Ghost Voyage (2008) Reviews

• Abandon ship

  MartianOctocretr52008-02-12

  The opening with a group of strangers awakening to find themselves aboard an old broken down cargo vessel is sufficiently eerie enough, and the oddball spectre-like "steward" who gives the confused passengers a list of ship rules is menacing. None of them knows how they got there, or why. It's not a bad premise, sort of a Twilight Zone approach. The movie at first looks like it's going to rip off "Death Ship" and some others, but actually finds its own direction. It manages to present the mystery of what is going on, who is behind it, etc. It avoids giving up too much information too soon and guides the audience along with well-timed expository dialog and some weird discoveries aboard the spooky vessel. It throws in some ghost-like apparitions, ancient ritualistic behavior, and a "test" which is graded coldly and positively. Not bad stuff, really. But the longer the movie goes on, the weaker it gets. Many characters are so cliché and obviously marked for unpleasant fates, that it's laughable. Some of the special effects look like they were done with an Etch-a-Sketch toy. Most of the cast (fortunately those who make early exits) act at about the kindergarten play level. However, the longer-lasting people act better; and their characters have some dimension. The resolution actually shows some thought was put into it. A decent flick for a rainy weekend afternoon.

• Not Too Shabby

  MsMamaBaby12008-01-27

  This movie is about 7 strangers who mysteriously 'wake up' on a salvage ship out in the middle of nowhere with no idea of how they got there. Of course, they want off and, equally obvious, it's just not going to be that easy. This movie takes off a bit slow but maintains a decent flow that keeps you watching till the very end just to see how it turns out. It's a bit (quite a bit) predictable but still worthy of holding the viewers interest. It has a bit of a 'Saw' premise with a 'long, lost ghost ship' attitude. Antonio Sabato Jr. is still a good actor (I loved him in Earth 2, the series), I just wonder why he's not doing his thing in bigger movies. Another good actor in this movie is Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, he's been in quite a few movies (The Last Emporer, Mortal Kombat and Memoirs of a Geisha) and he's always interesting to watch...unfortunately his role in this movie is minimal although pivotal. If you're looking for something to kill the time then this movie is for you. Don't expect fireworks but you can prepare to be entertained or, at least, occupied for a while.

• Haunted Ship at Sea

  Carrigon2008-01-27

  Does the movie float? Actually, yes it does. It's not that bad for a Saturday SciFi movie. It sticks to a very formulaic script. Very predictable, but at least it starts out with a solid story. A bunch of people wake up on board a strange, creepy ship. A man calling himself the Steward gives them some rules and disappears. And they all have to figure out what's going on. Lots of ghost stuff, cheap scares. CGI looking FX. But, all in all, it's really not that bad. The ending was a little too neat for my tastes. It's less gory than Ghost Ship, but if you liked that movie, you'll probably like this one. I gave it a seven rating. Kind of high for me. It's better than most of the junk SciFi usually cranks out.

• One too many chances.

  lost-in-limbo2008-09-13

  Another boringly humdrum straight-to-TV horror enterprise that sinks real fast in its uninteresting, rancid story. Three times it took me to eventually get through it. I simply had trouble staying awake. From the get-go everything about it is shallow (superficial characters and abysmal dialogues) with every cliché from the handbook being unashamedly used in a sleep-inducing manner. The material is lame, as there's little in the way of mystery (not much really going on) and the twist is predictably weak. It's like a rejected idea of a 'Twilight Zone' episode. The further along the mechanical story goes and eventually unfolds (remember to follow the rules and there's always a chance to re-correct your past mistakes in some other form… blah, blah) reveals how unintentionally humorous, inconsistent and mind-numbing it is. Talk about an aggravatingly languid boat trip experience. Special effects are dodgy with many clunky moments, but nothing extremely terrible and quite the usual low-budget standard you see in these presentations. So the shocks, well the supposed attempts were completely off and incredibly dull. So were the death scenes. Direction is drab, while the pacing drags and the setting never convinces. Performances are bottom of the barrel. Quite bland, forgettable and disposable. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa appears in a nothing role. Antonio Sabato Jr. makes for a lacking lead performance, so does his opposite the lovely, but empty Deanna Russo. In all, just crumby.

• It has a very good twist

  Killa422008-01-27

  I can't stand how IMDb both considers everything a spoiler and they require ten lines, my reviews are sweet, short, and to the point so they can get off of their high horses and just approve this. Anyways, here's the review: What a cool example of a typical "B" SCIFI. Perfect for the no brainier late night flick where you just need your little shot of horror. Bit of a spoiler here but I had to say that the best part of the film was when they sprayed one of the fiery ghosts with a fire extinguisher. I laughed my ass off at 2am