Ghost Ship

Ghost Ship is a supernatural horror film released in 2002. I remember seeing this film in the theater when it was first released, and I will never forget the opening scene of the film, and how this one girl got so scared that she pissed her self and ran screaming from the theater, though she was not the only one I a handful of people left screaming from the theater after that opening scene. That was one of my happiest moments in a theater to see a movie have that big of an impact upon the audience. The film continued with several more screams, with people covering their eyes in horror. That was a fun film going experience...but how does the film hold up now after all of these years. I will be honest the only thing about the movie I actually remembered was that amazing opening scene, and the fact that a salvage crew set out to recover a "ghost ship" that turned out to be literally a ship full of ghosts, that is really all I remembered of the actual film. So I found this film for a dollar in a second hand video shop, and remembered how much I enjoyed it in the theater, so I picked it up. I do not regret that decision at all! Sadly this film seem to have just gotten forgotten over the years. But after watching it again, I gotta say I actually love this film (oh shit the critics are gonna be fuming over that statement). The opening scene still stands up as one of my favourite horror effects I've seen open a film, it looks as good now as it did in the theater in 2002, it looks clean and realistic. This might be one of the best horror scenes I've seen in a film. This film at its heart is the old dark house trope, which some have argued has been done to death over the years, but I think if it works and can done right, then why not keep doing it. I like that maybe this isn't the most original film ever, but it has an element of a classic horror film, and I really appreciate that. The ship is basically a haunted house filled with the ghosts of all of the people who died horrible deaths upon the ship. The end also had a great twist that I really didn't see coming. The effects looks great, a lot of practical effects were employed, which I think helps it to keep its great look, where as heavy digital effects seem to lose their luster over the years. The digital effects that were used, actually worked to me. I would describe this film as a mix of The House On Haunted Hill and Titanic, which could have ended up being a muddled mess, but to me worked. The characters were well cast, and everyone played their parts well, my favourite actually being that of the young ghost girl. The story though a pretty common horror trope, had enough going on with it to keep the viewer interested and enough plot complexity to make the deliver a few surprises. I would say that in a time where horror films seem to feel the need to rely on the gross out, that this film actually used it's gore sparingly and tastefully, and relied on more traditional horror elements, also the use of jump scares was kept to a minimum compared to many contemporary horror films. This isn't a perfect film, and some of the critics make valid points against it. There are definitely better films out there, but this one pays enough homage to classic horror to keep a person like myself happy, but it also shares elements with more contemporary ghost stories like 13 Ghosts, which I feel helps it be a decent film. But the plot is a bit thin, and generic, there isn't anything really game changing or particularly great about the film. For as much as I do absolutely love this film, I'm not going to pretend that it isn't a mediocre horror film. But, I ask, does every movie need to be a masterpiece to be a good movie? Isn't it okay to just enjoy a good movie, that falls far short of being a great movie? I say fuck it, like what you like, and I really do like this film, and will be returning to it again. Would I recommend this movie. I say critics be damned! Yes, you should see this movie, if for the amazing opening scene alone! But really this is a great haunted house story that takes place on a cruise ship, what is not to enjoy about that. Sure it might be a cliche movie trope that it plays on, but there are enough chills and thrills to make it a fun film, so just enjoy it.