Ghosts of Mars

Terrible actors, crappy script, catastrophic sets, idiotic action, incredibly goofy editing... it's everything I expect from a Carpenter action movie. And from a director who made a name for himself partly by making action movies, despite never knowing how to shoot an action movie. In a way, Ghosts of Mars is a bit of a retread of both his Escape franchise (it was also originally intended to be the third installment of The Tales of Snake Plisskin, which was rewritten after the disastrous Escape from L.A.) and Assault on Precinct 13 taken to the extreme. I mean, B-grade like all get-out, a label everyone proudly swears by today, but back then you’d be very dignified and affronted. (24/10/2020)

Carpenter is no longer at the top of his game, but this film doesn’t deserve to be called garbage, it’s not that bad, it’s an average B-movie that shouldn’t piss-off anyone (unless you’re expecting another The Thing). The story is fast-paced, the actors are alright, so are the make-up effects, but Ghosts of Mars won’t leave any lasting impression; if that is what you want, better watch The Thing again. (15/08/2007)

Unquestionably the weakest of John Carpenter's films that I have had the opportunity to watch so far. Honestly, I don't understand how the director of The Thing or Madness could have signed this creation at all... That one star is actually more for his previous merits. The acting performances are, diplomatically speaking, uneven, the directing is uninspired, but the crown of it all is the screenplay, for which the author should fry in hell. Similar botched films are occasionally saved by magnificent production, but in this case, that's also worthless. So, all in all: a complete waste of time. Overall impression: 20%. (05/01/2007)

If I didn't know that it was filmed by the same director who also made my favorite movie, The Thing (1982), I wouldn't believe it. I still find it hard to believe. This film had a considerable number of flaws, and some moments startled me. No, it wasn't fear; it was just that there were some poorly executed scenes with weird action or messed-up logic. The logic was being disregarded throughout the whole time. Plus, many action scenes looked very poorly done, and some of the performances weren't exactly up to par. Yet, I'm giving it four out of five stars. Why? Because it was a typical action B-movie without any unnecessary message, which is often supposed to compensate for the lack of a plot in movies today. Nobody was trying to guide me ideologically, and no matter what objections I had, the story itself wasn't bad at all, so despite all the negatives, I had a good time. / Lesson learned: An angry group of miners is dangerous enough; doping is redundant. (22/01/2023)

Ghost of Mars is a B-movie that takes itself way too seriously, thinking it’s super cool, while viewers just shake their heads in disbelief. It is artificial and has no charm as it woodenly strives for bold genre anarchy (“action metal sci-fi horror with Ice Cube on Mars”!!!). Ghosts of Mars is the kind of film that everyone involved in it – the ranks of whom include a lot of rising stars as well as cult actors – wants to delete from their filmography. (08/09/2011)