Highly Overrated But Still Good

disgusting, overrated, pointless

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

"Death Ship" follows a group of survivors (including a captain, a young couple, an older woman, and two children) who find themselves forced to board a ghostly abandoned ship after their luxury ocean liner sinks. Little do they know, the ship they've boarded was a Nazi torture ship, and the old captain is about to take charge of his newfound passengers.Clearly an influence on 2002's "Ghost Ship," "Death Ship" is a generally fun, kitschy, and at times unnerving horror film. The setup is standard, with the caveat of the victims being confined to the haunted site by thousands of miles of ocean. The film has quite a few tricks up its sleeve, largely with the ship itself, which takes on a life of its own, flipping switches, slamming doors, and steering of its own accord. This makes for a sort of trap-door funhouse effect in which the characters are under constant threat of the vessel itself more so than apparitions or ghosts—the ship itself is alive, and danger lurks. When the evil does strike, it's via a physical channel as well: Possessing the sea Captain Ashland (George Kennedy).For all the funhouse attractions the film has to offer, there is a strong sense of atmosphere to the film that is drawn out of ominous shots of darkened corridors, dusty cabins, and creaky set pieces. The interiors of the ship are well-dressed and genuinely eerie, and the production values really shine here. The performances are decent, with Nick Mancuso (the villain in "Black Christmas") and Sally Ann Howes having large supporting roles. The final act is a bit drawn out and peppered with melodramatic slow-motion shots, and the film closes on a fairly anticlimactic note, but these are actually minor qualms for a film that commits to take itself seriously. In the end, "Death Ship" is a fun and atmospheric film that takes its haunted house-style approach and quite literally rides the wave. It's not a remarkable film, but it's also not a bad one either. It offers enough atmosphere and too many effective scenes to dismiss. Hi-lights: The shipwrecked's arrival on-board the ghost ship, and a shower head that sprays blood on an unsuspecting victim. 7/10.

While it has some problems, overall, Death Ship is a very enjoyable, atmospheric horror film. Instead of writing a plot summary, I'll just copy one off IMDb that's written much better than I ever could – "Survivors of a tragic shipping collision are rescued by a mysterious black ship which appears out of the fog. Little do they realize that the ship is actually a Nazi torture ship which has sailed the seas for years, luring unsuspecting sailors aboard and killing them off one by one."The plot of Death Ship is fairly simple and straightforward. There's not a lot of confusion as to what is going on. While that may sound like the movie is predictable, it's still fun to watch the events unfold. I will admit that if you over analyze and think about the logic behind the movie, your head will most likely explode. But if you can turn off your brain and just go with it, it can be a very effective movie.Death Ship works primarily because of atmosphere. It's simply dripping and oozing with atmosphere. The vast empty decks, the constant engine noises, music that starts on its own, and the many natural creaks and groans of an old dying ship sets a tone and mood for Death Ship that works. This is old school horror. Death Ship was made in 1980 – way before horror movie makers started over- relying on CGI for their scares. There's none of that here and the movie is better off for it. A few random things about Death Ship that worked on me include: 1. George Kennedy – A great actor who played the possessed Captain Ashland to perfection. What a creepy performance. 2. The shower scene – I've seen several of these blood in the shower scenes over the years and this one is as good as any. Nicely done. 3. Jackie's death – It's our first indication of what the ship was capable of. The ship toyed and played with Jackie not unlike a cat with a mouse. 4. The ship itself – What a fantastic, innovative idea – a Nazi torture ship doing circles in the Atlantic, searching for victims to come on board for slaughter. It's an interesting set-up.

A mysterious ship sinks an ocean cruiser and the survivors of the crash board the ship which is haunted by....something. The captain of the cruiser is possessed and deaths start to occur. It sounds good but it is not thrilling or interesting. The ship turns out to be a Nazi one where torture had occurred but it is not clear why the ship is haunted, who haunts it and why. Rather confusing really.Stalwart actors like George Kennedy, Richard Crenna Kate Reid, and Nick Mancuso are defeated by underwritten roles. The best actor is the ship itself which looks menacing at rest or in motion. It was directed by Alvin Rakoff who never made a good film or ever made a bad one.

C'mon I mean how could you not love this movie? It delivers exactly what the title promises, it's a ghostly ship that just prowls around the Atlantic in aimless circles arbitrarily ramming other ships and trapping any survivors in a twisted maze of rust, fascism, and horror. It's the kind of movie you randomly stumble across on TV a stony Saturday afternoon when your like 15 and you and your friends are still laughing about it a full hour after it's over. Super low budge, bad acting, story gets a lil' patchy at times, basically so bad it's good. A movie really dose not need to be Oscar material to be entertaining. For what it is it's actually a great movie with some really scary scenes. The Nazi element in the story line makes for some really creepy stuff. If you like simplistic, cheesy 80's horror movies like Maximum Overdrive or Return of the Living Dead WATCH THIS MOVIE!