Taglines: Sea Evil.
The film opens aboard an Italian ocean liner, Antonia Graza, in May 1962. Dozens of wealthy passengers enjoy dancing in the ship’s luxurious ballroom while a beautiful Italian woman sings “Senza Fine.” Away from the party in an outer room, a gloved hand pulls a switch that unravels a thin wire cord from a hidden spool.
Suddenly, the spool snaps and the wire slices across the deck (dance floor) like a blade, bisecting the dancers. A number of them remain alive for several seconds before grasping that they have been cut in half. Only little Katie, dancing with a ship’s officer (the Captain), is spared, thanks to her small stature and to the captain leaning down on her when he saw the wire snap. Seeing the fate of the other dancers, she looks up at the officer’s face. He looks back at her sorrowfully, as his face splits open at mouth level and the top of his head falls off. Katie then screams, the view from the outside of the ship zooms down underwater, and the film cuts to the present day.
A salvage crew has retrieved a sinking ship in the open ocean. They bring the ship into port and receive its salvage value from the authorities. While celebrating their success at a bar, Jack Ferriman, a Canadian Air Force pilot, approaches them and says he has spotted a mysterious vessel running adrift in the Bering Sea. Because the ship is in international waters, it can be claimed by whomever is able to bring it to a port. The crew soon set out on the Arctic Warrior, a small tugboat. While exploring the abandoned ship, they discover that it is the Antonia Graza, an Italian luxury liner that disappeared in May 1962 and was believed to be lost at sea. The ocean liner’s disappearance was well known at the time.
When they board the ship and prepare to tow it to shore, strange things begin to happen. Maureen Epps claims to have seen a little girl on the stairwell while trying to save a crewmate from falling through the floor. Greer claims to have heard the singing of an unseen songstress in various places on the ship. Epps and Ferriman discover the corpses of another team of salvagers in the ship’s laundry room. The crew decide to leave the ship but take the large quantity of gold that they find on board. Their tugboat explodes from a tank of propane that mysteriously is opened as the engine is started, killing Santos, who was trying to fix the boat, and leaving them stranded on the ghost ship in the Bering Sea.
Ghost Ship is a 2002 American-Australian horror film directed by Steve Beck. The film was shot in Queensland, Australia and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It stars an ensemble cast featuring Gabriel Byrne, Julianna Margulies, Ron Eldard, Desmond Harrington, Isaiah Washington, Karl Urban, Emily Browning, Francesca Rettondini and Boris Brkic.
Ghost Ship (2002)
Directed by: Steve Beck
Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Julianna Margulies, Ron Eldard, Desmond Harrington, Isaiah Washington, Karl Urban, Emily Browning, Francesca Rettondini, Boris Brkic
Screenplay by: Mark Hanlon & Mark Hanlon
Production Design by: Graham ‘Grace’ Walker
Cinematography by: Gale Tattersall
Film Editing by: Roger Barton
Costume Design by: Margot Wilson
Set Decoration by: Beverley Dunn
art Direction by: Richard Hobbs
Makeup Department: Nikki Gooley
Music by: John Frizzell
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence/gore, language and sexuality.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: October 25, 2002
Visits: 74
