La Maldición Del Queen Mary

The Haunting Of The Queen Mary is a bizarrely grandiose, intensely eccentric, grand old horror spectacle that unfolds in two timelines about a hundred years apart and while I have to say that it's not much of a coherent beast in terms of storyline, it's one of the most visually stylish, atmospherically engaging films I've seen this year. In 1938 the Queen Mary steamship makes a special, no expenses spared Halloween voyage across the Atlantic and one ill fated family of carny stowaways has an increasingly dangerous encounter with... something supernatural. In present day a young woman (Alice Eve) tours the now dormant ship and tries to convince the slightly shady duty captain to let her include footage of it in her upcoming podcast but it soon becomes clear that the supernatural element might be still hanging around. Well, not that clear but that's the best I can surmise it. I'll be totally honest with you: the writer and editor of this thing may have had a few too many while working on this because the plot just... careens around wildly making not much sense, the transitions from time period are loose and undefined and the core elements of the story are buried in pacing pandemonium. Having said that, the director and cinematographer seem to have had just the right amount because this is one of the most beautiful looking horror pictures I've seen in some time, an opulently lit, complexly structured palette full of striking costume choices, clanking steampunk viscera below deck and some of the most flat-out gruesome murder scenes committed to celluloid involving an axe swung just about as furiously as possible into people's faces. The 1938 sequences are breathtaking in period detail, dialogue and song/dance numbers as the ship hosts celebrities like Fred Astaire himself, among others. This is a big, loud, immersive and hectic experience that's reminiscent of the early 2000's Dark Castle horror films like Thirteen Ghosts, Ghost Ship, Gothika and House On Haunted Hill. These type of films are absolutely dripping in the style, production design and visual artistic aspects even if story and logic don't quite fall into step. That's a great way to describe this one, a big ol' ghost story you just sort of surrender to like a runaway theme park ride, it's so much fun.

I have no idea what I just watched. It was a confusing, disjointed mess. At the beginning it seemed to have the makings of a very interesting story. But all it did was get more and more confusing. I kinda get what they were trying to do with flashbacks, but there were too many, and they didnt explain anything. I was told to wait until the end of the movie and it will be all clear. Im pretty sure now the person who told me this had a stake in this movie, because when I got to the end it left me more confused than when i started. The costumes for that period where spot on, the acting was good. I suggest next time use a little more of your budget on script development.

First off, the plot makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. I found the character motivations to be unbelievable. I still have no idea why any of the characters were on the ship in the first place and what exactly they were trying to accomplish. The film kept jumping between two storylines, one in 1938 and one in the present. There wasn't enough character development to really make the audience care about the fate of any of the main protagonists/antagonists in either narrative. By the end, it isn't clear how the two stories are supposed to be connected.

Obviously the films' writers were banking on the established ghost stories surrounding the Queen Mary (the lady in white, Jackie, the 1st class swimming pool, the HMS Curacoa, B-474 murder) but the problem is the depiction/references to these in the film do nothing to advance the plot.

I will give the film two stars for great cinematography, lighting, and visuals. There are a few nicely shot scenes showcasing interior spaces on the ship as well as a couple references to historical events involving the Queen Mary, but that doesn't make up for the really poor dialogue, incoherent narrative structure, and lack of character development.

If somebody asked me what this movie was about, I could not tell them. I did not understand anything. I did not understand the story, I did not understand the going back-and-forth, I did not understand why the new captain collapsed when they broke down the wall, I did not understand why the little boy was out on the ledge, I did not understand why the woman stuck a pen through her hand and they just never followed up about it, I didn't understand the purpose of Fred Astaire and the girl tap dancing, I did not understand why the guy had half of his face missing, I did not understand why they were staying overnight, I did not understand the old man in the bathtub that he shot, I didn't understand all the flashing of the lights on the camera... one big mess of scenes with no plot or objective. Oh, and the tarot cards? I could go on and on, but I still would not understand it.

To begin with, this film definitely has a very alluring, dark, and eerie, style to it.

However, it suffers from some severe structural issues.

As it jumps back and forth 3 timelines: 1938- the time when a series of grizzly murders occurred on the ship; to recent history- where a struggling family has reunited, in order to investigate the haunted history of the ship, with hopes of monetizing it, by either writing a book, or creating a VR experience, about it...ultimately culminating with an incident around which the plot is based; and modern day, when the parents return to the ship, to solve the mystery, concerning what happened to their son on their previous visit.

Unfortunately, (as others have already noted) it's a bit of a convoluted mess.

The main problem being that the crux of the plot is not explained very clearly.

Meaning that the intuitiveness of the viewer is required to pick up on what is actually going on.

Hints are provided.

But they are somewhat vague, and could easily be missed.

With the supernatural action sequences only adding to the confusion.

And feeling somewhat out of place, when they occur.

Sure...there are definitely some cool parts to the film (particularly in regards to the gore).

However, they try way too hard to prolong the mystery...and the point of it all to become lost in the process.

In short...it just doesn't play well as a whole.

Which is a shame...because the concepts here are great...and there's a load of talent involved.

But the plot structure has no flow to it.

You hope the conclusion is going to tie up the loose ends, and clear up some of this confusion.

However, it only acts to muddle things up even further.

And leave you utterly confounded.

Making you wonder what it was ever about in the first place.

In the end, I did manage to figure it out (after some reflection).

But I could EASILY see what happens eluding most people.

And even if you do manage get what's going on after the twist kicks in...you are left wondering what the purpose of some of the occurrences leading up to that point really were.

As it seems that some scenes were included simply to confuse you (like the one where she drops out of the door, into the ocean, for example).

So it's flabbergasting to think they thought that this was a coherent story in any way shape or form.

Because it's really not.

Which is too bad...cause while there's so much to be admired...it leaves room for desire.

3.5 out of 10.