Ghost Ship (2002)

13% of critics liked it
(122 reviews)
53% of users liked it
(356,461 ratings)

A salvage team think they've made the find of a lifetime, until they discover there's more on board than meets the eye in this supernatural thriller. Led by Captain Sean Murphy (Gabriel Byrne), the crew of the tugboat Arctic Warrior have discovered a sideline far more lucrative than hauling ships in… More A salvage team think they've made the find of a lifetime, until they discover there's more on board than meets the eye in this supernatural thriller. Led by Captain Sean Murphy (Gabriel Byrne), the crew of the tugboat Arctic Warrior have discovered a sideline far more lucrative than hauling ships in and out of the harbor -- they locate missing or wrecked ships in international waters, repair them until they can be brought back to port, and then sell off the ship and its contents as salvage. Acting on a tip from Jack Ferriman (Desmond Harrington), a pilot in the Canadian Air Force, Murphy and his crew -- salvage expert Maureen Epps (Julianna Margulies), first mate Greer (Isaiah Washington), and crewmen Santos (Alex Dimitriades), Dodge (Ron Eldard), and Munder (Karl Urban) -- set out to find a large craft seen adrift off the Alaskan coastline. To their surprise, the crew of the Arctic Warrior discover what appears to be the Antonia Graza, a famous Italian ocean liner, legendary for its luxury, which vanished without a trace in 1962. While they at first anticipate the payday of a lifetime from this find, the crew soon discover a sinister force has taken control of the ship, and before long they're battling not for salvage rights, but for their lives. Ghost Ship was directed by special effects man turned filmmaker Steven Beck, who previously directed the 2001 remake of 13 Ghosts. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 31 min.
Directed By: Steve Beck
Written By: John Pogue, Mark Hanlon, Mark D. Hanlon
Genres: Horror

In Theaters: Oct 25, 2002 Wide
On DVD: Mar 25, 2003
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Critic Reviews

Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
A lame script, featuring sorry dialogue and a senseless story, is more likely to provoke laughs than screams from its intended audience.
Mark Holcomb, Village Voice
In a cut-and-paste job more transparent than ectoplasm, Ghost Ship screenwriters Mark Hanlon and John Pogue plunder every notable horror movie from the last 30 years.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
A dumb movie with dumb characters doing dumb things and you have to be really dumb not to see where this is going.
David Germain, Houston Chronicle
A ticket to tedium, a horror movie so devoid of horror that mouths will open wide in yawns, without a scream to be heard.
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
This creaking vessel of a movie can't spice a routine story with genuine horror.
, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Audiences will feel more tricked than treated after sitting through this silly gorefest that wastes the talents of several good actors.
Carly Kocurek, Common Sense Media
Do not board Ghost Ship.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...long on set design, atmosphere, and special effects but short on mystery, suspense, characterization, common sense, logic, or simple frights. (Blu-ray Edition)
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Three things can be counted on from Warner Bros. and Dark Castle's annual Halloween release: (1) a lot of spiffy special effects; (2) a fair amount of gore; and (3) not one single scare.
Daniel Etherington, Film4
B-movies can be better than this.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
There is a sense of predictability about the film after the promising start and for all its good intentions it never takes us on board with its mish mash of ghosts, mysticism and spiritual concoction.
Mark Halverson, Sacramento News & Review
Beck clobbers the audience with the most gruesome prologue I have ever seen in a horror movie and then settles the story into a routine ghost story and bloody body count.
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
The movie has few surprises for lifelong horror fans, but it'll keep them (or us -- I count myself in their number) happily diverted for just under 90 minutes.
Kim Newman, Empire Magazine
Director Beck loses it, with techno-scored flashbacks (note: techno isn't scary) and blow-up-the-place gimmickry...
Trevor Johnston, Time Out
The final reel plots a course smack between predictable and sheer idiocy.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Os efeitos visuais são risíveis, os diálogos são péssimos e o filme simplesmente não assusta. Em contrapartida, a trama é desenvolvida de tal maneira que jamais perdemos o interesse no que está acontecendo.
Nick Rogers, State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)
It's a workmanlike production, with no surprises, no scares and no jokes - unless you count the demon that laments his job by saying he must gather enough souls to fill a quota.
Tyler Hanley, Palo Alto Weekly
Director Steven Beck builds his Ghost Ship with borrowed materials from all across the cinematic sea.
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
It should be mentioned that the set design and interiors of the haunted vessel are more than effectively creepy and moodily lit. So I just did.
Andrea Chase, Killer Movie Reviews
effectively keeps things suspenseful even when faced with some hoary cliches.

Read all 20 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Film C

I dont know why but every time i watch this movie i enjoy it more and more! Its a good creepy horror that i dont think is a let down at all ! In my books it well worth a watch!
Directors C

[img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon13.gif[/img] Once the protaganists got on the titiluar ship there was one massive jump that spooked me, and I was convincing myself that maybe the film wasn't as bad as everyone was saying but to my displeasure it… More
[img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon13.gif[/img] Once the protaganists got on the titiluar ship there was one massive jump that spooked me, and I was convincing myself that maybe the film wasn't as bad as everyone was saying but to my displeasure it sank my expectations completely shortly afterwards. On the positive side, the acting isn't awful and the set pieces are excellent and sometimes quite creepy. However the plot is derivative and sadly it's never as scary as it should be.
Anthony L

Not to be mistaken for Val Lewton 40's film, this version is a little bit more impressive but not necessarily much better. The idea itself is brilliant, the possibilities could have been endless - a franchise could have been born, but unfortunately it wasn't to be. After a… More
Not to be mistaken for Val Lewton 40's film, this version is a little bit more impressive but not necessarily much better. The idea itself is brilliant, the possibilities could have been endless - a franchise could have been born, but unfortunately it wasn't to be. After a brilliant first sequence, this film just got silly, odd and down right confusing. I still don't fully understand who the bad guy was or what his point was? It looked good though!
BG Movie Reviews 2

Can I please get one thing straight - if a film has a jumpy moment near the beginning of a film, it HAS TO KEEP TO THAT JUMPY THEME! You get one jumpy scene with a clock, then that's it folks - Ghost Ship is flawed from the start. A scene where a boat full of people are killed by… More
Can I please get one thing straight - if a film has a jumpy moment near the beginning of a film, it HAS TO KEEP TO THAT JUMPY THEME! You get one jumpy scene with a clock, then that's it folks - Ghost Ship is flawed from the start. A scene where a boat full of people are killed by a metal wire that rips them all in half? I'm sorry, but no. Just no. It didn't work and I still don't get why it had to happen or why the villain had to exist in the first place, let alone the movie. I was told by two horror fans it was, and I quote "...alright". WRONG! It was one of the worst films I have ever seen. It seems to be suffering from what shall henceforth be known as the Paranormal Activity effect: the PA effect is where a film tries to make itself out as a good film, before failing after about 10-20 minutes (in most cases). In this film it took about 20 minutes for me to get bored and start half watching for a while until the ending. The only major attractions of the film are the ending (after the bit that belonged in a PG or a U (to be honest, that bit was ripped off from Pokemon The First Movie!)) where you find out something that gives the film a perk towards a good horror, the brief scene of nudity and the violence. If you are the sad sort of person who only wants a little bit of violence, poorly chosen music for the setting, and A pair of breasts, then watch this. But for those people who have taste and want to watch a good horror film, let this movie sink like the Titanic!
Dead A

This was not a scared-to-death type. Just another watchable horror movie. It had a good attention-catching starting but it got messed up eventually. I liked Emily Browning over here. She was cute.
Jeff "

Ghost Ship is another Dark Castle feature. The film is more famous for it's opening scene, and some have claimed that it's the best part of the film. Ghost Ship is an average Horror film with an average cast and story. The film sometimes falls flat and doesn't get quite… More
Ghost Ship is another Dark Castle feature. The film is more famous for it's opening scene, and some have claimed that it's the best part of the film. Ghost Ship is an average Horror film with an average cast and story. The film sometimes falls flat and doesn't get quite there in terms of good storytelling and executions. Sometimes scenes are not that great, the cast could have done a better job, but they seemed bored I guess. Ghost Ship is the text book definition of a guilty pleasure. Despite it's many flaws, I feel compelled to watch this film from time to time. But if you want the ultimate haunted ship film, track down a copy of Alvin Rakoff's Death Ship, another Guilty pleasure, but with a more intriguing and creepy story than Ghost Ship.
Tim S

The first 10 minutes of the movie are great. That's about it.
Jason O

Don't you hate it when you see the previews for a movie and you think you're going to completely love it, and then you see it and find it to be a big disappointment, but you still want to love it? That was my experience with "Ghost Ship." I liked it, and horror… More
Don't you hate it when you see the previews for a movie and you think you're going to completely love it, and then you see it and find it to be a big disappointment, but you still want to love it? That was my experience with "Ghost Ship." I liked it, and horror movies are one of my 3 favorite genres, but it just wasn't nearly as good as I anticipated. I thought it'd be much deeper than it was.
Coxxie M

hahahahah what a turd im glad south park made fun of this turdle
Lorenzo v

"Sea Evil" After discovering a passenger ship missing since 1962 floating adrift on the Bering Sea, salvagers claim the vessel as their own. Once they begin towing the ghost ship towards harbor, a series of bizarre ocurrences happen and the group… More
"Sea Evil" After discovering a passenger ship missing since 1962 floating adrift on the Bering Sea, salvagers claim the vessel as their own. Once they begin towing the ghost ship towards harbor, a series of bizarre ocurrences happen and the group becomes trapped inside the ship, which they soon learn is inhabited by a demonic creature. <center>REVIEW</center> This movie was extremely horrible. The plot revolves around a rag-tag group of ocean salvagers who are given the opportunity to salvage a gigantic ocean liner. This isn't just any ocean liner, it's an Italian ship that was bound for the US in 1962 and vanished from the face of the earth. No survivors were ever found much less the ship itself. To make a long story short, the team of salvagers board the ship to find nothing but remnants; no corpses just their belongings. More eerie, all the life boats and life vests were gone, suggesting that the passengers jumped ship. However, no survivors were ever found. Strange huh? Anyway, they board the ship that is apparently haunted by a demon who likes to eat souls. Once he fills his quota, he can return to hell. He has devoured the souls of the passengers, now he's hungry for the souls of the salvagers. All of this unfolds in a slow, unintersting narrative that doesn't build any tension or terror. You're better off watching the Ring. A much more terrifying picture of 2002.
Ginny

Ghost Ship Directed by: Steve Beck<img src="http://content9.flixster.com/photo/10/84/67/10846791_gal.jpg" height=152 align=left vspace=2 hspace=5>"I've seen strange things happen in the strait, but I know… More
Ghost Ship Directed by: Steve Beck<img src="http://content9.flixster.com/photo/10/84/67/10846791_gal.jpg" height=152 align=left vspace=2 hspace=5>"I've seen strange things happen in the strait, but I know something else, if the sea gives you an opportunity, you take it. These Italian liners, ya know, they couldn't compete for speed, so they built these floating art palaces instead." Captain Murphy (Gabriel Byrne) and his crew of sea salvagers seems to have struck gold when they discover that the ship Hugh Ferriman (an airforce pilot who 'spotted' the ship, played by Desmond Harrington) was pertaining to was the one and only Antonia Graza, an Italian Luxury Ocean Liner that was believed to be lost to the sea since May 1962. <center><img src="http://content9.flixster.com/photo/11/14/02/11140251_gal.jpg" width=200></center> Maureen thinks shes starting to loose her mind, as she thought she saw a kid aboard the Graza, and is consoled by Ferriman that she just needs some rest for the night. The salvagers had been planning on how to bring the boat to port until they started having problems with their own vessel, the Tugboat Warrior. . <center><img src="http://content7.flixster.com/photo/11/38/09/11380961_ori.jpg" width=200></center> What happens next is a series of alternating luck and mishap, as the crew goes deeper into the bowels of the Antonio Graza, it slowly reveals its secrets to its new guests. <center><img src="http://shitbusters.vaevictis.nl/screens/gship/01.png" width=200></center> ------------------------------------------- No matter how many times I watch this I still cant get my eyes off the screen! I just love everything about it! The cast, the story, the plot, the acting, the soundtrack, everything! MWAH! ------------------------------------------- Genre: Adventure , Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Martin S

Well...this wasn't very fun. Very slow movie. not much happening. And there was like one scene with the lights on...I was a little unsure if colors existed in this movie. too dark
Jens S

How this film managed to lure such a cast of pretty decent names into its clutches is beyond me. While the main idea isn't all that bad and the first 5 minutes wonderfully disturbing the movie gets worse with every minute. The crew exploring the ghost shop dies one after the… More
How this film managed to lure such a cast of pretty decent names into its clutches is beyond me. While the main idea isn't all that bad and the first 5 minutes wonderfully disturbing the movie gets worse with every minute. The crew exploring the ghost shop dies one after the other in rather unspectacular and shrug-worthy ways, the only reason to even remotely care about these characters is because their actors played rather interesting people in other movies or shows. All that happens in such an unexciting and not even remotely scary way turning the mediocre special effects into one of the film's lesser problems. The solution to the mystery is presented in exactly the same "by the way" attitude as the deaths occur. By the time of the incredibly lame "showdown" and solution you just want it to be over. Lame!
Lewis C

I'm not sure if Ghost Ship was an alarmingly bad movie, or a horribly botched abortion. Either way, it was horrifying, unnecessary and I don't approve.
Taylor B

Stupid idiots.
vieras e

An awesome scene right in the beginning. Unfortunately it all goes downhill from there.
moon r

ooooooh...scary boat...ooooooh! "stop...stop...don't go down there alone!" you've gotta be kiddin' me
Daniel J D

this movie was pretty much horrible... but the beginning is unforgettable
Lady D

Opens with a really good scene, but I'm afraid that's as far as this film goes. Just plain boring, certainly won't be watching it again!
Lafe F

A terrible tragedy befell a luxury liner in the 1920's. Now the abandoned "Ghost Ship" is found and boarded, with evil ghosts to contend with. I couldn't get into this movie. I preferred the similar 1980 film "Death Ship" which was more effective.