Ghosts of Mars

	Review by Howard Anderson © 2001 Howard Anderson

Story

Mars, 2176 AD. Long inhabited by human settlers, the Red Planet has become the dark and dangerous manifest destiny of an over-populated Earth. 640,000 people now live and work at far-flung outposts all over Mars, mining the planet for its abundant natural resources. But one of those mining operations has uncovered a deadly mother lode: a long-dormant Martian civilization whose warriors, now unleashed and apparently unstoppable, are systematically taking over the bodies of human intruders, bent on ridding the planet of the invaders from Earth.

Lt. Melanie Ballard (Natasha Henstridge), a veteran of two years on the Mars Police Force, is on transport assignment to Shining Canyon to bring James "Desolation" Williams (Ice Cube), the planet's most notorious criminal, to justice. Williams has no plans to make Ballard's job easy and what begins as a battle of force and wits between cop and criminal soon turns into something more fundamental: a battle for human survival and escape from the doomed planet.

Joining Lt. Ballard on the mission are Bashira (Clea Duvall), the timid rookie; Jericho (Jason Statham), the fast talking young gun; Commander Helena Braddock (Pam Grier), the tough-as-nails veteran and Descanso (Liam Waite), the reliable soldier. When the team encounters Professor Whitlock (Joanna Cassidy) and learns of her deadly mistake - accidentally unleashing dormant evil Martian forces from an archaeological dig site - all hell breaks loose. It's civilization against civilization and Shining Canyon becomes the O.K.Corral - 176 years into the future - as Ballard and Williams join forces in mortal combat with the "Ghosts of Mars."

Review

John Carpenter is the undisputed master of terror. He gave us a taste of evil incarnate in "Halloween", of claustrophobic horror on a whole new level in "The Thing", and of insanity unbound in the mind bender that is "In the Mouth of Madness." He has also given us unforgettable characters like Snake Plissken and Jack Crow, two of the coolest and meanest bastards that have ever been let loose on the big screen, and I am constantly waiting for a day when Jack Burton will once again climb aboard the Porkchop Express to further shake the pillars of heaven. For me a John Carpenter film is an event in itself, and I rarely walk away disappointed. Even when everything isn't necessarily at its best, there is always something to enjoy in a John Carpenter film. But then, that was before "Ghosts of Mars"...

There must have been a malfunctioning in the moviemaking machinery that is John Carpenter, because very little of what I saw in "Ghosts of Mars" worked for me. None of the visual energy or cinematic unease that he does better than most is present here. The backstory is interesting enough and the premise definitely had some potential, but somewhere along the line this film just took a severe nosedive. None of the characters are particularly memorable, and most of the one-liners they have to dish out are beyond belief. Natasha Henstridge did a perfectly fine job as Melanie Ballard, especially considering the fact that she was only given a week of prep-time for the part. Ice Cube, however, could just as easily have phoned in his lines, and still it's doubtful that he could have had any less of a screen presence about him.

"Ghosts of Mars" feels more like a bad and poorly made movie-of-the-week than it does the B flick, horror-fest that I was hoping for. The make-up effects by KNB EFX Group and the music by John Carpenter are the two elements that come off looking and sounding the best, but in the case of the music, it kind of overshoots the visuals, as the on-screen mayhem can never measure up to the intensity of the score. At one point in the film, Pam Grier's character notices a shadowed figure that we see quickly shooting past the frame. She then calls out "who goes there?" in what was probably meant as a homage to "The Thing", as that film was originally based on the story, "Who Goes There", by John W Campbell Jr. But, I have to say that to be reminded of a work of such horrific greatness while watching "Ghosts of Mars", is basically like having salt poured into an open wound.

Image

The 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen image comes off looking great for the most part, but there are some imperfections that stand out along the way, such as a bit of noticeable grain and a hint of edge enhancement. Any film taking place on the Red Planet, will, of course, have an abundant use of the color red, and this transfer is able to handle it without smearing or coming off looking excessively harsh. The blacks are solid, with nice shadow detail, and the flesh tones appear natural. So in all respects, a very good transfer.

Sound

The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix did not blow me away. As a comparison, the mix for "John Carpenter's Vampires" is highly active, with some seriously low bass that you can feel pounding against your skin. For "Ghosts of Mars" the explosions, especially, sounded like the audio equivalent of a dull knife.
It's still an active mix, with some nice directional effects and a good use of the surrounds, but it just didn't have that extra kick, that edge, that low rumble that you can feel as much as you can hear it.

Features

There are some nice special features to be found on this disc, including an Audio Commentary track with John Carpenter and Natasha Henstridge. Now, anyone who has ever listened to a commentary track with John Carpenter before, knows that the potential for some true listening gems are most definitely present, and believe it or not, but I actually had a much better time listening to the commentary track, than at any point during my initial viewing of the film. One of the great things about a really good Carpenter commentary track is that you not only get a sense of the film, but also of the man, himself. The talk on this track deals with everything from the building of sets and the various co-stars, to pregnancy and drug philosophy, so you should definitely give it a listen.

The "Ghosts of Mars" Video Diary runs just short of 17 minutes and gives you a good look behind the scenes, but this is nowhere near the type of in-depth video diary that Paul Thomas Anderson included on New Line's "Magnolia" DVD, or David O'Russell's video journal for Warner's "Three Kings." The Special Effects Deconstructions feature deals with the visual effects, and shows you the various stages of completion that blue screen and model shots go through. It runs for about 6 and a half minute. The "Scoring Ghosts of Mars" Featurette shows John Carpenter and Anthrax at work in the studio, scoring the film, but without providing any kind of information on how the work was done, or why they did this and that. And finally, there are also some bare bones Filmographies included, but no theatrical trailer, strangely enough.

Overall Opinion

The film was a major disappointment, but at least the DVD comes with a solid transfer and a very enjoyable audio commentary track. This is not a film that I would really recommend to anyone, so if you're in the mood for a sci-fi/horror film courtesy of John Carpenter, then I'd suggest watching or rewatching "The Thing" instead.