Ghost Ship is not a terrible movie, far from it. It opens very strongly with a brutal and scary opening sequence. It does look good, with a good and atmospheric vessel setting and the effects are much better than the cheap and over-used ones I was actually expecting. The ghost is sexy yet quite frightening as well, there are definitely some nice jumpy and suspenseful moments. As well as some good photography, decent direction and a spooky but not obvious music score. The acting overall is better than average, Julianna Margoyles has the most interesting character and she is very good here. The support cast support her solidly, especially Karl Urban, Issiah Washington and Alex Dimitriades. Ron Eldard is also good though he does have some of Ghost Ship's worst lines, while Desmond Harrington has a brooding presence if occasionally a too obvious.

Gabriel Byrne is somewhat of a disappointment though, he seems to be aware that his character isn't in a lot of the movie and he doesn't seem to be making of an effort as a result. The script does have poor moments, coming across as stilted and clichéd, while apart from Margoyles the characters are never realised fully. The story gave me a mixed reaction, it does have a great tense atmosphere and some nice creepy moments, plus it does deserve plaudits for not being completely predictable, but it is sluggishly paced a little too often and while creepy apart from the opening sequence there is never anything particularly scary. The last 30 minutes are underwhelmingly silly and the only scene really that I'd consider predictable.

Ghost Ship does have its faults, but overall it is a decent movie with a good atmosphere, decent acting and a great opening sequence. I just wish the pace, script and ending were better and that I learnt more about the characters. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Good old Dark Castle. This is the production group that brought us the remaked likes of the below-par HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (the sum of the parts being far greater than the whole of the movie) and the above-par THIR13EN GHOSTS (a film that actually managed to be consistently scary). Their third film, GHOST SHIP, is not necessarily a remake of one such film, but it's not the first film with that title. Instead inspiration seems to come from the 1999 sci-fi horror film VIRUS and the 1980 B-movie DEATH SHIP, with George Kennedy. Sadly, GHOST SHIP is a clichéd and predictable "cast run around corridors getting killed" type-thriller with almost exactly the same set-up as the previous two films Dark Castle has produced, but with even fewer genuine scares or surprises.

The film plays out various uninteresting incidents with monotonous regularity. The opening sequence is the best in the film. We are introduced to a bunch of upper-class twits dancing on board a cruise liner sometime in the 1960s. There's a foxy lounge singer on the soundtrack and some romantic lettering spelling out the titles. Think you've got the wrong film? Think again. The passengers find themselves massacred by a wire, which flies across the ballroom and cuts them into little pieces in a scene which reminds one of the Canadian indie hit, CUBE. The effect is simple, unbelievable, but astonishingly gruesome, and a real jolt to the system. A shame then that things go downhill so quickly.

GHOST SHIP is a film with a lot of spooky appeal. It's atmospheric and the creaking, mouldy corridors of the long dead ship make for a great setting, I'll give you that. Thumbs up to the set artists and production designers. Unfortunately, the matter-of-fact plot plays out exactly as you would imagine: the salvage ship "mysteriously" blows up, trapping the characters on board; body parts are found floating in the water and then mysterious, miscellaneous 'haunting' type things start happening. Blood runs out of walls, history replays itself, a naked ghost leads a womaniser to his death at the bottom of a lift shaft (?). Techno music has a habit of playing at inopportune moments and there's an effectively spooky little ghost girl hanging around like the twins in THE SHINING, except this time she's "good" and played with skill by newcomer Emily Browning.

By the time the end of the film comes, things aren't even scary anymore. When one character is revealed as a monstrous demon, they couldn't even be bothered to have any makeup. The whodunit aspect of the plot is lamentable and the finale, although boasting an impressive explosion, is empty-headed and severely disappointing. The less said about the ridiculous shock ending the better. Watch out for the dozens of plot holes and inconsistencies that the movie offers. I never knew you could carry a bar of gold around in your back pocket; I didn't realise trouser belts were that strong.

The cast is a mixed bunch but generally uninteresting, thanks to the unlikeable characters. Gabriel Byrne is here, but who knows the reason why. Although he easily lends gravitas to the proceedings he seems understandably bored and unstrained by the material. Julianna Margulies's feisty female heroine is a predictable Lara Croft-style adventurer and utterly banal, while the the comic relief from the likes of Ron Eldard and Karl Urban is a bore. Elsewhere we see actors from NEIGHBOURS (!) hamming it up as gory zombie ghosts and a token black being led to his death in a stereotypically racist moment. GHOST SHIP, aside from the copious amounts of atmosphere, is an extremely boring and unnecessary film that adds nothing new to its genre. Dark Castle need to pull their finger out and make a film with some actual plot to it next-time, instead of creating a movie which rips off a dozen others in the process.

A team of salvagers finds a long lost passenger ship in the Bering Sea in international waters. According to maritime law, the ship is all theirs and they attempt to tow it back to port. The ship is mysteriously abandoned for unknown reason, and seems haunted by a little girl (Emily Browning).

It takes the concept of a haunted house and put it to sea. There's nothing that great about it. Once they lose their tug boat, the story deteriorates. The ghosts just aren't that scary. They're better off with less of them.

The story has a lot of good actors; Gabriel Byrne, Julianna Margulies, Ron Eldard, Desmond Harrington, Isaiah Washington, and Karl Urban. None of them look like they spent a day on a ship. It is interesting to see Emily Browning as a kid. But nothing is that scary in this movie.