"GHOST SHIP"
(2002) (Julianna Margulies, Gabriel Byrne) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Moderate	Extreme	Extreme	Heavy	Extreme
Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Minor	Heavy	Extreme	None	Extreme
Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	Moderate	None	Mild	Extreme

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QUICK TAKE:

Horror: The crew of a salvage tugboat encounters supernatural forces on an ocean liner that's been missing at sea for forty years.

PLOT:

Captain Sean Murphy (GABRIEL BYRNE), salvage team leader Maureen Epps (JULIANNA MARGULIES), First Mate Greer (ISAIAH WASHINGTON) and the rest of the salvage tugboat Arctic Warrior -- Dodge (RON ELDARD), Santos (ALEX DIMITRIADES) and Munder (KARL URBAN) - are so good at what they do that Canadian Air Force Pilot Jack Ferriman (DESMOND HARRINGTON) has approached them with an offer.

For twenty percent of their take, he'll lead them to what appears to be an abandoned ocean liner somewhere in the Bering Sea, far from any of the shipping lanes. They finally agree on ten percent with the condition of him going along and so they set off to find the vessel. Since it's in international waters, any such find could be completely theirs.

What they discover is the Antonia Graza, an Italian ocean liner that's been missing at sea for forty years. Deserted, damaged and adrift via the arctic currents, the huge vessel is quite a find and the tugboat crew quickly boards her to see what they can salvage.

Once onboard, they begin their exploration and soon discover that it isn't truly deserted. It's not long before Epps thinks she sees a young girl in a party dress, Katie (EMILY BROWNING), that Greer becomes entranced with the sultry lounge singer Francesca (FRANCESCA RETTONDINI), or that Murphy sees the ship's Captain (ROBERT RUGGIERO).

They're ghosts, of course, but the tugboat crew soon learns that there's more onboard the Antonia Graza, including something more sinister. They then scramble to save their lives when things start to become deadly.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?

If they're fans of anyone in the cast or gory horror films, they just might.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R

For strong violence/gore, language and sexuality.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

GABRIEL BYRNE plays the captain of the tugboat who decides to take the job of returning the discovered ocean liner. He uses strong profanity and may be a recovering alcoholic who then does drink.

JULIANNA MARGULIES plays the strong-willed leader of the salvage crew. She uses strong profanity and tries to find and then connect with the ghost of the young girl.

DESMOND HARRINGTON plays the pilot who hires the tugboat crew to salvage the ocean liner for a cut of the action.

ISAIAH WASHINGTON plays the tugboat's first mate who questions many of the crew's decisions and then finds himself entranced by Francesca's spirit. He uses some strong profanity.

ALEX DIMITRIADES plays the tugboat's mechanic.

KARL URBAN plays another crewmember who smokes.

RON ELDARD plays another crewmember who uses strong profanity.

EMILY BROWNING plays the ghost of a young girl onboard the ocean liner who wants to help Epps.

FRANCESCA RETTONDINI plays the ghost of a sultry lounge singer who tries to seduce Greer.

ROBERT RUGGIERO plays the ghost of the Captain who converses with Murphy.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

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Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

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OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

Here's a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated horror film. Profanity consists of at least 20 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Some sexually related dialogue is present, while a sultry and alluring flesh and blood ghost comes on to a man, undresses (her bare breasts and back are visible) and waits for him (but nothing else happens after the sound of his zipper being opened).

Violence includes people being killed in a variety of ways, including being shot, stabbed, drowned and hurt or killed in a variety of ways including explosions that also cause property damage. That material and other scenes have bloody results, as does a very graphic scene where many characters are dismembered, decapitated and completely cut in half by a steel cable with extremely bloody and gory results.

Those scenes, various supernatural ones and a host of "jump scenes" may be disturbing, suspenseful and/or scary to viewers and are accompanied by an extreme amount of suspenseful and ominous music. Those responsible for such death and mayhem have bad attitudes, while various characters smoke and/or drink.

Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

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ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE

People have drinks and champagne is passed around on the ocean liner.

Everyone in the salvage crew except for Murphy celebrate with beer (and it's somewhat suggested that Murphy might be a recovering alcoholic).

A person comments on the champagne bottles on the liner.

Murphy finds an open bottle of liquor and some of it poured into a glass. He puts it to his mouth, but then stops when he sees the old captain's reflection in a mirror (also holding the glass).

After Greer says he thought he heard a voice singing to him, Munder jokingly tells him to give him some of whatever he's on (meaning drugs).

Murphy grabs the above bottle of liquor and the scene ends there (but it's implied he drinks).

Greer appears a bit drunk as he was drinking wine or champagne from a bottle.

The ghostly captain pours Murphy a glass of liquor.

BLOOD/GORE

A large metal cable on the Antonia Graza suddenly becomes taut and whips across the deck, slicing completely through various passengers and crewmembers. They stand there for a moment in shock, and we then see a very graphic and extremely bloody and gory display of their various body parts (including a head) falling off or bodies separating and falling to the deck. We also see the victims reaching for their severed lower halves of their bodies, etc. with lots of blood everywhere.

Murphy finds an old straight-razor with blood on it as well as dried blood in a sink.

Blood starts running out of one and then many bullet holes in an empty swimming pool until it's full of blood.

Partially decomposed bodies wash out in a flood of water when Epps opens a bulkhead.

Greer has some bloody wounds to the side of his head.

Two men discover that the old, canned food that they've been eating is actually maggots (we see the maggots in the cans and in one of the men's mouth - he spits them out).

Epps opens a sliding door and suddenly comes face to face with a decomposed girl's corpse (apparently hanging from the ceiling).

Murphy encounters a dead crewmember who's "alive" and has bad burn marks on his face.

A woman's face suddenly turns ghostly and partially decomposed.

Murphy has some blood on his head.

We see a dead man who was impaled on some rods after a fall.

We see a flashback comprised of a montage of images of what occurred on the ocean liner. During this, we see dead and bloody people on the floor; poison being put into food (with a person vomiting); another view of the cable cutting everyone in half (with more gory and bloody results); people stabbing another person with resultant blood; men shooting others with machine gun fire (with bloody results); a person being stabbed; stabbing another person; and a large swinging hook impales a woman under the chin and lifts her from the floor, swinging her back and forth with blood dripping in the same pattern across the floor (we then see a graphic view of her with the hook in her chin with lots of blood).

A scuba diver is pulled into a large gear and his body is torn apart (we see blood in the water, various body parts and then red water going up through a pumping tube).

A man shoots another man with a gun that knocks the second man to the ground where he appears dead (and quite bloody). The shooter has blood splatter on his shirt.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE

The evil force responsible for the deaths obviously has a bad attitude, as do various people in a flashback who murder others.

Some of the crewmembers get testy with each other.

FRIGHTENING SCENES

Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" could also be disturbing, suspenseful or scary to viewers.

A large metal cable on the Antonia Graza suddenly becomes taut and whips across the deck, slicing completely through various passengers and crewmembers. They stand there for moment in shock, and we then see a very graphic and extremely bloody and gory display of their various body parts falling off or bodies separating and falling to the deck. We also see the victims reaching for their severed lower halves of their bodies, etc. with lots of blood everywhere.

Against Murphy's orders, Epps boards a sinking ship that the tugboat is pulling and tries to fix its leak before the ship sinks and pulls the tugboat down with it.

As the tugboat reverses engines upon suddenly seeing the ocean liner, one of the crewmembers falls over the side and is nearly crushed upon the impact of the tugboat slamming into the larger ship.

The crew slowly makes their way through the dark, wet and rust-prone ocean liner, where the film's direction is designed to spook the viewer, including a scrabble-like game's letters suddenly changing from "I am so bored" to "Welcome aboard."

A man suddenly partially falls through a rusty floor and dangles high above the next floor below him as the other crewmembers hold onto him and eventually pull him back up. During this, Epps sees a young girl down on that lower floor.

Jack senses something under the water and we see that something's done there, but it turns out to be surfacing scuba divers.

Various crewmembers split up and slowly make their way through the dark ocean liner. Epps finds bullet holes in the walls of the empty pool, and when she ascends the ladder, she suddenly comes face to face with the young, ghostly girl.

Blood starts running out of one and then many bullet holes in an empty swimming pool until it's full of blood (and we then see a body floating in it).

A bunch of partially decomposed bodies wash out in a flood of water when Epps opens a bulkhead (the water also knocks down her and Jack). The two then find themselves trapped, but then follow a series of hatches that open on their own. They then spot something moving under some blankets and crates, and then open one of them to discover a bunch of rats that come pouring out.

A freezer door in the galley starts to open and Jack tells Epps not to go in, but she does. Inside, we see all sorts of covered hanging pieces of meat, and when she passes by one, it slowly turns in her direction. We then suddenly see two covered bodies that then come after her and Jack (but it all turns out to be a practical joke).

We see a propane tank valve slowly being opened by an unseen force. Katie the ghost then warns not to start the boat

An explosion rips through a boat, catches a man on fire (who falls overboard) and causes that boat to sink. Others are wounded and the burned man is dead.

As Epps goes looking for Katie, all of the doors in a hallway suddenly slam shut.

Two men discover that the old, canned food that they've been eating is actually maggots (we see the maggots in the cans and in one of the men's mouth - he spits them out).

Epps opens a sliding door and suddenly comes face to face with a decomposed girl's corpse (apparently hanging from the ceiling).

A bottle suddenly slides across a table by itself.

We see Katie's ghost back behind Epps. As she later tells Epps some important information, she suddenly panics as black, tentacle-like growths appear out of the ceiling and expand.

Murphy encounters a dead crewmember who's "alive" and has bad burn marks on his face.

We see a flashback comprised of a montage of images of what occurred on the ocean liner. During this, we see dead and bloody people on the floor; poison being put into food (with a person vomiting); another view of the cable cutting everyone in half (with more gory and bloody results); people stabbing another person with resultant blood; men chasing after Katie; men shooting others with machine gun fire (with bloody results); a person being stabbed; stabbing another person; people struggling; a man shoots many people with a machine gun; a woman shoots a man in the head from point blank range; and a large swinging hook impales a woman under the chin and lifts her from the floor, swinging her back and forth with blood dripping in the same pattern across the floor (we then see a graphic view of her with the hook in her chin with lots of blood).

We see a dead man who's drowned (his body floats in the water).

A scuba diver is pulled into a large gear and his body is torn apart (we see blood in the water, various body parts and then red water going up through a pumping tube).

GUNS/WEAPONS

Handguns/Machine guns/Shotgun/Spear gun: Used to threaten, wound or kill people. See "Violence" for details.

C-4 Explosives: Used for demolition purposes and to blow up part of a ship.

Knife: Seen in Murphy's hallucination.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR

Phrases: "What the f*ck /is going on back there/are you?" "Will you turn off the f*cking music?" "I think she's f*cking with us," "F*cking assholes," "F*ck you," "You were f*cking with us, we f*cked with you," "This ship is f*cked up," "Are you f*cking kidding?" "F*cking bitch," "Full of sh*t," "Holy sh*t," "Oh sh*t," "Sh*t my pants," "Do you smell that? "I smell bullsh*t," "No sh*t," "That's bullsh*t," "(Break my) balls," "Do you want me to come down there and kick your ass?" "My ass," "Hell no," "Shut up," "Moron," "Big ass," "Quit bitching," "Where the hell are you?" "What the hell /are you guys talking about?" "Stop dragging ass," "Get the hell out of here," "Bitch," "Screwed up," "Pissed off," "Sucker" and "Who the hell are you?"

A man has a tattoo on his neck.

JUMP SCENES

The sudden sound of a clock chiming might startle some viewers.

Epps suddenly comes face to face with the young, ghostly girl.

Murphy suddenly sees another man's reflection in a mirror.

A bunch of partially decomposed bodies wash out in a flood of water when Epps opens a bulkhead (the water also knocks down her and Jack).

A bunch of rats come pouring out of a crate.

Bodies suddenly come at Epps.

Epps opens a sliding door and suddenly comes face to face with a decomposed girl's corpse (apparently hanging from the ceiling).

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)

An extreme amount of ominous and suspenseful music plays in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)

None.

PROFANITY

At least 20 "f" words, 18 "s" words, 2 slang terms for breasts (variations of "t*tty"), 14 hells, 11 asses (3 used with "hole"), 5 damns, 2 S.O.B.s, 5 uses of "Jesus," 4 of "G-damn," 3 each of "Oh God" and "Oh my God," 2 each of "Christ" and "Oh Jesus" and 1 use each of "Jesus Christ" and "Oh Jesus Christ" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY

Francesca shows cleavage in her low-cut dress, while the backdrop behind her shows a large painting of a bare-breasted woman (that painting is later seen again).

One of the guys jokes to Greer, "Everyone knows you Navy boys take it up the ass."

From a distance, we see some small photos on the wall of what look like bare-breasted women.

Greer spots an old photo of Francesca in her dress and comments, "Nice t*tties."

Greer states that he heard a woman's singing and that she seemed to be coming on to him.

A guy comments that he's going to buy "t*tty magazines" with his share of the loot.

As Francesca saunters toward Greer, the camera focuses on her clothed butt (in a tight, form-fitting dress). He says he knows all of this isn't real, and that he's going to go with it because you can't cheat on your fiancé with a dead person (they then passionately kiss). We then see Francesca undoing the back of her low-cut dress and she slowly walks away. When we return to this scene, we see Francesca alluringly walking along with her arm covering her bare breasts and then see a partial glimpse of them in the shadows. Moments later, we then see a full view of them as well as her bare back down to the top of her bare butt as Greer comes up behind her (we hear some unzipping sounds on his part). He reaches around her but then falls through her apparition.

SMOKING

Munder smokes more than 5 times, Greer smokes cigars in a few scenes, Epps and Francesca each smoke once and some miscellaneous characters smoke.

Greer finds a burning cigarette onboard the liner.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES

None.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT

The legend of ships being found without any crew or passengers.

Ghosts.

Evil spirits/forces.

VIOLENCE

A large metal cable on the Antonia Graza suddenly becomes taut and whips across the deck, slicing completely through various passengers and crewmembers. They stand there for moment in shock, and we then see a very graphic and extremely bloody and gory display of their various body parts falling off or bodies separating and falling to the deck.

Some crewmembers are throttled about inside the tugboat when it suddenly slams into the side of the ocean liner.

Epps suddenly comes face to face with the young, ghostly girl and falls back into an empty pool where she is momentarily dazed.

A bunch of partially decomposed bodies wash out in a flood of water when Epps opens a bulkhead (the water also knocks down her and Jack).

A massive explosion rips through a boat, catches a man on fire (who falls overboard) and causes that boat to sink. Others are wounded or knocked away and the burned man is dead.

Dodge grabs Jack in anger and has to be pulled away.

Greer punches Munder in the face.

Murphy kicks something in the captain's quarters in anger.

A man falls to his death (we don't see the impact, but later see his dead body impaled on some rods).

Murphy, believing Epps to be a spirit (he sees her that way and holding a knife), grabs and pushes her against a wall. They struggle and he has her down on the ground. She then clocks him on the head with something that knocks him aside, but he then picks up something and repeatedly tries to hit her. He then throws her up against a wall until Jack hits him on the head, knocking him out.

C-4 is used to blow open a hatch.

We see a flashback comprised of a montage of images of what occurred on the ocean liner. During this, we see dead and bloody people on the floor; poison being put into food (with a person vomiting); another view of the cable cutting everyone in half (with more gory and bloody results); people stabbing another person with resultant blood; men chasing after Katie; men shooting others with machine gun fire (with bloody results); a person being stabbed; stabbing another person; people struggling; a man shoots many people with a machine gun; a woman shoots a man in the head from point blank range; and a large swinging hook impales a woman under the chin and lifts her from the floor, swinging her back and forth with blood dripping in the same pattern across the floor (we then see a graphic view of her with the hook in her chin with lots of blood).

We see a dead man who's drowned (his body floats in the water).

A scuba diver is pulled into a large gear and his body is torn apart (we see blood in the water, various body parts and then red water going up through a pumping tube).

A man pushes another man backwards and then shoots him with a gun that knocks the second man to the floor where he appears dead (and quite bloody), but we then see that he's not dead.

A woman holds a spear gun on a man, but he causes a pole to hit her and knock her into some water. He then grabs and throttles her around under the water where he then holds his foot down onto her. She then jabs something into his leg.

A massive explosion rips through a ship, eventually sinking it.

Reviewed October 23, 2002 / Posted October 25, 2002

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