Ghost Ship

Adventure, Horror, Thriller

Gabriel Byrne	Captain Sean Murphy
Ron Eldard	Dodge
Julianna Margulies	Maureen Epps
Isaiah Washington	Greer
Emily Browning	Katie Hargrove
Boris Brkic	Chief Steward
Alex Dimitriades	Santos
Desmond Harrington	Jack Ferriman
Francesca Rettondini	Francesca
Karl Urban	Munder

Director	Steve Beck
Producer	Bruce Berman; Joel Silver
Writer	Mark Hanlon; John Pogue
Cinematography	Gale Tattersall
Musician	John Frizzell

While it offers nothing new for horror buffs, Ghost Ship relocates its haunted house clichés to an eerily effective setting. The Italian luxury liner Antonia Graza, its fate a mystery for 40 years, has suddenly reappeared in the chilly Bering Sea. Lured by a seemingly harmless proposition, Gabriel Byrne and Julianna Margulies lead a salvage crew (including Ron Eldard, Margulies's offscreen partner and fellow ER alumnus) to claim the wreck. But a grisly prologue--in which we witness the horrific fate of the ship's crew and passengers--makes it clear that bad things are going to happen. And they do... with the predictability of tomorrow's sunrise. The supporting cast is routinely dispatched, but their fates are determined amid outstanding art direction, slick cinematography, and judicious digital trickery, all primed to maximize the doom-laden atmosphere. Director Steve Beck (who remade 13 Ghosts a year earlier) won't win any awards for ingenuity, but Ghost Ship offers a few good chills for a dark and stormy night. --Jeff Shannon