AC
Andrea Costantini
•The crew of the Artic Warrior, a tugboat used for the recovery of shipwrecks, is contacted by Ferriman, an aviator who, during a flight, spotted off the coast of Bering the wreck of a very large ship. Captain Sean Murphy, tempted by the magnitude of the job, convinces the group to recover the drifting giant, but on the condition that Ferriman participates in the expedition. When they manage to reach the ship, they will discover that it is the Antonia Graza, a gigantic Italian ocean liner that disappeared from the radars forty years earlier. The production company Dark Castle, founded in 1999 by the union of the minds of Robert Zemeckis, Joel Silver, and Gilbert Adler, as can be inferred from the name and logo, primarily deals with horror films. The name of the company is a tribute to William Castle, a director from the fifties specializing in films of the genre. The first two productions of the major were, in fact, remakes of Castle's films: "The Mystery of the Haunted House" and "13 Ghosts". The third work of the award-winning company (and the second of director Steve Beck after the previous "13 Ghosts") is "Ghost Ship" (this time translated in Italy faithfully as "Nave fantasma"), which does not stray from the standard ghost story that the production company had proposed to us until now. According to the law, what is found in international waters becomes the property of whoever finds it. Whether it is a piece of wood or a drifting ship does not matter. The group led by Gabriel Byrne lives precisely from this: recovering wrecks of abandoned ships in the middle of the ocean to then become their owners and, consequently, make money. The basic idea of the film is to combine a tragedy that inevitably evokes the Titanic by merging it with the timeless ghost story. The long and rusty corridors of the Antonia Graza are steeped in a story that went wrong, of something that happened on board forty years ago, something evil that goes beyond the understanding of the men who intend to bring it ashore. The film begins strongly, with a scene that enters the horror anthology by right: a party on board a luxurious cruise ship delighted by the sweet voice of a sensual singer who sings "Senza fine" by Gino Paoli. All the passengers dance, elegant and serene on the deck, while the elements of a steel tie rod of the ship are coming loose one by one. One can only imagine what will happen when the cable violently unhooks and ends up on the people. Then the actual story begins in which the crew finds the wreck. After some explorations on board, they discover the ghosts that populate the ship and between one appearance and another, the inevitable body count begins. The first part of the exploration is balanced, there are no unnecessary delays and the characters are likable, while in the second part, the hallucinations dominate, but always with moderation, up to the final revelation that manages to surprise (although a bit forced) in a true pyrotechnic massacre game. There are no excesses in any aspect, neither from the point of view of splatter (except for the first scene), nor from the point of view of tension and the action does not abound either. It is a horror movie that can be watched until the end, without ever fully captivating but without ever disappointing. The technical work is good, except for the usual oversights typical of films of the genre, such as the reflections of the water on the walls of the ship in the middle of the night in the middle of the sea. Many references to "Shining", such as the dance party or the captain of the Antonia Graza who serves drinks to Gabriel Byrne, similar in appearance and behavior to the bartender Lloyd of the Overlook Hotel. The cast includes Gabriel Byrne, a true veteran of cinema with over sixty films to his credit, Julianna Margulies ("E.R. Medical First Response"), Karl Urban (Eomer in "The Lord of the Rings"), Desmond Harrington ("The Hole" and the TV series "Dexter") and the very young Emily Browning who will continue her path in horror with "The Uninvited", "When Darkness Falls" and the steampunk "Sucker Punch". The sensual singer is the Italian Francesca Rettondini who, in addition to showing her charms, dubs herself during the few dialogues. It is Monica Mancini, daughter of the famous composer Harry, who dubs her during the song. Add half a pumpkin.
