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by pat


Not the first time I've said it, won't be the last. I love John Carpenter's movies. All of them. Even the ones that aren't incredible are still enjoyable. I know not many people feel this adamant about his cratf, but that lack of concern is how we got "Halloween 5," isn't it? With that in mind, it's no wonder I enjoyed "Ghosts of Mars." I knew I would going into it. It's encoded into my DNA. Does that mean everyone will? Of course not. Jim, for one, would absolutely hate it. Of course, slow paced horror isn't his thing. Second, people will undoubtedly compare it to his previous films. Sure, most of Spielberg's films are either about children in peril or rediscovering childhood, but he makes more bank, so nobody bugs him about it. When you've helped redefine a genre, and made as many films as Carpenter has, after a quarter of a century in the business, I think the man is allowed a little retread. Especially if he's combining two fairly separate films.


Mainly this pulls from "Assault on Precinct 13," an urban remake of "Rio Bravo," and "The Thing," a grittier remake of "The Thing From Another World." Both are remakes of Howard Hawks films, who Carpenter cites as one of his greatest influences. His remakes almost betray this because he strays so far from the source. "The Thing" wound up not really being based on the movie at all, but the short story "Who Goes There," the inspiration for the original film. "Ghosts of Mars," then, is almost his way of reversing this. It feels as though he was remaking his films as Hawks would have, and been afforded a budget and effects not available in his day.

The visual style is much more basic than usually used by Carpenter, possibly the greatest scope format director. Watching one of his films without letterboking is like not watching it at all. He always balances out action across the screen. If you concentrate only on the main focus of the shot, often you can miss something important in the background. Every inch is important. Here he uses the background for ambiance. They are very flat, static, for a good part of the beginning, making it feel slower, more desolate, empty. You get the feel there's nobody around instead of just being told it. When the enemy starts appearing, it's usually in the distance, slight movement, then more creatures closer up, swarming in. This way the limited number of extras is made to feel like a massive army. We blend from "Thing" style tension into "Precint 13," isolation to entrapment. Both feelings of helplessness.

The flatter style can also be drawn back to the miniscule budgets Hawks had. Small tight sets that were clearly sets. They had few props, and those they had were plot devices usually. Anything else was a distraction. The set was bare to gain your undivided attention. Only some early charater development BS'ing scenes have clutter, to humanize. In "The Thing From Another World" it was the rec room, here a messy train heading to the outpost. Both are settings that are easily disposed of. They leave the train when they get there, or when they're getting away from the space carrot, why go back to finish a game of pool?

The tension built pays off to some degree. When characters die, you at least care a little because you at least knew who they were, though might not officially give a shit. The nice thing, though is when you look at a movie and aren't thinking sequel, and JC in general sees no need for them, you have the freedom to do whatever you want to them. Bigger names die before unknowns, characters get maimed for no real reason except just because, sometimes even for a quick laugh. When the rules are set to be nil, again, there will be extra tension.

All in all the film was well crafted, as is any Carpenter film. Was it entertaining? More or less. There are some really cool action scenes, a few funny bits, though less than usual, and some nice deaths, but some of it just drags. Maybe on second viewing it won't go so slow, as slow movies have a tendancy to do, but as far as my love for Carpenter films, if it were an ex, this'd be the one I talk to at the mall, sure, maybe get a drink with within the week, but we wouldn't bother getting each other's new numbers.