Last Updated on July 23, 2021
THE BLACK SHEEP is an ongoing column featuring different takes on films that either the writer HATED, but that the majority of film fans LOVED, or that the writer LOVED, but that most others LOATH. We’re hoping this column will promote constructive and geek fueled discussion. Dig in!
JOHN CARPENTER’S GHOST OF MARS (2001)
Directed by John Carpenter
“It contains most of the classical elements that make a Carpenter movie a Carpenter movie.”
Got your attention? Good. Now there’s something about a John Carpenter film that I just love. I’m not sure if it’s his pacing, his music, his direction, or his sense of claustrophobic doom, but the man had a string of hits that can’t be denied, even if the last decade or so haven’t been kind to him. In fact, this movie, Ghost of Mars, forced Carpenter into a self-imposed exile. Maybe it was a rough shoot. Maybe it didn’t fair we
ll with critics. Maybe most fans hated the thing. But I don’t give a damn cause I’ve always had a soft spot for this one. I still remember when it opened in August of ‘01. I dragged by friend Vinnie to the big Friday premiere and was pretty pumped because I felt Carpenter had returned to form after the effective Vampires with James Woods from a few years before. Apparently though, no one else shared my enthusiasm (including Vinnie, who thought the movie stunk). We were the only ones in the theater that night, which was good so I could kick my long legs up and blow some ass if I felt like it. But Ghost of Mars was bad for Carpenter. It atom bombed at the box office.
However, whether a movie is successful or not has no bearing on the Black Sheep. Nope. Don’t really care. I look for what I want, what entertains my dark soul, and Ghost of Mars brought joy to my coal-fueled heart. It contains most of the classical elements that make a Carpenter movie a Carpenter movie. A repetitive, yet catchy score. Blood. Carnage. A plethora of decapitations. Morally corrupt and isolated characters. A hopeless situation. All with a dash of bad acting, mediocre dialogue, and a low budget. All these things seemingly keep the man creative.
Now it’s easy to criticize Ghost of Mars on a number of different fronts. To start, yes this is yet another take on Rio Bravo, a basic plot that he’s used on Assault of Prescient 13, The Fog, The Thing, Prince of Darkness, and Vampires just to name a few. So why the hell not stick with a formula that works? Romantic comedies rarely stray. Slasher movies don’t change. So why can’t Carpenter be his own genre? It works as long as he finds new ways to reinvent and not rehash the same concept. Here, he packages and ships his patented formula into space, so, you know, that’s a different take. It worked for Jason and the Leprechaun, so why not for Carpenter? Besides, the idea of a western sci-fi—marshals, deputies, outlaws, scared townfolk—works. It forces familiar character types together in a new, unexplored environment to see if they can survive. Shootouts in the middle of the town. Marshall Law gets declared. Ok, so dude still doesn’t stray far from his original muse Rio Bravo, but in comparison to other Mars movies, Ghost of Mars stands on par with all, minus Total Recall (which remains king of the Red Planet). Name another Mars movie that’s worth a shit. It’s tough. It’s a storyline that never picked up steam.
Being a futuristic western allow Ghost of Mars to play like 80s action, a genre where the plot mattered very little and action dominated. Now I can hear some complain that the action doesn’t hold up, but I refuse to agree. Carpenter throws everything in here, pistols, shotguns, machine guns, knives, swords, bombs. Hell, it even has a train just to emphasize the Old West on Mars undertones. And just to keep things different, he implemented flashback sequences to keep the story out of sequence, though it’s handled a little sloppy. However, he makes great use of the budget with effectively minimal sets. In particular, you gotta the like old school practical models used on the train sequences and on the town itself. Sure, it looks like model, but sometimes it works.
Beyond what is seen, one of the best elements here is what’s heard from the usual Carpenter staple – music. A few synthesizer cues pop up, but this movie is dominated by generic heavy metal, something that usually annoys the living shit out of me. Somehow the metal here, performed by Carpenter and Antrax, doesn’t. It never varies far off a few notes, creating a rhythm and flow to keep the flick rolling and the action moving. All without the standard guitar wail. Well, minus one or two notes.
Unlike a lot of Carpenter movies, the cast ended up surprisingly good, at least with name recognition. Ice Cube, Natasha Henstridge, Pam Grier, Robert Carradine (from Revenge of the Nerds and completely wasted here; I don’t think he even has a line), Clea Duvall and even Jason Statham. Of course, some might say that’s where the film’s laundry list of faults appear, namely with Cube in the role of the heavy. He’s heavy all right, and he really, really tries to be the ultimate badass, but it’s a bit of a joke rewatching this film with Statham standing in the shadows as the third lead. Who would’ve known? Cube turned into a family comedy man while Statham became the overlord of action (well, kind of). Grier doesn’t have enough screen-time to matter while Natasha, who reigned briefly as queen of horror after Species, isn’t bad here. She’s hot, capable, and a bit of a druggie, but she never really sells herself as the tough broad. She just there to banter back and forth with Cube, which is the source of most of the shitty dialogue. Their chemistry isn’t superb, but it ain’t awkward or anything. Just dumb:
NR: “Don’t you believe in anything?” IC: “I believe in staying alive.” NR: “Yeah, for what?” IC: “Stick around and I might let you know one day.” NR: “When?” IC: “When the tide is high and the water is rising.”
Oh…so deep. It’s just a little on the forced side, but Cube does his best to sell it. From what I could tell, both he and Natasha f*cking relish their roles.
Speaking of dialogue, another complaint that I can’t defend is the stupidity of what the characters say nor their reasoning (I’m not gonna mention to goggles for breathing on Mars stupidity. It speaks for itself). For the first hour, everyone attempts to run from the legion of Mars zombies lurking outside. As our group of heroes attempts to escape via train, their train is late but that doesn’t stop them. They don’t hesitate in deciding a plan of action as Cube runs into battle, guns blazing without second thought. Somehow, that’s the way with a lot of Carpenter’s stuff. Forced, cheesy, steady in pace. Most of the time it works. And Ghost of Mars, whether you think so or not, works.
Disagree? Buy the DVD and discover for yourself.
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