Difference between revisions of "Ghosts of Mars (2001 film)"
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Review Links: | Review Links: | ||
| − | * [[User:Ywhateley|Y.Whateley]] - "Basically a [[Cyberpunk]] take on a pulp Mummy's-Curse style horror story, crossed with an Evil-Dead style zombie/demon survival horror thing, with an action/adventure angle. The predictably mixed results of so many disparate elements might have rated a little higher as 'Lovecraftian' if it weren't for any hope of a moody and atmospheric horror movie getting killed by an exercise in Pro-Wrestling-style excess in the form of the silly macho action-movie posturing topped with a loud hard-rock soundtrack and over-the-top explosions and fist-pumping violence. The result is sort of an interesting failure, in its suggestion of what might have been had [[John Carpenter]] chosen to apply the sort of restraint and use of atmosphere seen in ''[[Halloween (1978 franchise)|Halloween]]'', ''[[The Fog (1980 film)|The Fog]]'', or even ''[[The_Thing_(1982_franchise)|The Thing]]''...." | + | * Richard Scheib at the Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review (2/5 Stars) ([http://moria.co.nz/sciencefiction/ghosts-of-mars-2001.htm link]) - "On most regards, ''Ghosts of Mars'' is a disappointment. Carpenter throws in tough hard-edge characters and creates a potentially good bottleneck situation, even if the menace being faced is uninteresting. However, he never winds any of it up." |
| − | + | * [[User:Ywhateley|Y.Whateley]] - "Basically a [[Cyberpunk]] take on a pulp Mummy's-Curse style horror story, crossed with an Evil-Dead style zombie/demon survival horror thing, with an action/adventure angle (apparently inherited from the director's earlier movies as a sort of remake of movie about a siege of gang members on a police station apparently used for what film legend claims was originally intended to be an ''Escape from Mars'' sequel to ''Escape from New York'' and ''Escape from L.A.'') The predictably mixed results of so many disparate elements might have rated a little higher as 'Lovecraftian', if it weren't for any hope of a moody and atmospheric horror movie getting killed by an exercise in Pro-Wrestling-style excess in the form of the silly macho action-movie posturing topped with a loud hard-rock soundtrack and over-the-top explosions and fist-pumping violence. The result is sort of an interesting failure, in its suggestion of what might have been had [[John Carpenter]] chosen to apply the sort of restraint and use of atmosphere seen in ''[[Halloween (1978 franchise)|Halloween]]'', ''[[The Fog (1980 film)|The Fog]]'', or even ''[[The_Thing_(1982_franchise)|The Thing]]''...." | |
==Synopsis (SPOILERS)== | ==Synopsis (SPOILERS)== | ||
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* Critics largely consider this to be one of [[John Carpenter]]'s worst films; Carpenter was so burned out after creating the film, he was prepared to retire from film-making, and it took him years to recover enough to try making another film. | * Critics largely consider this to be one of [[John Carpenter]]'s worst films; Carpenter was so burned out after creating the film, he was prepared to retire from film-making, and it took him years to recover enough to try making another film. | ||
| − | * The film is sometimes considered to be a futuristic remake of John Carpenter's ''Assault on Precinct 13'' (1976), in which a police sergeant and an unlikely band of criminals defend a closing LA precinct office on New Years Eve against an army of gang members. | + | * The film is sometimes considered to be a futuristic remake of John Carpenter's ''Assault on Precinct 13'' (1976), in which a police sergeant and an unlikely band of criminals defend a closing LA precinct office on New Years Eve against an army of gang members. That premise allegedly would have been used as the plot for an "Escape from Mars" sequel to ''Escape from New York'' and ''Escape from L.A.'', which would have starred Kurt Russell reprising his "Snake" Plisskin character; when ''Escape from L.A.'' bombed, the idea was apparently shelved, until revived as an action/horror film involving a siege of alien ghost/demon/deadites instead of (presumably) rioting Martian prison-gangs.... |
* For the film's soundtrack, director and composer John Carpenter called upon various rock musicans to help enhance his own score. They include members of Anthrax (whom music producer Bruce Robb brought in for director John Carpenter, who had originally filmed the movie listening to Metallica), guitarists Steve Vai, Buckethead (Guns N' Roses), Robin Finck (Nine Inch Nails), and Elliot Easton (formerly of The Cars). The film's score is entirely original and was recorded by Robb at his Cherokee Studios in Hollywood; the film's DVD offers a bonus feature with behind-the-scenes footage in the studio with the musicians, Carpenter and Robb. | * For the film's soundtrack, director and composer John Carpenter called upon various rock musicans to help enhance his own score. They include members of Anthrax (whom music producer Bruce Robb brought in for director John Carpenter, who had originally filmed the movie listening to Metallica), guitarists Steve Vai, Buckethead (Guns N' Roses), Robin Finck (Nine Inch Nails), and Elliot Easton (formerly of The Cars). The film's score is entirely original and was recorded by Robb at his Cherokee Studios in Hollywood; the film's DVD offers a bonus feature with behind-the-scenes footage in the studio with the musicians, Carpenter and Robb. | ||
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[[Category:Film:ScienceFiction]] | [[Category:Film:ScienceFiction]] | ||
[[Category:Film:Two-Tentacle Media]] | [[Category:Film:Two-Tentacle Media]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Mars|Film: Ghosts of Mars (2001 film)]] | ||
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Latest revision as of 21:57, 21 April 2017
A gang of Martian Deadites from Ghosts of Mars (2001 film)....
Summary
"It's their planet... we are the aliens." 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 post has become a charnel house overrun by a gang of Martian Deadites....
Details
- Release Date: 2001
- Country/Language: US, English
- Genres/Technical: Science Fiction (Cyberpunk), Horror, Action
- Setting: 2176 Mars (Cthulhu Icarus or Cthulhupunk)
- Runtime: 1 hr 38 min
- Starring: Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Pam Grier
- Director: John Carpenter
- Writer: Larry Sulkis, John Carpenter
- Producer/Production Co: Screen Gems, Storm King Productions, Animationwerks
- View Trailer: (link)
- TVTropes: (link)
- IMDB Page: (link)
Ratings
MPAA Ratings
- Rated: R (Violence, Adult Content, Profanity)
Tentacle Ratings
A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:
- Ss___ (One and a Half Tentacles: Barely Lovecraftian; vaguely similar in tone)
Might have rated a little higher as "Lovecraftian" if it weren't for any hope of a moody and atmospheric horror movie getting killed by an exercise in Pro-Wrestling-style excess; if only director John Carpenter had chosen to apply the sort of restraint and use of atmosphere seen in Halloween, The Fog, or even The Thing....
Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.
Reviews
Review Links:
- Richard Scheib at the Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review (2/5 Stars) (link) - "On most regards, Ghosts of Mars is a disappointment. Carpenter throws in tough hard-edge characters and creates a potentially good bottleneck situation, even if the menace being faced is uninteresting. However, he never winds any of it up."
- Y.Whateley - "Basically a Cyberpunk take on a pulp Mummy's-Curse style horror story, crossed with an Evil-Dead style zombie/demon survival horror thing, with an action/adventure angle (apparently inherited from the director's earlier movies as a sort of remake of movie about a siege of gang members on a police station apparently used for what film legend claims was originally intended to be an Escape from Mars sequel to Escape from New York and Escape from L.A.) The predictably mixed results of so many disparate elements might have rated a little higher as 'Lovecraftian', if it weren't for any hope of a moody and atmospheric horror movie getting killed by an exercise in Pro-Wrestling-style excess in the form of the silly macho action-movie posturing topped with a loud hard-rock soundtrack and over-the-top explosions and fist-pumping violence. The result is sort of an interesting failure, in its suggestion of what might have been had John Carpenter chosen to apply the sort of restraint and use of atmosphere seen in Halloween, The Fog, or even The Thing...."
Synopsis (SPOILERS)
Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)
It's 2176 and Mars has been terraformed to have a breathable atmosphere by some matriarchal mining corporation. A crack-squad of Space Police consisting of Melanie Ballard (Natasha Henstridge), Jericho Butler (Jason Statham), Bashira Kincaid (Clea Duvall) and Helena Braddock (Pam Grier) is sent to reallocate notorious criminal James "Desolation" Williams (Ice Cube), only to discover that half the colony has been possessed by the spirits of the alien race that used to inhabit Mars which were released via a scientific excavation, causing them to transform into a clan of sadomasochistic self-mutilating punk savages that look as if they're auditioning as extras for The Road Warrior and which murdered the other half. The rest of the movie is spent fighting them off.
Notes
Comments, Trivia, Dedication
- Critics largely consider this to be one of John Carpenter's worst films; Carpenter was so burned out after creating the film, he was prepared to retire from film-making, and it took him years to recover enough to try making another film.
- The film is sometimes considered to be a futuristic remake of John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), in which a police sergeant and an unlikely band of criminals defend a closing LA precinct office on New Years Eve against an army of gang members. That premise allegedly would have been used as the plot for an "Escape from Mars" sequel to Escape from New York and Escape from L.A., which would have starred Kurt Russell reprising his "Snake" Plisskin character; when Escape from L.A. bombed, the idea was apparently shelved, until revived as an action/horror film involving a siege of alien ghost/demon/deadites instead of (presumably) rioting Martian prison-gangs....
- For the film's soundtrack, director and composer John Carpenter called upon various rock musicans to help enhance his own score. They include members of Anthrax (whom music producer Bruce Robb brought in for director John Carpenter, who had originally filmed the movie listening to Metallica), guitarists Steve Vai, Buckethead (Guns N' Roses), Robin Finck (Nine Inch Nails), and Elliot Easton (formerly of The Cars). The film's score is entirely original and was recorded by Robb at his Cherokee Studios in Hollywood; the film's DVD offers a bonus feature with behind-the-scenes footage in the studio with the musicians, Carpenter and Robb.
Associated Mythos Elements
Keeper Notes
