John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars is an explosive, power-packed sci-fi blast that Roger Ebert called “a brawny space opera, transplanting the conventions of Western, cop and martial arts films to the Red Planet.” Playing as a nightmarish intergalactic update of the director’s Assault on Precinct 13 and Escape from New York, the film follows a high-tech, futuristic police squad sent to a remote mining outpost to transport a dangerous criminal. But what they discover is more terrifying than they could have ever expected. Featuring a star-studded cast (Ice Cube, Natasha Henstridge, Jason Statham, Clea Duvall, Joanna Cassidy), gruesome special effects, and a heavy metal aesthetic that perfectly encapsulates the era, the horror master’s final wide-release theatrical fright-fest is worthy of rediscovery.
“John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars is a brawny space opera, transplanting the conventions of Western, cop and martial arts films to the Red Planet.” – Roger Ebert
