lukem-52760 Another JOHN CARPENTER movie that is so underrated it's SILLY,like most of his BRILLIANT films they are always underrated & hated on to a ridiculous degree & then like 20 yrs later are rediscovered as lost classic's? Anyway i liked this AWESOME sci-fi Thriller from the very beginning in 2001 when i first rented it on video, i absolutely Love the Atmosphere in this just like carpenter does with his films he creates a scary dread filled atmosphere & here it's lonely setting on mars at an abandoned mining base is really creepy & unsettling. The cast is cool with the likes of ICE CUBE, JASON STATHAM,PAM GRIER & NATASHA HENSRIDGE are all great in their roles i really liked Jason Statham in this early role as a tough security officer before he became a Hollywood action hero. This is a relatively low budget movie compared to the main big movies that Hollywood make but it's great quality & has an excellent setting & really scary voodoo type crazy ancient alien spirits that possess people & turn them into crazy warriors who kill anyone, it's great fun & has very good FX & really well made production design & like i said the empty doom filled atmosphere is excellent & you just want them to hide in a room & board it all up because out there is TERRIFYING!!! So yes Carpenter has made another great film in the mould of ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 & ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, it has that feel. Quick story bit, a team of government security officers are sent to pick up a wanted Criminal & transport him back but find there is something very bad happening at the mining colony!!! a very exciting thrill ride with another excellent carpenter score!!! Also the futuristic train the team ride in in AWESOME looking great design & the officers uniforms look great all excellent production design!!! A great fun late night sci-fi Thriller with Horror & excitement just good fun

sykespj John Carpenter has made a pretty decent living out of directing low-budget action-horror flicks in various sub-genres. A couple of his sci-fi efforts are genuinely good fun. This movie isn't one of them.Natasha Henstridge has visual appeal, but delivers her lines with all the emotion of a lump of granite. Ice Cube proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is no actor, despite a couple of passable earlier efforts in 'Boyz n the Hood' (1991) and 'Friday' (1995). Jason Statham's character Jericho - supposedly attractive due to his breeding prowess - couldn't get a root in a brothel.The Martians are about as scary as a good bottle of shiraz... three of which may increase your enjoyment of the movie to a tolerable level. No, make it four. Carpenter doesn't even manage a workable soundtrack... usually one of his strengths. I got really familiar with the bits that were saying: "Go to the fridge and find some munchies. Super-boring bit coming up."If you want some topnotch Carpenter sci-fi, check out cult favourite 'They Live', either of the 'Escape from...' movies, or mega-classic 'The Thing'. This one, however, deserves a swift and permanent burial.

capone666 Ghosts of MarsThe hardest part of being a ghost on Mars is washing that red dust out of your bed sheets.Smartly, the apparitions in this sci-fi/horror movie possess people, not linens.Years after it was made habitable, Mars has now become home to the mining industry. But when miners accidentally uncover a subterranean portal they unleash the incorporeal entities of the Red Planet.With the campsite now under the influence of the Martians, it's up to an uninfected convict (Ice Cube) and his police escorts (Natasha Henstridge, Jason Statham) to keep the controlled workers from eradicating any more occupying Earthlings.While cult moviemaker John Carpenter does deserve praise for the feminist and anti-colonial undertones he manages to work into his shoddy script, his plot points, dialogue and visual adaption are far less praiseworthy.What's more, it's also very disappointing to see that the only black man on Mars is a felon.Red Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

lurch13-68-305112 This movie, like all Carpenter movies, should be looked at a bit differently than others. Just like The Thing and Escape From New York, his movies had a very unique feel and look to them. You can easily tell a Carpenter movie from any other! When I rate this, I do it as compared to others that he has directed, created, wrote. It's NOT a classic like The Thing or Escape From New York but I still love it for what it is...a sci-fi action horror. Great characters, I love how the scenes are repeated from different points of view just like old detective stories were presented, and the concept was pure fun!!! Action, gratuitous blasting of murderous zombie-like antagonists, and cliché's galore! It's FUN, gang, not serious! A great movie at parties! I've seen it nearly 20 times and I still get a kick out of it! Carpenter rules!!!!!!!!