31 movies to watch in October: Ghost Ship

Next up in the 31 movies to watch in October challenge is a gory, fun flick about a haunted ship. You may have already figured out the title strictly based on that brief description, but we are talking about 2002’s Ghost Ship.

October means Halloween, and Halloween means hauntings of every kind, so Ghost Ship fits right into our schedule for the month. And before we go any more into the plot points for this film, let’s just talk about the opening sequence.

Ghost Ship opens with perhaps the greatest mass kill scene in the history of horror movies. It is 1962, and the ocean liner the Antonia Graza is packed with wealthy passengers, dancing to the vocals of a beautiful Italian singer. And then…I won’t spoil it for those of you who haven’t seen this movie yet, but trust me when I tell you that what happens is jaw-dropping.

It’s unfortunate that the rest of the film doesn’t quite live up to the spectacular, bloody opening scene, but it’s a fun watch anyway. Gabriel Byrne and Juliana Margulies are the two main characters Murphy and Epps, and they are part of a salvage crew in the present time. They are approached at a bar by Jack, who tells them he spotted a ship adrift in the ocean. If they help him tow it in, anything aboard will belong to them, since the ship is in international waters.

As it turns out, that ship is the Antonia Graza, and once the crew goes aboard, they find that it is stocked with gold bars. Naturally, they want the treasure, but they soon find that gold is not the only thing on board. There are also ghosts. Lots of them, and most of them are not very nice.

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The exception is Katie (Emily Browning), a girl who was on that dance floor we saw in the opening scene. Initially, she survived, but since she is now a ghost, something bad obviously happened to her. She tells the crew the part of the story she knows, and they find out the rest during the course of Ghost Ship.

Folks, this is not a deep, insightful film, and there are some plot holes along the way, But, damn, is this a fun watch! There are lots of ghosts, lots of gore, some bad guys, some good guys, and a pretty cool ending sequence.

Ghost Ship can be watched on multiple streaming platforms, including YouTube, Amazon Prime and Vudu.

Is Ghost Ship one of your must-see films, or do you dislike it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.