn't like the ending either, for the same reason you mentioned.

[Neville]

I'm with Andrew, I felt quite disappointed with this movie. I was expecting something real good, specially after "Vampires", which in my opinion is one of the best JC's movies ever. GOM had plenty of interesting ideas that could have worked, but the result is lame and dull, looks exactly as if Carpenter had run out of bateries the moment the shooting started. I will always be a JC fan, but I think it is of no use to defend a bad movie just because he is on the credits.

[Conrad]

Actually, I thought "Vampires" was very lazy film-making.  Not bad, but it could have potentially been so much better.  Aw heck I bought the video anyway!

As for the GoM, well I liked it.  I think Fearless Freep analysed it fairly well - an "engage eyes put brain in neutral" kind of film.  The thing I liked mostly was that the Martians were barbarous primitives utterly unlike most films' Martians.  As for locking up the Ghosts - essentially the Ghosts are indestructible, you can only contain them not destroy them, hence they were locked away.  Presumably they were initially confined within the imprisoned bodies of those they possessed, said bodies disintegrating over time until only the Ghosts remained.

There - an explanation torn from the screenplay itself!  
(Yeah, right, dream on Conrad)

[JohnL]

>"Lord of Light."

What's "Lord of Light."?

[Andrew]

JohnL wrote:

> What's "Lord of Light."?

It is a book by Roger Zelazny.  The "Gods" in the book are actually humans with advanced technology.   The "demons" are alien entities that do not have bodies.  Interesting at times, but not one of his better books.  It has a poor ending chapter.