| John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | John Carpenter |
| Produced by | Sandy King |
| Written by | John Carpenter Larry Sulkis |
| Starring | Ice
Cube Natasha Henstridge Jason Statham Pam Grier Clea DuVall Joanna Cassidy |
| Music by | John Carpenter |
| Distributed by | Storm King Screen Gems |
| Release date(s) | 24 August 2001 (Theater) 4 December 2001 (DVD) |
| Running time | 98 min (1:38) |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$28,000,000 |
| Gross revenue | $14,010,832 |
John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars is a 2001 movie directed by John Carpenter.
Contents |
Set in the second half of the 22nd century, in the year 2176, the film depicts Mars as a planet that has been 84% terraformed, allowing humans to walk on the surface without wearing pressure suits. The story concerns a police officer, Melanie Ballard (Natasha Henstridge), second in command of a small team sent to pick up and transport a prisoner named Desolation Williams (Ice Cube). Arriving at the remote mining town where Williams is being held, Ballard finds virtually all of the people missing. She learns that the miners had discovered an underground doorway created by an ancient Martian civilization. When the door was opened it released "ghosts", disembodied spirits who possessed the miners.
Violence ensues, as the possessed miners commit acts of death and destruction, as well as self-mutilation. Ballard must fight off the attacking miners, escape the town, and destroy the ghosts, if possible. Unfortunately, her intentions are complicated by the fact that killing a possessed human merely releases the Martian spirit to possess another human. The team eventually decides to blow up a nuclear reactor to kill the human hosts. Ballard's crew is eventually wiped out by the miners, leaving only her and Williams. Not wanting the authorities to blame the massacre on him, he handcuffs Ballard to her bed and escapes the train, leaving her to return home. While she recuperates at a hospital, the released spirits attack the city. The end scene has Williams returning to team up with Ballard to fight the possessed.
Although Mars has a day/night cycle almost identical in length to Earth's, most of the movie is set at night. Mars is shown only once in the daytime, in a flashback when a scientist describes how she found and opened a "Pandora's Box", unleashing the alien spirits.
Much of the movie was filmed in a New Mexican gypsum mine. The pure white gypsum had to be dyed with thousands of gallons of biodegradable red food dye to recreate the Martian landscape.
The film was met with generally negative feedback, garnering a 19% freshness rating from Rottentomatoes. Rob Gonsalves of eFilmCritic.com suggested that the film was symbolic of 'Carpenter at rock bottom'. According to the press, factors contributing to the box office failure of the film included poor set designs, hammy acting and a poorly developed script.
Since its release, Ghosts Of Mars received a cult following notably in Europe for the action sequences, the characterisation of Henstridge and Cube's character and his music.[1]
| John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars (film soundtrack) | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack by John Carpenter | |
| Released | November 19, 2001 |
| Recorded | Cherokee Studios, Hollywood |
| Genre | Instrumental Heavy metal |
| Length | 40:59 |
| Label | Varese Sarabande |
| Producer | Bruce Robb |
| Professional reviews | |
For the film's soundtrack, John Carpenter recorded a number of synthesizer pieces and assembled an all-star cast of guitarists (including thrash metal band Anthrax, virtuoso Steve Vai, avant-garde musician Buckethead and former Guns N' Roses/current Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck) to record an energetic and technically proficient heavy metal score. Reaction to the soundtrack was mixed; many critics praised the high standard of musicianship and the strong pairing of heavy metal riffs with the film's action sequences, but complained about the overlong guitar solos, the drastic differences between the cues used in the film and the full tracks and the absence of any of the film's ambient synth score from the soundtrack CD.
Tracklisting:[2]
Credits:[2]
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| John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars | |
|---|---|
| File:John Carpenter's Ghosts of | |
| Directed by | John Carpenter |
| Produced by | Sandy King |
| Written by |
John Carpenter Larry Sulkis |
| Starring |
Ice Cube Robert Carradine Jason Statham Natasha Henstridge Pam Grier Clea DuVall Joanna Cassidy |
| Music by | John Carpenter |
| Distributed by | Screen Gems |
| Release date(s) | August 24, 2001 |
| Running time | 98 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $28,000,000 |
| Gross revenue | $14,010,832 |
John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars is a 2001 action film directed by John Carpenter.
Contents |
Set in the second half of the 22nd century, the film depicts Mars as a planet that has been 84% terraformed, allowing humans to walk on the surface without wearing pressure suits. The story concerns a police officer, Melanie Ballard (Natasha Henstridge), second in command of a small team alongside Sergeant Jericho (Jason Statham) sent to pick up and transport a prisoner named Desolation Williams (Ice Cube). Arriving at the remote mining town where Williams is being held, Ballard finds virtually all of the people missing. She learns that the miners had discovered an underground doorway created by an ancient Martian civilization. When the door was opened it released "ghosts," disembodied spirits who possessed the miners.
Violence ensues, as the possessed miners commit acts of death and destruction, as well as self-mutilation. Ballard must fight off the attacking miners, escape the town, and destroy the ghosts, if possible. Unfortunately, her intentions are complicated by the fact that killing a possessed human merely releases the Martian spirit to possess another human. The team eventually decides to blow up a nuclear reactor to kill the human hosts. At one point in the film Sergeant Jericho shows a romantic interest in Ballard.
Ballard's crew along with survivors who manage to gather in the jail are eventually wiped out by the miners after many fierce battles and events (including Ballard almost being possessed but fighting the ghost off and seeing its memories and motives), leaving only her and Williams after Sergeant Jericho and the other remaining soldiers and the two operators of the train are killed upon returning from a brief retreat to finish the fight. Not wanting the authorities to blame the massacre on him, he handcuffs Ballard to her cot and escapes the train, leaving her to return home and deliver her report, which is taken highly sceptical by her superiors. While Ballard recuperates at a hospital, the released spirits attack the city. The end scene has Williams returning to team up with Ballard to fight the possessed.
Although Mars has a day/night cycle almost identical in length to Earth's, most of the movie is set at night. Mars is shown only once in the daytime, in a flashback when a scientist describes how she found and opened a "Pandora's Box," unleashing the alien spirits.
Much of the movie was filmed in a New Mexican gypsum mine. The pure white gypsum had to be dyed with thousands of gallons of biodegradable red food dye to recreate the Martian landscape.
The film was met with negative feedback, garnering a 19% freshness rating from Rottentomatoes. Rob Gonsalves of eFilmCritic.com suggested that the film was symbolic of 'Carpenter at rock bottom.' According to press reviews factors contributing to the box office failure of the film included poor set designs, hammy acting and a poorly developed script.
| John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars (film soundtrack) | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack by John Carpenter | |
| Released | November 19, 2001 |
| Recorded | Cherokee Studios, Hollywood |
| Genre |
Instrumental Heavy metal |
| Length | 40:59 |
| Label | Varese Sarabande |
| Producer | Bruce Robb |
| Professional reviews | |
For the film's soundtrack, John Carpenter recorded a number of synthesizer pieces and assembled an all-star cast of guitarists (including thrash metal band Anthrax, virtuoso Steve Vai, avant-garde musician Buckethead and former Guns N' Roses/current Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck) to record an energetic and technically proficient heavy metal score. Reaction to the soundtrack was mixed; many critics praised the high standard of musicianship and the strong pairing of heavy metal riffs with the film's action sequences, but complained about the overlong guitar solos, the drastic differences between the cues used in the film and the full tracks and the absence of any of the film's ambient synth score from the soundtrack CD.
Tracklisting:[1]
Credits:[1]
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  | Ghosts of Mars - John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars (2001): Reviews |
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