Product Description

NASTHASHA HENSTRIDGE, PAM GRIER AND ICE CUBE MUST BATTLE IT OUT AGAINST PRIMITIVE MARTIAN GHOSTS WHO WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO ANNIHILATE THE HUMAN INVADERS WHO HAVE DISTURBED THEIR PLANET.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13919 in DVD
• Brand: SONY PICTURES HOME ENT
• Released on: 2001-12-04
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 98 minutes

Amazon.com
Ghosts of Mars may not be one of John Carpenter's finer efforts, but you can't knock the veteran director for staying true to his roots--it's clearly a Carpenter film, reveling in its B-movie blood lust, and fueled by the director's rock & roll rebellion as well as the sex appeal of star Natasha Henstridge. This rickety sci-fi/horror hybrid recalls Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13, with various connections from throughout the director's career--for better and worse. It's the year 2176, and human colonists on Mars are controlled by a political "matronage," with women (for reasons unexplained) holding court in the capitol city of Chryse. Mars Police Force Lt. Ballard (Henstridge) has been sent to retrieve James "Desolation" Williams (Ice Cube), the planet's most notorious criminal, from a remote mining-colony prison. With her ill-fated crew, Ballard discovers that the colonists have nearly all been possessed by ancient Martian spirits bent on reclaiming the planet, turning them into an army of self-mutilating freaks suggesting an unholy union of Marilyn Manson and the sadomasochistic Cenobites from the Hellraiser films. None of this makes much sense, and the shaky alliance between cops and criminals is a predictable excuse for rampant battle scenes between surviving humans and the ghost-possessed maniacs. Exotic weaponry abounds (along with cheap special effects and some laughable dialogue), resulting in the gruesome dispatch of expendable costars Pam Grier, Joanna Cassidy, Robert Carradine, and Clea Duvall. Driven by Carpenter's synth-metal score, this violent free-for-all has a few brief highlights, but it's suspenseless and ultimately absurd. It's not much, but for loyal fans it's probably enough. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Action, Violence, Comedy make Ghosts one of Carpenters Best!
Before I start I cannot stress enough the importance of not listening to "professional" critics about any films of the horror genre, and especially Carpenter`s films. He is my all-time favorite director so of course I went and saw this film against the consent of the "critics", 3 times already. This film has it all, the sexy Natasha Henstridge, the regular Carpenter patented anti-hero Ice Cube, and a very funny and cool Jason Stratham. This film has tons of over the top gore, moreso than Vampires. Big Daddy Mars is the coolest bad guy ever in a film with his huge body, mangled face, and sharpened teeth. The action scenes are incredibly fast-paced gunfights with lots of blood, guts and explosions and to accompany these over-the-top battles is a great heavy-metal score composed by John Carpenter and Anthrax to add more energy to the already explosive scene. The zombie-like ghosts look incredibly cool with all types of decorative nails and metallic pieces pushed into their faces and bodies. the makeup is absolutely incredible for what it is. Also there is no cheesy drawn out "noooooo" deaths in the film when the characters get rubbed out, the other characters move on. And the ending is great being somewhat downbeat but positive at the same time. The acting is far better than reviewed by the likes of terrible newspapers as USA Today. Carpenter made an action/sci-fi/horror movie for people to enjoy, he wasn`t trying to win an oscar. Possibly being his last film as he has planned to retire, I say this is a film of his, right up there with Big Trouble in Little China and the Thing. Being one of his best films by my standards, a horror/scifi lover I say screw the critics and see this one if you want a fun time, and are a action/horror film lover. Good Job Carpenter!

B-movie fun
It's John Carpenter, so what does everyone expect? I know what I expected, and "Ghosts of Mars" pretty much delivered. Thudding sound track, B-movie dialogue, heads on stakes, "Road Warrior" like zanies with metal sticking out of their faces stalking the "good" guys. Bring on the popcorn. Then there's a humorous twist. The "guys" in this future world live in a Matriarchy. Guys make the coffee, defer to the women, but also are told to deal with mechanical problems when they arise. (Well, at least the "breeder" - Jason Statham as Jericho - does.) Carpenter works all kinds of little jokes into the script on this wrinkle alone. Natasha Henstridge as the tough cop hero, and Ice Cube, as the con hero, are serviceable - and they know when to shoot, kick, and punch. And that's all that's needed here. I don't know who the main Martian is (he looks like Marilyn Manson in Kabuki), but he's perfect! Four stars for operating well within genre.

Horrible
I won tickets to see this movie a week early and saw it Monday. I can't tell you how disappointed I was. They tell you never look a gift horse in the mouth, but give me a break! This has to be one of the lamest movies I have ever seen. There is no logic to any of the story, the acting is subpar, the effects include a lot of fake-watery blood and some fake heads. If by writing this review I can stop at least one person from giving this movie even one cent, then I'll feel better. Do NOT see this movie.