I wasn't aware that people didn't care for this movie. I watched it when I was little with my family and I genuinely enjoyed it. It's nice to hear other people's thoughts though.
I remember seeing somewhere that this was supposed to be an "Escape" sequel but something changed along the way and instead of "Escape From Mars" you got "Ghosts of Mars."
It felt like a survival horror video game to me. Like if Resident Evil and Doom had a baby. I think Ice Cube is a bad actor. I think he is fine in small bits. I thought Statham should have been Ice Cubes character, funny to hear he was that guy originally.
I’ve tried to justify the end of career films of Carpenter and Craven because of how amazing they are. But there is definitely a losing touch going on in the final film(s). Wes at least has a solid 7/10 film in Scream 4. Carpenter really needs to direct another film because it would be so depressing for the god awful The Ward to be his final project.
I love carpenter, but i have honestly never gotten through the ward fully, i choose to think his masters of horror episodes were the last things he did
Honestly, I think the industry got a lot more competitive and left them behind with big budget movies and exploitation films becoming more popular. I think both directors had two major flaw and that's that they valued their traditional visions and couldn't adapt with the times. I think the bad movies from each would be much better with a bit more oversight from stronger willed producers who could help tailor these ideas to the mass audiences. Ghosts is just slightly off from being a massive cult hit.
As bad as it's reputation is it is a top 5 carpenter movie for me. Not nearly the quality of most of his filmography but I love it and honestly I watch it more often than the original halloween.
Ghosts of Mars and Vampires are, I think, the only John Carpenter films I haven't seen and that's purely because I haven't heard anything good about them. This review does nothing to change my opinion of Ghosts but I think I'll give Vampires a go based on your review of that film.
Dude... Vampires is definitely worth the watch. Ghost of Mars is a good movie too, but I think that maybe it came out too late. The time it was released wasn't the greatest time for horror, unless it had a Scream vibe. Give it a shot I say
A friend had warned me how bad it was, so I waited a year or so to rent it. Then when I rented it, I laughed a few times at the comedy of it and enjoyed some of the action and horror. It's definitely the case of a movie with an interesting ideas but terrible execution.
This movie felt like a cross between Assault On Precinct 13, Escape From New York and The Thing. It tried to have the siege concept from Assault, the badass anti-hero from Escape, and the paranoia of The Thing, but it watered the entire lot down. The soundtrack was pretty awesome though!
I appreciate the fact that John Carpenter tried to do different things, I think that's the reason we got some of the classics that we did. When he hit he hit big, but his misses were pretty bad too
If I'm remembering correctly, this was the one where we had good atmosphere and build up and then it gets to a point where Carpenter said to the coffee boy "Here, you take over me" and fucked off home or something leaving the coffee boy to finish the film
Yeah, this just shows that after Vampires, he lost his touch. His last one after this, spoiler, wasn't a fan of either. Guess that sort of thing happens to the best of us. Anyways, thank you, Cody, did enjoy this video.
This is basically a sci-fi comic book remake of Assault on Precinct 13. I loved that film, and I love this one too. The one and only John Carpenter...legend.
Another thing about a carpenter is his third acts tend to be a bit too quick and easy for me. This pertains to The Thing and Vampires particularly. Sometimes great movies of his lack momentum in their final moments
LOL, you reenacting the Ice Cube head shake scene (9:13) had me cracking up. Might have to give this one a re-watch, I haven't seen it since it came out as well.
Sorry Cody. But this is way better and more entertaining than Vampires. I think Ghosts Of Mars is a good watch. Vampires was very bland and mediocre. Ghosts Of Mars has a better execution. Although I do think it would have been better if Jason Statham was casted as the lead. And I actually hate how he went out at the end. But this movie is good despite its flaws. Vampires has way more flaws and not very watchable. Ghosts Of Mars will always be better than Vampires in my opinion.
Never saw "Ghosts of Mars". That said, even after hearing what Cody, had to say about it, I'm kind of morbidly curious to rent it online or maybe stream it somewhere just to see what kind of insanity I'm in for. Good luck to you Cody on finishing up your John Carpenter review series, here's hoping that "The Ward" is better. Fingers crossed! 🤞
I almost forgot one of the biggest problems I had with this film and that was all the fade out scenes. Why? That just killed the momentum of scenes. So many bad choices by Carpenter in this one.
While I agree that this movie isn’t good, the charm does work for me. I watched this in the theater when it first came out and I have always had a it’s so bad, it’s good relationship with it. Dumb fun for me! I can definitely understand why it is not popular though.
I remember watching this with my grandfather as a kid (guy usually watched westerns, country farming shows and news in that order) loved watching him just take it for what it was and didn't actually shit on it as bad as I thought he would. Also, could you please review "Darkness Falls"? I feel it's a decent horror film for what it was trying to accomplish. Would love to see your take on it.
I LOVE THIS MOVIE! Yes it’s kinda cheesy but the weapons and the kills are great. They open Pandora’s box. The bad guy was pretty wild. You have Pam Grier, Jason statham, Duane Davis and Robert Carradine etc! When I was younger I thought the bad guy “Big Daddy “ was Alice Cooper 😭😭😂😂😂
This movie is a prime candidate for the remake treatment. It's a very interesting premise that would lend itself to a modern horror/gore sci-fi very well. With how extreme modern gore is, this concept would make for some extreme body horror. I see this easily falling in the line of Hellraiser, Event Horizon, and Firefly/Serenity Reavers style of mutilation among the possessed. Honestly, I love the possession zombie style and it's add a cool new twist to the zombie formula. You don't exterminate zombies by killing them because each one your kill frees to possessive force possess a different living person. The winning solution could be along the lines of DnD zombies that are reanimated corpses. You have to shut down the power that is raising/possessing them. There's also the fun "drugs prevent possession" which could play well into a more campy/lighthearted remake as well. Imagine your BA action heroes having to get stoned to survive a hoard of zombies/possessed. That sounds like a good time to me. I really enjoy this movie. It's mindless action with concepts I really bought in to. The movie wasn't good, but it was fun. I can live with fun. I also felt like it leaned in heavily on the camp and retro feel which allows me to forgive and overlook a lot of the shortcomings it has. I think it's a great insight into Carpenter as a filmmaker and where his ambitions were, sadly this just didn't have the money or polish to be the massive hit it could have been and I think the industry owes it to Carpenter to remake this one and lean into all the positive elements we have.
Yes! Been waiting for your thoughts on this one for years, as I grew up watching this at my grandfather's house as well as The Fog. I was somewhat surprised when I found out not alot of people liked this one and was even more surprised when I found out all the artists I ended up loving as a teen were on the score. This movie always just worked for me, and the flaws just didn't stand out enough, I guess, to detract from my enjoyment. The atmosphere and some of the establishing shots of all the weird shit going on in the buldings when they arrived set a nice tone and then seeing that creepy chick in medical bed just staring at natasha while growling and running that wire through her gums always kind of sold me on the threat of the "Martians". It almost makes me think that if it was retooled as a Riddick movie, it would have worked better.
You know you're a good TH-camr when I always watch anything that you put out and I am not a movie person whatsoever lol..... except 70's and 80's cheesy slashers of course lol
This was a movie where I loved it as a kid/Teenager, Hated it as an adult but then I decided to put my video editing skills to use and made my own (Only 70 minutes long) version of the film and now I love it again. You just gotta shave off all of the scenes that you don't need and it's great after that😅. Im gonna watch the review now because I wanted to say that before I heard your thoughts so it didn't alter my opinion🤘
I vividly remember seeing this in the theater back in 2002. My impressions were that it was pretty goofy but still enjoyable. I actually really liked all the weird flashback sequences. I plan on watching it again soon.. 2.75\5.0
I'll be honest, i didn't know this was a John Carpenter film i thought Vampires was his final film... it was also my introduction to Ice Cube, who to this day i can't see as anything other than my reaction to him in this film "who's that fat guy trying to act like a knockoff Mr. T?"
i saw this in ´01, now i´m 43 and since then its a guilty pleasure of mine. For me a nice blend of Horror and Action, a real B-Movie Schlockfest. I didnt expect much so wasnt let down.
This will always be one of my favorite movies. It was super corny and had bad acting littered all over the place but for me it is simply amazing. If you get a chance you should review Neon Maniacs. Thank me later.
This is a movie I really liked when I was a kid, but boy did it not hold up when I revisited it as an adult. I actually found it scary when I was nine. 😆
This movie is considered to be John Carpenter's worst film, but this movie holds my heart because this is my first-time seeing Jason Statham. Overall, the soundtrack by Carpenter kick ass!
Man, this movie is terrible lol. I tried to enjoy in the so bad it's good way, but it's nothing more than a Frankenstein monster of numerous far better action and horror movies. Also I've heard Statham turned down Dog Soldiers for this. Not the best decision haha
I enjoy this movie, and I watch it AT LEAST once a year! I know it's considered a "failure" but I don't care! It's a cool idea and I love the feel to it! Vampires was the worst of the John Carpenter films!!! PERIOD.
The reason that Ghosts of Mars is so mediocre is that Carpenter was just burnt out with Hollywood. And no mention of the kick-ass metal soundtrack which features metal heavyweights like Steve Vaï, Buckethead and Anthrax?
This is one of those movies I always tried to convince myself that I liked and Oh did I torture myself by watching this movie more times than I should have. Also I agree about Ice Cube. I always loved him in whatever he was in and put him in the same category as LL Cool J. Just something about both of them during that time period that just really worked. It's a shame this couldn't have been a better movie considering the cast.
@Cody agreed with this almost 100%, I am curious as there are neat flashes and something good was in there somewhere but the script and dialog just make this awfully hard to watch seriously lol.
I honestly love this movie. I remember watching it so many times as a kid. I haven’t watched it in many, maaaaaany years & probably wouldn’t watch it again because of the happy nostalgia it brings me. If you haven’t ever seen it, give it a chance & remember the time period it was made in.
I'm gonna say the unpopular thing here. We have 2 horror titans in Craven and Carpenter. The legacy they leave because of their better known films (NoES, Scream, Halloween, The Thing, Vampires) is going to be soley because those films are SO brilliant that they were allowed to be like "fuck it" and not care what else happened with the rest of them. They were allowed to make mediocre movies because they nailed it with a few so well it didn't matter. Their string of films isn't nearly as strong as their best films suggest they should be. That's not to say I don't enjoy the bad ones. I LOVED My Soul To Take lol. That may be sacrilegious to say but...there it is.
If you don't want to be done with Carpenter, you could always review his two Masters of Horror episodes. One was up there with the best things he ever did and the other, well... wasn't. They came out between this and The Ward, if I remember correctly. At the very least they are worth a watch!
A lot of movies got kinda ruined for me after rewatching em as adult . For example not that long ago I rewatched the Faculty and man it's not as great as I remember it to be . Same goes for Ghost from Mars
I read a review where carpe ter said it was a popcorn movie. So i took it for what it was. Seeing it in the theater probably helped but i love this movie.
I generally have similar opinions with Cody but I guess I'm one of the rare few that truly enjoyed (and still do enjoy) this movie. It's just a fun flick
Well we all know what #1 in the John Carpenter ranking is going to be (The Thing), its all the other movies we have to see where they rank in his list.
I remember seeing this in theaters. I like the setup & the set/wardrobe/makeup. Story was kind of a dud and that ending was bleak (not in a good or fun way).
Just finished this, Remembered thinking it was fine enough as a kid and… yeah it’s not good. Feel like Carpenter was trying to recreate his style from the 80’s and just totally missing.
You're missing one John Carpenter movie before you do The Ward (2010). It is from his early work from the 70s. The movie in titled is Someone's Watching Me (1978). It is a forgotten film from his filmography and a tv movie he done. So maybe you could review it.
This is probably the first review of yours that I have totally disagreed with. I unironically love this movie. Saw it in theaters as a kid with my dad and loved it then, and I've since seen it a bunch more times as an adult and still love it.
It's got Ice Cube and the chick from Species. I wasn't expecting The Last of the Mohicans and didn't get Last of the Mohicans. Pure dumb fun was good enough for me.
Another first time watch for me and coming out of "Ghosts of Mars" I can safely say that this was a "ghost" Carpenter's former work lol. 🥁🎶 Joking aside, this movie dose have a weird so bad it's good vibe that I can get behind and since this came out the same year as Jason X, this in many ways makes for a nice double feature to watch if you're into chezzy sci fi action from the early 2000s.
As the kid the movie scared me and I thought it was cool but it was one of the first gory movies I ever saw and one with mature themes. I can’t help but like it 🤙
I would say that GHOSTS OF MARS doesn't feel like a John Carpenter film, but, really his movies are all different. He doesn't have a style. The majority of his movies are all different stylistically and tonally. The only thing that makes them Carpenter films is the fact that he's directed all of them, scored most of them, and written a few of them. Other than that, they're all very different from each other, and some aren't even horror, like BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA. Though not horror, I consider it somewhat horror adjacent.
Great Job Cody, I Like Ghosts of Mars its an Ok Movie IMO, Great Action, Likable Characters, Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, & Jason Statham did a Good Job, my Only Issue is it Felt Slow At Times, Some of the Supporting Characters Made dumb decisions, & I like Other People I wish that Jason Statham was the Ice Cube Role, cause even though I Love Ice Cube he's very Charismatic & Talented & 1 of my Favorite Actors, but I much Prefer Jason Statham as an Actor, he's very Charismatic, Talented, & has a Fun Personality, he's definitely 1 of my Favorite Actors Too, & 1 of my Favorite Action Stars, Definitely 1 of the Best Actors working Today, Ghosts of Mars is Ok, but definitely 1 of my Least Favorites of Jason Statham & John Carpenter
I wasn't aware that people didn't care for this movie. I watched it when I was little with my family and I genuinely enjoyed it. It's nice to hear other people's thoughts though.
I love this movie. 🤘🤘
@@O.W.T.H. Glad to see I'm not the only one who enjoys it 🤘
Same here! Made my mom buy the VHS at blockbuster lol
Same!
I seen it just the other day & loved it lol
I know this is a bad film, but I love it all the same. I can always throw it on and have a great time.
It's a guilty pleasure of mine
I remember seeing somewhere that this was supposed to be an "Escape" sequel but something changed along the way and instead of "Escape From Mars" you got "Ghosts of Mars."
Yep, I heard the same.
Man that would have been dope
No fucking way! My brother and I still talk about this trash! 😂 That antagonist shouting gibberish forever lives in my head.
Lol ice cube vs Marlyn Manson! Bro Cody is a real G😆
I actually really enjoyed Ghost of Mars (2001) for what it was & I give it a 7/10.
Was there a Ghosts of Mars (1956) or something?
It felt like a survival horror video game to me. Like if Resident Evil and Doom had a baby. I think Ice Cube is a bad actor. I think he is fine in small bits. I thought Statham should have been Ice Cubes character, funny to hear he was that guy originally.
Natasha Henstridge in Species 1995.
now that was amazing
I’ve tried to justify the end of career films of Carpenter and Craven because of how amazing they are. But there is definitely a losing touch going on in the final film(s). Wes at least has a solid 7/10 film in Scream 4. Carpenter really needs to direct another film because it would be so depressing for the god awful The Ward to be his final project.
I love carpenter, but i have honestly never gotten through the ward fully, i choose to think his masters of horror episodes were the last things he did
I didn't know Carpenter was still alive... or made a movie in the last 20 years
@@HunterGargoyle he recently did a tv show called suburban screams and hes working on a horror video game
Honestly, I think the industry got a lot more competitive and left them behind with big budget movies and exploitation films becoming more popular. I think both directors had two major flaw and that's that they valued their traditional visions and couldn't adapt with the times. I think the bad movies from each would be much better with a bit more oversight from stronger willed producers who could help tailor these ideas to the mass audiences. Ghosts is just slightly off from being a massive cult hit.
As bad as it's reputation is it is a top 5 carpenter movie for me. Not nearly the quality of most of his filmography but I love it and honestly I watch it more often than the original halloween.
Ghosts of Mars and Vampires are, I think, the only John Carpenter films I haven't seen and that's purely because I haven't heard anything good about them. This review does nothing to change my opinion of Ghosts but I think I'll give Vampires a go based on your review of that film.
I watched both as a youngin and I still like them. Try out ghost of mars if you’re bored one day. There’s plenty of movies that are worse
I always thought Vampires was a fun film
@@systemofadownsyndrome7715same here. I’ve always enjoyed vampires.
I’ve rewatched both recently and for me Vampires hold ups. Ghosts of Mars……… Yikes.
Dude... Vampires is definitely worth the watch. Ghost of Mars is a good movie too, but I think that maybe it came out too late. The time it was released wasn't the greatest time for horror, unless it had a Scream vibe. Give it a shot I say
A friend had warned me how bad it was, so I waited a year or so to rent it. Then when I rented it, I laughed a few times at the comedy of it and enjoyed some of the action and horror. It's definitely the case of a movie with an interesting ideas but terrible execution.
This movie felt like a cross between Assault On Precinct 13, Escape From New York and The Thing. It tried to have the siege concept from Assault, the badass anti-hero from Escape, and the paranoia of The Thing, but it watered the entire lot down. The soundtrack was pretty awesome though!
I appreciate the fact that John Carpenter tried to do different things, I think that's the reason we got some of the classics that we did. When he hit he hit big, but his misses were pretty bad too
If I'm remembering correctly, this was the one where we had good atmosphere and build up and then it gets to a point where Carpenter said to the coffee boy "Here, you take over me" and fucked off home or something leaving the coffee boy to finish the film
Yeah, this just shows that after Vampires, he lost his touch. His last one after this, spoiler, wasn't a fan of either. Guess that sort of thing happens to the best of us. Anyways, thank you, Cody, did enjoy this video.
Any word on when the comedy auto stream is going to happen Cody? Love the collaboration with the guys will def be looking to check that out
Waiting for CP to finish his video
This is basically a sci-fi comic book remake of Assault on Precinct 13. I loved that film, and I love this one too. The one and only John Carpenter...legend.
Another thing about a carpenter is his third acts tend to be a bit too quick and easy for me. This pertains to The Thing and Vampires particularly. Sometimes great movies of his lack momentum in their final moments
It's so funny how different everyone's tastes are. I actually like this more than Vampires.
Remember Cody like Rob Zombie’s H2 which is GOD AWFUL. So i take everyone’s movie reviews with a grain of salt
Same here.
I think like me and 7 other people in this world love this movie lol
I’m one of those 7
I'm among those 7.
Army of 8!!!!
Nah i honestly think Cody is in the minority that hates this movie 😂😂😂
I must be 9 then
EDIT: mom likes it too, so 10
Between mocking the main antagonist's speech impediment and Ice Cube's involuntary headshaking, this might be your funniest review ever!
Are you sure we're supposed to be scared of them? I'm pretty sure this was an action movie.
LOL, you reenacting the Ice Cube head shake scene (9:13) had me cracking up. Might have to give this one a re-watch, I haven't seen it since it came out as well.
I dont care what anyone says. Ghosts of Mars was my guilty pleasure. Yes it’s bad but it’s sooooo good 🔥🔥🔥🔥😭😭😭😭
I really enjoy this movie actually.
Sorry Cody. But this is way better and more entertaining than Vampires.
I think Ghosts Of Mars is a good watch.
Vampires was very bland and mediocre. Ghosts Of Mars has a better execution.
Although I do think it would have been better if Jason Statham was casted as the lead. And I actually hate how he went out at the end. But this movie is good despite its flaws. Vampires has way more flaws and not very watchable.
Ghosts Of Mars will always be better than Vampires in my opinion.
All I remember from this movie is the toy train at the end, which was obviously a toy train.
Natasha Henstridge sooooo underrated overall. 😢
i liked this movie wish they made a sequel lol
Never saw "Ghosts of Mars".
That said, even after hearing what Cody, had to say about it, I'm kind of morbidly curious to rent it online or maybe stream it somewhere just to see what kind of insanity I'm in for.
Good luck to you Cody on finishing up your John Carpenter review series, here's hoping that "The Ward" is better. Fingers crossed! 🤞
It's not bad. Just don't expect great things.
I almost forgot one of the biggest problems I had with this film and that was all the fade out scenes. Why? That just killed the momentum of scenes. So many bad choices by Carpenter in this one.
Ghost of Mars is not a good movie, but damn is it rewatchable. Dumb, but fun!
Agree with everything you said... and still love this movie 🎬
While I agree that this movie isn’t good, the charm does work for me. I watched this in the theater when it first came out and I have always had a it’s so bad, it’s good relationship with it. Dumb fun for me! I can definitely understand why it is not popular though.
NGL, I think Ghosts of Mars is stoopid but fun
escape from assault on mars I remember not being bad just can't stand ice cube
I always loved this movie from teenage years! It was dope to me…
Me too! One of my favorite movies back from Highschool
One of my favorites
Species vs Skeletor with a badass metal soundtrack.
I remember watching this with my grandfather as a kid (guy usually watched westerns, country farming shows and news in that order) loved watching him just take it for what it was and didn't actually shit on it as bad as I thought he would.
Also, could you please review "Darkness Falls"? I feel it's a decent horror film for what it was trying to accomplish. Would love to see your take on it.
I LOVE THIS MOVIE! Yes it’s kinda cheesy but the weapons and the kills are great. They open Pandora’s box. The bad guy was pretty wild. You have Pam Grier, Jason statham, Duane Davis and Robert Carradine etc! When I was younger I thought the bad guy “Big Daddy “ was Alice Cooper 😭😭😂😂😂
I watched it unsober and kind of liked it.
It’s not a great movie but I’ve always enjoyed it.
This movie is a prime candidate for the remake treatment. It's a very interesting premise that would lend itself to a modern horror/gore sci-fi very well. With how extreme modern gore is, this concept would make for some extreme body horror. I see this easily falling in the line of Hellraiser, Event Horizon, and Firefly/Serenity Reavers style of mutilation among the possessed.
Honestly, I love the possession zombie style and it's add a cool new twist to the zombie formula. You don't exterminate zombies by killing them because each one your kill frees to possessive force possess a different living person. The winning solution could be along the lines of DnD zombies that are reanimated corpses. You have to shut down the power that is raising/possessing them.
There's also the fun "drugs prevent possession" which could play well into a more campy/lighthearted remake as well. Imagine your BA action heroes having to get stoned to survive a hoard of zombies/possessed. That sounds like a good time to me.
I really enjoy this movie. It's mindless action with concepts I really bought in to. The movie wasn't good, but it was fun. I can live with fun. I also felt like it leaned in heavily on the camp and retro feel which allows me to forgive and overlook a lot of the shortcomings it has. I think it's a great insight into Carpenter as a filmmaker and where his ambitions were, sadly this just didn't have the money or polish to be the massive hit it could have been and I think the industry owes it to Carpenter to remake this one and lean into all the positive elements we have.
It's important to look both ways while firing machine guns. 😂 I remember seeing this on home video. It's a mess.
Yes! Been waiting for your thoughts on this one for years, as I grew up watching this at my grandfather's house as well as The Fog.
I was somewhat surprised when I found out not alot of people liked this one and was even more surprised when I found out all the artists I ended up loving as a teen were on the score.
This movie always just worked for me, and the flaws just didn't stand out enough, I guess, to detract from my enjoyment. The atmosphere and some of the establishing shots of all the weird shit going on in the buldings when they arrived set a nice tone and then seeing that creepy chick in medical bed just staring at natasha while growling and running that wire through her gums always kind of sold me on the threat of the "Martians". It almost makes me think that if it was retooled as a Riddick movie, it would have worked better.
You know you're a good TH-camr when I always watch anything that you put out and I am not a movie person whatsoever lol..... except 70's and 80's cheesy slashers of course lol
I feel like if this movie was made in 1986, it'd be looked upon better. In 2001, this was super dated
This was a movie where I loved it as a kid/Teenager, Hated it as an adult but then I decided to put my video editing skills to use and made my own (Only 70 minutes long) version of the film and now I love it again. You just gotta shave off all of the scenes that you don't need and it's great after that😅. Im gonna watch the review now because I wanted to say that before I heard your thoughts so it didn't alter my opinion🤘
the thing i like most about it is that ALOT of the soundtrack later became anthrax's "Vol 8"record, which is a kickass record
What is the outro music?
Even Ice Cube himself thought that Ghost of Mars was a bad movie he said it was one of the worst movies he ever starred in
I vividly remember seeing this in the theater back in 2002. My impressions were that it was pretty goofy but still enjoyable. I actually really liked all the weird flashback sequences. I plan on watching it again soon.. 2.75\5.0
I'll be honest, i didn't know this was a John Carpenter film i thought Vampires was his final film... it was also my introduction to Ice Cube, who to this day i can't see as anything other than my reaction to him in this film "who's that fat guy trying to act like a knockoff Mr. T?"
Bang on Cody. I didn't rate this film when I rented it on video back in the day, and I still don't like it all these years later.
I think it's a good popcorn movie
i saw this in ´01, now i´m 43 and since then its a guilty pleasure of mine. For me a nice blend of Horror and Action, a real B-Movie Schlockfest. I didnt expect much so wasnt let down.
This will always be one of my favorite movies. It was super corny and had bad acting littered all over the place but for me it is simply amazing.
If you get a chance you should review Neon Maniacs. Thank me later.
This is a movie I really liked when I was a kid, but boy did it not hold up when I revisited it as an adult. I actually found it scary when I was nine. 😆
This movie is considered to be John Carpenter's worst film, but this movie holds my heart because this is my first-time seeing Jason Statham. Overall, the soundtrack by Carpenter kick ass!
Man, this movie is terrible lol. I tried to enjoy in the so bad it's good way, but it's nothing more than a Frankenstein monster of numerous far better action and horror movies. Also I've heard Statham turned down Dog Soldiers for this. Not the best decision haha
I don't recall what the earlier versions of this were supposed to be, but the end product is a steaming pile that I've seen only once.
I enjoy this movie, and I watch it AT LEAST once a year! I know it's considered a "failure" but I don't care! It's a cool idea and I love the feel to it! Vampires was the worst of the John Carpenter films!!! PERIOD.
Except for killing off Pam Grier, this movie was pretty good. But you are never supposed to kill the original Foxy Brown.
The reason that Ghosts of Mars is so mediocre is that Carpenter was just burnt out with Hollywood. And no mention of the kick-ass metal soundtrack which features metal heavyweights like Steve Vaï, Buckethead and Anthrax?
This is one of those movies I always tried to convince myself that I liked and Oh did I torture myself by watching this movie more times than I should have. Also I agree about Ice Cube. I always loved him in whatever he was in and put him in the same category as LL Cool J. Just something about both of them during that time period that just really worked. It's a shame this couldn't have been a better movie considering the cast.
As bad as Ghosts of Mars is it's fun bad. Bonus points because the villains are basically invincible.
I remember HBO running this & The Transporter back to back all the time when I was a kid
@Cody agreed with this almost 100%, I am curious as there are neat flashes and something good was in there somewhere but the script and dialog just make this awfully hard to watch seriously lol.
I honestly love this movie. I remember watching it so many times as a kid. I haven’t watched it in many, maaaaaany years & probably wouldn’t watch it again because of the happy nostalgia it brings me. If you haven’t ever seen it, give it a chance & remember the time period it was made in.
I'm gonna say the unpopular thing here.
We have 2 horror titans in Craven and Carpenter. The legacy they leave because of their better known films (NoES, Scream, Halloween, The Thing, Vampires) is going to be soley because those films are SO brilliant that they were allowed to be like "fuck it" and not care what else happened with the rest of them. They were allowed to make mediocre movies because they nailed it with a few so well it didn't matter. Their string of films isn't nearly as strong as their best films suggest they should be.
That's not to say I don't enjoy the bad ones. I LOVED My Soul To Take lol.
That may be sacrilegious to say but...there it is.
If you don't want to be done with Carpenter, you could always review his two Masters of Horror episodes. One was up there with the best things he ever did and the other, well... wasn't. They came out between this and The Ward, if I remember correctly. At the very least they are worth a watch!
I did kind of like it. All things considered, it was not awful. I liked the practical effects.
I remember liking this as a kid. The scene where the junkie cut off his thumb 🤣😂
I honestly don’t mind it, even though it’s assault on precinct 13 but on mars, soundtrack was awesome
Yikes I’ve never heard of this movie 😬😅. That’s crazy about them not having faith in Jason Statham! My word 😂
A lot of movies got kinda ruined for me after rewatching em as adult . For example not that long ago I rewatched the Faculty and man it's not as great as I remember it to be . Same goes for Ghost from Mars
For me, most flicks don't age well. If I didn't like it back in the day... nowadays even less.
I read a review where carpe ter said it was a popcorn movie. So i took it for what it was. Seeing it in the theater probably helped but i love this movie.
I generally have similar opinions with Cody but I guess I'm one of the rare few that truly enjoyed (and still do enjoy) this movie. It's just a fun flick
Well we all know what #1 in the John Carpenter ranking is going to be (The Thing), its all the other movies we have to see where they rank in his list.
I remember seeing this in theaters. I like the setup & the set/wardrobe/makeup. Story was kind of a dud and that ending was bleak (not in a good or fun way).
Just finished this, Remembered thinking it was fine enough as a kid and… yeah it’s not good. Feel like Carpenter was trying to recreate his style from the 80’s and just totally missing.
You're missing one John Carpenter movie before you do The Ward (2010). It is from his early work from the 70s. The movie in titled is Someone's Watching Me (1978). It is a forgotten film from his filmography and a tv movie he done. So maybe you could review it.
This is probably the first review of yours that I have totally disagreed with. I unironically love this movie. Saw it in theaters as a kid with my dad and loved it then, and I've since seen it a bunch more times as an adult and still love it.
I actually loved this movie as kid. Thought it was badass.
There are two Bad but Fun movies that take place on mars i saw as a kid. This one and Red Planet.
It's got Ice Cube and the chick from Species. I wasn't expecting The Last of the Mohicans and didn't get Last of the Mohicans. Pure dumb fun was good enough for me.
sometimes bad movies are also fun to watch.
Another accurate and on point review by Cody. Keep rocking bro.
Yeah…but this guy liked Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2 👀
Hot take: this is one of my favorite JC films.
Another first time watch for me and coming out of "Ghosts of Mars" I can safely say that this was a "ghost" Carpenter's former work lol. 🥁🎶
Joking aside, this movie dose have a weird so bad it's good vibe that I can get behind and since this came out the same year as Jason X, this in many ways makes for a nice double feature to watch if you're into chezzy sci fi action from the early 2000s.
As the kid the movie scared me and I thought it was cool but it was one of the first gory movies I ever saw and one with mature themes. I can’t help but like it 🤙
I don't know. It was meh when I saw it first. But I did a Jason Statham maraton a few months ago and I actually enjoyed it more than I remembered.
A prime John Carpenter could have made a bad ass Resident Evil film
I would say that GHOSTS OF MARS doesn't feel like a John Carpenter film, but, really his movies are all different. He doesn't have a style. The majority of his movies are all different stylistically and tonally. The only thing that makes them Carpenter films is the fact that he's directed all of them, scored most of them, and written a few of them. Other than that, they're all very different from each other, and some aren't even horror, like BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA. Though not horror, I consider it somewhat horror adjacent.
This is the first time I am learning this film exists.
Great Job Cody, I Like Ghosts of Mars its an Ok Movie IMO, Great Action, Likable Characters, Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, & Jason Statham did a Good Job, my Only Issue is it Felt Slow At Times, Some of the Supporting Characters Made dumb decisions, & I like Other People I wish that Jason Statham was the Ice Cube Role, cause even though I Love Ice Cube he's very Charismatic & Talented & 1 of my Favorite Actors, but I much Prefer Jason Statham as an Actor, he's very Charismatic, Talented, & has a Fun Personality, he's definitely 1 of my Favorite Actors Too, & 1 of my Favorite Action Stars, Definitely 1 of the Best Actors working Today, Ghosts of Mars is Ok, but definitely 1 of my Least Favorites of Jason Statham & John Carpenter