This post contains spoilers for “Ghost Ship.”
In 2002, Steve Beck’s “Ghost Ship” sailed into theaters and became a decent commercial success, grossing $68.3 million at the global box office against a $20 million budget. It was no critical darling either, as the film seemed more preoccupied with scary special effects (which look dated now) than telling a coherent story that leaves a strong impression. Still, while “Ghost Ship” is not the kind of horror movie you watch for its riveting plot, it makes for a perfectly enjoyable slasher that doesn’t adhere to logic or practicality. It’s also derivative as heck for the most part, although “Ghost Ship” doesn’t pretend to be something it isn’t. The film unabashedly embraces its gimmick-laden B-movie roots and plays as a typical 2000s horror movie, swapping out competent storytelling for ultra-stylized gore.
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Sometimes, though, even a thoroughly mediocre horror flick like “Ghost Ship” can feature a cold open that is quite impossible to forget. Rather than relying on the shock value of it all, the film’s harrowing opening sequence gradually builds anxiety on its way to an unexpectedly violent conclusion.
“Ghost Ship” opens with a party aboard the Italian ocean liner MS Antonia Graza, where hundreds of passengers are seen dancing and having a merry time. The scene has a jovial mood at first, with a beautiful singer performing “Senza fine” while a little girl named Katie (Emily Browning) looks on, bored. A kindly older gentleman then invites Katie to dance in an effort to include her in the communal spirit of the party, and she accepts. Surely, this sweet, serene moment won’t somehow end in tragedy, right?
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What happens next is a bloodbath, although the numbing horror and brutality of this scene really come from the way the tension slowly builds before things go south in the most terrifying, unpredictable way possible. Take one mysterious hand on a lever, a snapped wire, and a boat packed with oblivious guests, and you’ve got all the ingredients you need for a horrifying recipe for disaster. With that said, let’s talk about the bleak, ghastly opening of “Ghost Ship” and how the rest of the film desperately tries (and fails) to live up to it.
Ghost Ship has a chilling opening that perfectly balances shock and suspense
As the party aboard the Antonia Graza carries on, a series of horrible events occur rapidly. A mysterious person pushes a lever, causing a string of motors and cranks to reel and stutter on the ship. Ultimately, a particularly taut wire snaps through the merry crowd, swishing to the other side with dripping blood and viscera. For a moment, everything is still as the guests look on in horror, as if in disbelief while being suspended in time. This is when Beck makes the build-up and suspense pay off, as the camera moves over different guests, revealing their bodies have been sliced neatly in half at different points.
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The wire has cut through everything (from metal to bone), causing bodies to bisect, fall, and writhe in panic. Katie is the only one exempted from this fate, as she is a child and was too short to have been struck by the wire. The gentleman who was dancing with her also falls to the floor, causing Katie to scream in terror. The bodies around her ooze blood and guts, with some still twitching in an attempt to reach out to their bisected half. The combination of plentiful gore and the sight of a child witnessing something so profoundly traumatic feels like a punch in the gut, creating the perfect atmosphere for a promising horror flick. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie runs out of steam pretty quickly.
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When another crew decides to board the Graza and solve its mystery of what happened years later, everything that follows is way too convoluted for its own good. A ghost child (!) tricks passengers to accelerate their demise, a salvage ship mysteriously explodes, and a sinister demonic spirit seems to be responsible for this absurd mess. It’s hard to take most of the campy melodrama in “Ghost Ship” too seriously, but there is a sequence in which the aforementioned ghost child shows salvage crew member Maureen (Julianna Margulies) what actually occurred on the Graza that fateful night. It’s an intriguing scene that reminds us of the brilliant opening. The ensuing flashback also reveals previously-unseen details of the blood massacre, all while John Frizzell’s “My Little Box” blares in the background.
I’m deliberately withholding key plot details since “Ghost Ship” is worth watching at least once, even if it’s all downhill after its remarkably gory opening scene. If you want to experience a slasher-style B-movie that is ridiculous yet self-aware, then “Ghost Ship” might just be the perfect one-time watch for you.
