A Nazi ghost ship rams a cruise ship, sinks it, and then comes back only to get the survivors on board and make them descent into madness.
Act I: Chessy ’70s editing, accompanied by cheesy ’70s music. Get to know who everyone is and what everyone is like. You see them having fun and then you see them sink.
Act II: Get to know the ship… and what it can do to its passengers. Or, even better, what it can make the passengers do to each other.
Act III: Standard, hiding no major surprises.
Death Ship could as well be the B-movie version of The Shining (1980) on the sea. After all, they came out the same year. Also, the same year, the same producers brought you the Terror Train (1980) – I assume you can see the connection. Anyhow, Death Ship may not be well known, but I would call it the father, the instigator of every other ghost ship movie out there. So, if the three acts are as described above, do I recommend it? I do, indeed. But before I say why, please pay attention: You must watch it with untrained ’80s eyes! When a good B-movie was as entertaining. Forget the New Hollywood, the 21st century, and how the digital era advanced filmmaking techniques (or did it?). Keep the Italian Giallo horror films in mind. Not knowing too much about films in the mid-nineties, I first watched it with my brother and we crapped our pants! Is it now outdated? It sure is, but let it trip you down the memory lane. Through an era when you were either too young or not even born. In a time where ‘Intermission’ appeared halfway through the film… Damn, I’m getting nostalgic!
Anyway, if it doesn’t scare you, let it amuse you. Cinematically, the ‘omniscient’ handheld shots are the film’s biggest asset. Crenna and Kennedy are brilliant, and so is the cinematography. Last but not least, the first act’s cheesy editing becomes the second act’s conveyor of paranoia…
That one’s for you, bro. Remember the scare we got that night (the dog manically barking outside / grandma appearing out of nowhere)?!
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Solidarity for all the innocent lives who suffer the atrocities of war!
Stay safe!
