Ghosts of Mars (2001)
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A squad of police officers and a convict must team up to survive a mining colony possessed by ancient Martian spirits.
The story
In the year 2176, Mars has been 84% terraformed, creating an Earth-like atmosphere and a matriarchal society centered on the city of Chryse. Police Lieutenant Melanie Ballard is called to give testimony after a disastrous mission to the remote mining outpost Shining Canyon to retrieve a convicted felon, James 'Desolation' Williams. Ballard is the sole survivor of the mission. Through a series of flashbacks, she recounts how her crew arrived at the deserted outpost, only to find a group of possessed miners and the convict. When the team is attacked, Ballard and Williams are forced to work together to survive the hostile inhabitants.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2176, a terraformed Mars features a matriarchal society. Lieutenant Melanie Ballard recounts a mission to the Shining Canyon mining outpost to capture James 'Desolation' Williams. Her crew—Captain Helena Braddock, Sergeant Jericho Butler, and officers Bashira Kincaid and Michael Descanso—find the outpost deserted but discover possessed miners and Williams. After Braddock disappears and Butler witnesses miners committing ritualistic acts, Ballard convinces Williams to help her survive. Dr. Arlene Whitlock reveals that opening an ancient vault released hostile Martian spirits that possess humans; killing a host merely releases the spirit to find another. Ballard is briefly possessed but is saved by Butler using an illegal hallucinogenic drug. The group flees on a train, but Ballard decides to return to the outpost to overload the nuclear power plant to vaporize the spirits. During the mission, Whitlock is possessed, and Butler, Kincaid, and the train operators are killed. Ballard and Williams escape the explosion. Williams handcuffs Ballard to her cot and escapes, but she later lets him go. After Ballard's trial, she is alerted to an attack on the city and reunites with Williams to fight their way out.
- Original title
- John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars
- First release year
- 2001
- Runtime (minutes)
- 98
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- John Carpenter
- Writers
- John Carpenter · writer; Larry Sulkis · writer
- Cast and characters
- Natasha Henstridge · Lieutenant Melanie Ballard; Ice Cube · James "Desolation" Williams; Jason Statham · Sergeant Jericho Butler; Pam Grier · Commander Helena Braddock; Clea DuVall · Officer Bashira Kincaid; Joanna Cassidy · Dr. Arlene Whitlock; Richard Cetrone · Big Daddy Mars; Eileen Weisinger · Woman Warrior
- Genres
- action; horror; science fiction; supernatural
- Themes
- Survival; Possession; Humanity vs. Extinction
- Tone and mood
- Campy; Action-oriented; Morbid
- Premise and plot tags
- Space Western; Sci-Fi Horror; Nonlinear Narrative
- Reception
- The film received mostly negative reviews and was a box office flop, though it garnered a cult following. Critics were divided, with some calling it a 'disaster' while others appreciated its campy action.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 35 · scale: 100 · review count: 26
- Production trivia
- The script originally started as a potential Snake Plissken sequel.; Much of the film was shot in a New Mexico gypsum mine, which was dyed with food coloring to look like Mars.; The soundtrack featured a heavy metal score with contributions from bands like Anthrax and guitarists like Steve Vai.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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