Chad

TheBigDave

I'm a big fan of haunted/deserted ship movies. I can watch movies like Ghost Ship, Virus, Deep Rising and Event Horizon over and over.

But for some reason, this movie does nothing for me. It has the look, feel and cast of a 70's made-for-TV flick.

Mondo Kane

I had fun with this. The blood shower was a big highlight and if this movie was remade today, a ghost would have done something about that kid's bladder problem.

Undeadcow

Parts of Death Ship seemed unintentionally funny to me this go round - the first part of the ship where the stairs collapse, etc where an inanimate object is seemingly trying to kill seems so outlandish and the menace here is largely subtle/implied. George Kennedy might be the least eerie possession victim ever.

The sound cues used here are effective - waves crashing against the ship, a lifeboard pulley falling, etc even if some of the random machinery shots seem odd. I'm also a fan of abandoned ship movies (Ghost Ship is a guilty pleasure of mine and Event Horizon is a classic).

The Scorpion Releasing blu-ray's sound mix is off with sound effects and music blasting but voices being more muted, which is annoying.

The blood shower was lurid and well done. That and the ghastly face ship poster are the best aspects of this movie.

indiephantom

This was my subset pick and first-time viewing.

Not nearly as creepy as The Ghost Galleon or as entertaining as the more recent Ghost Ship, but that ship is an effective and menacing set-piece particularly in its early daylight scenes when it appears to the stranded passengers and crew.

Agree with Undeadcow, the usually cool George Kennedy is pretty laughable here and does not feign possession well, nor is he ever credible as a menacing presence.

That blood shower is great, though, and I doubt they wasted much of the footage.

Trevor

^ Yep, I was expecting more from Kennedy.

numbercrunch

i like george kennedy but this one was a bit of a clunker

rbrown498

This one's awful. However, I brought a little of the VHS-era back to life last night by watching a DVD-R that I had made from my old Embassy tape. Full-screen, blurry resolution, a few brief moments where the tracking went a little screwy, the old blue-and-white Embassy Home Entertainment logo...it was, movie notwithstanding, a little slice of heaven.

SterlingBen

Me at work. This is my ship, and everything is fine.

Chad

Great atmosphere. No payoff. It's the equivalent of a haunted house film minus the ghosts. Still, not unwatchable.

And for whatever reason I've always envisioned Wilford Brimley in this role. He would've put some effort into being possessed.

DaveyJoe

Death Ship (1980)

When a cruise ship crashes, the surviving passengers find safe haven in a creepy ghost ship. I'm not sure why, but I really liked this one. Maybe because I recently watched the terrible Bermuda Triangle (1978) and it set my bar low for lost at sea horror films. George Kennedy seems like he didn't want to be in this movie, and he literally sleeps through the first hour of it. Otherwise, the film has everything you could want from a ghost ship movie, even throwing in Nazis for good measure.

Something about abandoned ships scare me and being lost at sea would really freak me out. The exterior shots of the ship are pretty cool, and the shots of the inside of the ship are creepy. It's pretty slow moving, but for me I just enjoyed the setting. There's a spectacular scene involving a shower of blood, but the driving story of George Kennedy's possession is confusing and forced. Still, being aboard the Death Ship seems better than some of the recent Carnival Cruises.

WillieMLF

I grew up watching George Kennedy in comedic roles, so I was looking forward to his turn in horror. It really didn't work for me. I felt the movie was a good idea, which had gone not so good.

Spiderbite

I thought this was just okay. As another poster said, it played like a TV Movie of the Week at the time with the exception of the blood shower. Nice bit of nudity there and you could see why anyone would get panicked in that situation. Just getting stuck in that little shower without the blood would have been enough to freak me out.

I kept getting a Bioshock vibe the whole time while watching this (that's a video game series in case some of you don't know). I kept waiting to hear a loud, long creepy moan and then see a Big Daddy show up. The old music, movie reels, photos, and obviously the "water" atmosphere was likely the culprit.

Just okay. Not good but not terrible. Definitely watchable and could possibly get better with more viewings. It was kinda funny that George Kennedy basically slept the thru the entire first half of the movie as someone else had mentioned. Nothing like picking up a paycheck...do what you gotta do.

clckworang

The made for TV comparison is pretty apt, and I'll echo everyone else's disappointment with George Kennedy. Still, it was watchable enough and had a couple of good parts, the shower as mentioned, but ultimately it was a bit of a let down.