Ghosts of Mars: Love for the Red Planet
Not too long ago, Billy Crash christened Ghosts of Mars John Carpenter’s worst movie. Rapper-turned-actor Ice Cube had similarly negative feelings toward it. Even Carpenter himself went into self-imposed exile for 9 years after the film’s release (and subsequent box-office failure). Out of 108 tallied reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, it carries a dismal 22% score.
While Carpenter’s previous effort, the Western-with-fangs Vampires, topped the box office on Halloween weekend 1998, Ghosts of Mars faded into the box-office ether in the summer of 2001.
The two times I’ve seen Carpenter perform with his band, he’s curiously omitted anything from Ghosts of Mars (even though the guitar-heavy soundtrack would lend itself well to a live setting).
And I just don’t get it. I love the damn movie. That’s right – I unironically love Ghosts of Mars!
Artistic Crossroads
If anything futuristic came out of Y2K (kids, ask your parents), it was society’s shift away from reality-based lives in favor of the burgeoning comfort of chatrooms and instant messaging. There was a thrill of connection with people in other parts of the world in the pre-Facebook and -Twitter era.
But time-tested artists found themselves at a crossroads. Musicians and filmmakers who’d thrived artistically and commercially in the ‘80s and early ‘90s had a “coming to Jesus” moment in their creative evolution. To quote Hanna: “adapt or die.”
Maybe it’s just a testament to the ever-shifting tastes of the masses, and the figureheads who hold sway over what fashion, music, and film gets to saturate the public consciousness. For example, it’s probably not Trent Reznor’s fault that The Fragile flopped in 1999 (because boy bands were king). And Ghosts of Mars’ box-office failure has less to do with Carpenter’s directorial ability than what was trendy at the time.
Trends and Anomalies
2001 saw the release of big-budget sequels (The Mummy Returns; Jurassic Park III), big-budget sequels to prestige horror (Hannibal), sequels to blockbuster horror spoofs (Scary Movie 2), the continuance of the Dark Castle remakes (Thirteen Ghosts) and slashers firmly in the Scream mold (Valentine).
One can look at these trends as a foreshadow of the cinematic landscape today, which banks on the familiarity of remakes, comic-book adaptations, and anything that has an established audience. In 2001, original horror like The Others, Jeepers Creepers, and The Devil’s Backbone seemed like anomalies, indeed.
Even Ebert & Roeper’s tried-and-true-and-trademarked “Two Thumbs Up” seal of approval seemed to wane around this time. With the advent of the internet and people creating their own websites (including IMDb) to discuss film and fandom, the days of critical endorsement driving newspaper ad campaigns began to shrink. It certainly didn’t help Ghosts of Mars to financial success (yes, Ebert and Roeper liked it!).
Carpenter’s Magic
While Carpenter is responsible for the trend-setting Halloween and pushed practical FX to the limit in The Thing, he’s always been, for the most part, grounded in a simple narrative scenario: trap some people in a building, create an internal or external threat, and watch all hell break loose.
That’s not a criticism: I think Carpenter is at his best when he’s at his most confined. Think of the souls left to defend a shut-down police station in Assault on Precinct 13; the desperate men facing off against a copycat alien in The Thing; and the way science and religion commingle to combat Satan in Prince of Darkness. Despite the shared premise of an isolated group left to ward off evil forces, these films are utterly distinctive from one another.
That’s part of Carpenter’s magic. Like the folks watching his movies because of his trademark directorial touches, he has his own creature comforts, too. And Ghosts of Mars capitalizes on this familiar premise in fresh and exciting ways.
Cinematic Magic
When I think back to seeing Vampires in the theater, the excitement I felt going in was matched by the disappointment I experienced on the way out. In the post-Scream horror landscape, it felt decades removed from current trends. And while I still don’t like Vampires, Carpenter obviously stuck to the stubborn sense of craftsmanship that saw his previous efforts through.
I saw Ghosts of Mars during its second (and final) week at our local Regal, which had slashed its showtimes to a single lonely matinee. And despite my experience with Vampires, I recall entering the theater with little in the way of preconceived notions.
And I was floored. Exhilarated. I had so much fucking fun watching it all unfold. When Ice Cube double-guns it against a mob of possessed miners, shouting, “C’mon you mindless motherfuckers!” I was in cinematic rapture.
Each subsequent viewing of Ghosts of Mars has carried that same exhilarating energy. It was a B-movie for the new millennium, at once forward-thinking and comfortably grounded in tongue-in-cheek sci-fi conventions. In retrospect, it seems amazing that Screen Gems gave Carpenter $28 million to play with, but his commitment to (mostly) hand-made sets, miniature models, practical effects, and stunt work gives the impression it’s all up on the screen.
A Place of Efficiency
Ghosts of Mars is glorious. It’s Carpenter returning to a place of efficiency and purpose after the humorless, punch-drunk Vampires.
He also trades in the twangy, aimless guitars of that score for a return to his patented synthesizers. The electronic pulses are given an extra shot of adrenaline courtesy of the chugging rage of Buckethead and Anthrax. It’s a synth-metal mix designed to leave connoisseurs of both genres in jittery ecstasy.
Keep in mind this was well before the synth-score revival that won The Social Network an Oscar. In many ways, Carpenter never abandoned the practical mentality that guided his earlier efforts to success (or, at the very least, respect among horror fans). That all the sets in Ghosts of Mars seem real makes it even more endearing, to the point where it’s aged better than many of the overly green-screened efforts that have come out since.
If Carpenter was looking to create an immersive haunted-house experience on the Angry Red Planet, he certainly succeeded.
Ridiculous Fun
The plot of Ghosts of Mars is ridiculous fun: a group of Mars police are tasked with transporting notorious criminal James “Desolation” Williams (Ice Cube) from the Shining Canyon mining community back to capital city Chryse to stand trial. Not long after their arrival, they discover the workers have been turned into self-mutilating savages bent on annihilation.
Yup, it’s the “cowboys and Indians” routine Carpenter has used many times before, while carrying through on the fun of something like Charles Band’s Parasite or the Roger Corman-produced Forbidden World. There’s never not a moment where this film doesn’t know what it is.
A Grindhouse Cast
The casting is an eclectic mix of familiar faces and stars on the verge. Natasha Henstridge (who replaced Courtney Love) is excellent as Lieutenant Melanie Ballard, who faces off against hard-assed types without so much as breaking a sweat. The always-scruffy Jason Statham is endearing as the smug Jericho. Clea DuVall (The Faculty) brings a remote, enigmatic vibe to dead-eyed rookie Bashira. And Pam Grier’s Commander Helena Braddock exudes authority with a flirtatious twist.
While Ice Cube doesn’t have the nuance of Assault on Precinct 13’s Austin Stoker or the intense presence of The Thing’s Keith David, he acquits himself well enough as Desolation. Moreover, while a 2006 interview had him declaring Ghosts of Mars the worst film he’d been in, he seems oblivious to the fact that Carpenter wasn’t going for an A-picture feel. And moreover still, Cube has repeatedly proven himself an actor of limited range.
Basically, Carpenter cobbled together a Grindhouse cast before Grindhouse popularized the notion of affixing obscure character actors to low-budget genre fare.
Building Camaraderie
One instance where Ghosts of Mars falters is in the concept of Big Daddy Mars (Richard Cetrone), who emerges out of nowhere and speaks in a nonsensical dialect while dressed like a refugee from GWAR. I’m not saying BDM needed a rich backstory, but the character isn’t as intimidating as he should be. Indeed, the scenes where he gets beaten/burned by our heroes and yowls into the camera are cheesy as hell.
That said, I respect Carpenter’s choice in building a camaraderie between the human survivors (cop and criminal alike). While filmmakers operating in the post-Saw horror landscape use confined locations and desperate groups of people as a springboard into cruelty and sadism, Carpenter endears us to his ensemble by allowing them to acknowledge the shared desperation of their situation.
It’s Assault on Precinct 13. It’s The Thing. It’s Prince of Darkness. It even extends to his Season 2 Masters of Horror episode, “Pro-Life.” It’s Carpenter’s familiar song, remixed into a satisfying, synths-and-guitars tune for 2001 audiences. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
Kicking Martian Ass
There are a lot of explosions in Ghosts of Mars. Shining Canyon reaches a point where it looks like the burning remnants of Outpost 31. That said, the Martians don’t blow up and run around on fire more than the explosions catapult them through the air in the manner of a John Woo flick.
Another bit of Carpenter clinging to traditional, practical filmmaking is the extensive stunt work on display. Physics-defying Marvel acrobatics are absent here, thank God. What we get are action sequences that carry a sense of reality, fantastical sci-fi scenario be damned. Being able to see the actors’ faces as they kick Martian ass is a special effect unto itself.
To that end, one of my most endearing memories of Henstridge was an appearance on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee (my mom was a fan), where she was promoting Species. During the interview, she brought up the just-filmed Albert Pyun sci-fi actioner, Adrenalin: Fear the Rush. She talked about her excitement in doing her own stunts and sang the praises of the cast and crew. It made me respect her as an actress passionate about her work.
In Ghosts of Mars, Henstridge possesses a keen awareness of – and sense of humor toward – the material and her sex appeal that puts her in league with Famke Janssen and Milla Jovovich, who bring a similar self-aware gravitas to their performances in action-heavy B fare.
Comic Book Plot
The film’s plot is so much like a comic book that one wishes it had inspired a graphic-novel counterpart (or sequel). Indeed, Carpenter seems to film the action – and even simple dialog exchanges – with exotically-detailed panels in mind.
The force that possesses the miners and survivors has no guiding logic, selecting its victims at random. Some may dismiss this as lazy writing, but I liked the elementary feel of it. And what could be more threatening than an invisible force with no clear modus operandi?
When our heroes make their last stand, it’s reminiscent of the moment in The Thing where MacReady (Kurt Russell) says, “We’re not getting out of here alive – but neither is that thing.” The decision to double back to Shining Canyon and blow the nuclear reactor (how “1950s sci-fi” can you get?) is not a selfish glory move, but an action to protect life on Mars from further devastation.
But I like the cynicism of research scientist Whitlock (Joanna Cassidy), who has no idea if the plan will work. The ensuing battle leads to the deaths of all but Ballard and Desolation, and the entire story is subsequently dismissed by the Inquisitor (Rosemary Forsyth) at Chryse. This dismissal comes at a cost, as a storm guides the force to the capital city, leading to a Martian-possession outbreak.
The epilogue, with Ballard waking to sounds of chaos and Desolation popping in to toss her a weapon, had me smiling and giddy. Unlike Assault on Precinct 13, where cop Bishop (Stoker) and convict Napoleon Wilson (Darwin Joston) walk out of the titular locale after a breathless night of warding off a savage street gang, Ghosts of Mars allows its heroes no such reprieve. As the duo shares a joke before entering the melee once more, the screen fades to black.
I’m kind of disappointed Carpenter came out of retirement for The Ward instead of a sequel to this – Ballard and Desolation could’ve explored the whole damn solar system!
Ahead of the Times
There are tiny details that add to Carpenter’s rich tapestry, showing just how ahead of the times he’s always been. Even if the filmmaker’s plots adhere to a similar structure, he finds ways to be clever without being smug.
Take, for instance, the film’s setting: Mars in the year 2176. Voice-over tells us “Earth law is enforced by Mars Police Force.” But we don’t know what’s happened to Earth (is it an Elysium scenario of impoverishment and overpopulation?). This ambiguity could merit its own prequel story.
Or Carpenter’s cheeky visual comments on blue-collar occupations, as evidenced in the 20th Century control panels in the nuclear facility, the well-worn knobs on the train, and the far-from-advanced police-station electronics. Shining Canyon has a rover, but it’s as graceless as a construction vehicle (where are the hover-cars and jetpacks?). Furthermore, Ballard responds to the silence of the town with a quick listing of after-hours working-class vices: “there’s money to burn, whores to fuck and drugs to take.”
Carpenter’s decision to make Mars a matriarchal political system also comes prior to the push for more diverse representation in media. I like the unarticulated notion that men have failed (“not many of us breeders around,” Jericho claims), and more sensible minds have prevailed. A brief shot of Desolation stealing a bag of “flash” (Mars currency) depicts a Queen Elizabeth type printed on the bills. And once again…we’re still dealing with physical currency in 2176?
“The more things change,” I guess…
The Dread of Discovery
Despite its flashback structure, Ghosts of Mars possesses the “dread of discovery” mood that permeated The Thing. We’re never ahead of the characters, despite Ballard’s recollective teases in the present moment. For the most part, we’re discovering the horrors of each room alongside the characters, which keeps the suspense percolating throughout.
The film doesn’t sit as heavily as The Thing, Assault on Precinct 13, or Prince of Darkness, but that’s not a complaint. There’s a lightness of tone in the character interaction that puts the film closer to the cheeky apocalypses of In the Mouth of Madness and Escape from L.A. (no surprise, as Ghosts of Mars began life as a third Snake Plissken adventure).
It’s interesting to see the renewed interest in David Lynch’s Dune coinciding with Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming take. For the mob that hates Lynch’s version, there’s just as dedicated a following of those who rank it among his best work. It’s idiosyncratic in a manner only Lynch could muster. Likewise, Ghosts of Mars is a distinct John Carpenter creation: embrace the B-movie spirit, and there’s much fun to be had.
The Plot Sickens: Jonny Numb enters The Night House!
Crash Analysis Support Team
Jonny Numb
Jonny Numb (aka Jonathan Weidler) is a TV dinner in a farm-to-table world. He co-hosts The Last Knock podcast with Billy Crash, and his writing can also be found at The Screening Space. Go to @JonnyNumb on Twitter and Letterboxd for more succinct and succulent takes on the state of the world and cinema.
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(Ghosts of Mars movie still from Screen Gems.)