The Carpenters Gold

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Disadvantages: see review

...Ghosts of Mars(or "John Carpenter's" Ghosts of Mars as he would obviously prefer it titled) is a movie which for me at least hammers home the final nail in the coffin of one of horror's most widely respected directors. This guy has effectively done nothing which could be considered even slightly above B-movie fare since the 80s and in fact, when you think about it, the movies he is still churning out these days still resemble the 80s stuff. Halloween was a great movie, The Thing was a great movie, Escape From New York was watchable but cannibalised ideas from his previous 80s movie Escape From L.A. and these are what established him as a great director - everything he has made since screams otherwise. Ghost of Mars is a horrible piece of film making set in a matriarchal future. A mining operation on Mars unearths the aforementioned... Read review

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Advantages: Henstridge, Some Nice Gore
Disadvantages: Looks Cheap and Dull, Some Bad Acting, Dull Villains

...If truth be told John Carpenter hasn't made a decent film for years but thanks to some cult video classics such as The Thing and Big Trouble In Little China his career still keeps on going. Ghosts of Mars is another attempt by Carpenter to remake Rio Bravo with a sci-fi element. It's 200 years into the future and a Martian police unit led by Lt. Melanie Ballard (Natasha Henstridge) is sent to a mining outpost to bring back a dangerous prisoner Desolation Williams (Ice Cube). However what they encounter is a deadly race of martian ghosts who inhabit the bodies of the miners. Cue hell on earth and a fight to escape with all body parts intact. That's pretty much it, aliens vs humans with a lot of guns, violence and bloodshed. I really wanted this film to work but sadly it is incredibly flawed and above all else dull. In fact... Read review

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Advantages: It ends - mercifully
Disadvantages: It starts - regrettably

...has been altered through self-mutilation and who have no hesitation in attacking the police officers. When the commanding officer disappears, one of the squadron goes in search, and spots a crazed figure carrying what appears to be the decapitated head of the officer. From a concealed position, he watches the woman join the rest of the colony’s inhabitants behind the brow of the hill. A strange force has taken over the townsfolk – and they have been transformed into a bloodthirsty, psychotic band of warriors. Very soon, the squadron find themselves fighting for their lives, in a desperate bid to keep the warriors at bay whilst they wait for the return of the train. Little do they know that the locomotive is stuck in treacherous conditions…. You will probably all be familiar with previous John Carpenter films –... Read review

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