Ghosts of Mars [Blu-ray] (Region 2) (Import)

I unashamedly like 'Ghosts of Mars'. I'm a Carpenter fan anyway, and 'Ghosts' is prime if not vintage Carpenter. It has that distinctive made-on-a-shoestring-so-we-used-imagination-instead-of-cash look, and has scads of atmosphere and weirdness, as well as grim wit. Pam Grier, Jason Statham, and Ice Cube are likeable, while Natasha Henstridge's lieutenant pulls disaster from the jaws of partial victory in a sadly plausible fashion.

The framing structure of the enquiry held into why the train came back from Mars mining-town Shining Canyon with one injured survivor (Henstridge)cuffed to her bunk works well for me, with most of the action in flashback. The surrounding society is sketched in: the lieutenant's safety is guaranteed by the matriarchy, hetrosexual 'breeders' are disadvantaged in an implicitly largely homosexual society. Carpenter lays in background and context with a light touch: not enough to lecture, but enough to say you're not in Kansas anymore.

I understand that a lot of people don't like 'Ghosts', but I don't understand why. My hope is that it will be gradually re-evaluated and emerge as a minor gem. All I can say is, if you like Carpenter, sci-fi, or b-movies, give it a go. You might just be pleasantly surprised.

I don't know what to make of this film. On the one hand it's stylishly directed, with neat minimalist sets; on the other it's so campily written and acted that I thought it might be satire. Maybe the way to approach it is as knowing trash. Pam Grier plays a butch lesbian, while Ice Cube's an inner city hood transplanted to Mars; both characters are walking cliches who'd have been at home in exploitation films. What's strange is that there's no sex and the gore is quick cut. John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars feels poised between intensity and sleaze. If it had picked an approach it may have worked, but as it is it's a jarring mess; deftly paced, but lacking tone.
The film, which takes place entirely on Mars, starts with policewoman Melanie Ballard (Natasha Henstridge) being found handcuffed in a train, alone. The main story's then told through flashbacks as she recalls to a council what happened. Her team, led by Helena Bradock (Grier) and including Bashira Kincaid (Clea DuVall) and Nathan Jericho (Jason Statham), was assigned to escort prisoner "Desolation" Williams (Cube) from a remote outpost. When they arrive, however, the outpost's empty and strange creatures stalk them.
The storytelling's inept. Expository flashbacks to events we've already witnessed are dotted throughout the first half, as if Carpenter's writing a detective story. Too many characters pop up, so ones who seem like they should be developed are left flat. The supernatural threat's treated arbitrarily. A doctor played by Joanna Cassidy gives a theory as to what it is, and more suspense would have emerged if the film had said no more, but later she gets a flashback of her own which just confuses things.
What Ghosts of Mars does best is action, set design and special effects. The outpost is shown via squat, semi-underground buildings against a starless sky. It's not a thousand miles away in effect from The Thing's Antarctic base. That's partly what makes the film suspenseful despite its campiness. The action has a video game feel to it and is staged well. A battle between humans and creatures is great fun to watch. The creatures themselves look good, and Henstridge has a haunting dream sequence. Ghosts of Mars is like the trashiest pulp comic; insubstantial rubbish, but enjoyable.

I enjoyed this film. It's refreshing and funny. There's no mistaking that it's a John Carpenter film. It has a good pace, witty one-liners and strong characters. It's also cheesy. But that's Carpenter for you.......

I mean, there's 200 psychos on the rampage and you're not supposed to kill them! So what do our heroes do? They blow the consequences! That's John Carpenter!

It's not the best film he has ever made but to his credit he's constantly renewing the framework he builds his films around.

This film has been denegrated by many reviewers but have these people forgotten how cliched his films can be? Surely this is one of their main attractions: they don't pretend to be anything else!

It has many similarities to a legion of other films (eg. Assault on Precinct 13, Mad Max and Rio Bravo). Carpenter has never worried about these things- take 'The Thing' for example which is a remake of Howard Hawk's 'Thing from another World'.

Ultimately though it's not scary - it's 'safe' really despite the threat of extinction and there's not enough time in the film to build tension and suspense.

Natasha Henstridge is a revelation in the lead role - she's a good actress! Jason Statham is brilliant too as the Cockney Sergeant (although I've yet to see him as anything else but 'streetwise)

The fighting (and there's a lot of it) is stylised and well choreographed (especially Henstridge).

Once again Carpenter writes the music and this time it's courtesy of Anthrax- I now see them in a new light.......

And finally, the DVD extras good- giving you a real insight into how the film was made.