Ghost Voyage

Underwear model Antonio Sabato Jr. stars as one of a group of disoriented stereotypes...er....passengers who awaken aboard a strange cargo ship in the middle of the ocean with no recollection of how they got there or where the ship is heading. Gosh, who is that strange Asian steward quoting strange rules to them? Where are they going? Where could the rest of the crew be? Why do they keep disappearing one by one? Odd advertising for this one, though. It indicates that 7 people awaken on the ship, when there are actually 9 (at the start, anyway). A few good scares, but the ending is telegraphed a mile away. Not the worst of the Sci-Fi Channel movies of the week, but certainly not the best.

When was the last time a decent movie came out of Sci-Fi Pictures? I honestly can't recall even a mediocre one. This one continues their unbroken chain. I will admit that it gets to an intriguing start, placing the characters in a mysterious situation they can't figure out. The sets are also passable for what must have been a low budget.

Unfortunately, it doesn't take long before the movie starts to collapse. The movie beings with a brisk pace, but it doesn't take long to slow down, enough that the movie is progressing at an agonizingly slow crawl. Also, the characters are poorly developed. They are dull, and don't seem scared or confused that much by the situation that they are finding themselves in. And they are pretty interchangeable in their actions - not one character stands out.

Oh, and the CGI is horrible as well, though you probably guessed that when I announced this was a Sci-Fi Pictures movie.

The opening with a group of strangers awakening to find themselves aboard an old broken down cargo vessel is sufficiently eerie enough, and the oddball spectre-like "steward" who gives the confused passengers a list of ship rules is menacing. None of them knows how they got there, or why.

It's not a bad premise, sort of a Twilight Zone approach. The movie at first looks like it's going to rip off "Death Ship" and some others, but actually finds its own direction. It manages to present the mystery of what is going on, who is behind it, etc. It avoids giving up too much information too soon and guides the audience along with well-timed expository dialog and some weird discoveries aboard the spooky vessel. It throws in some ghost-like apparitions, ancient ritualistic behavior, and a "test" which is graded coldly and positively. Not bad stuff, really.

But the longer the movie goes on, the weaker it gets. Many characters are so cliché and obviously marked for unpleasant fates, that it's laughable. Some of the special effects look like they were done with an Etch-a-Sketch toy. Most of the cast (fortunately those who make early exits) act at about the kindergarten play level. However, the longer-lasting people act better; and their characters have some dimension. The resolution actually shows some thought was put into it.

A decent flick for a rainy weekend afternoon.

This is not the worst I've seen from SyFy, but it was a movie that was sorely lacking in my view. Its redeeming values are some good ideas, some nice eerie interiors(if never really convincing authenticity-wise) and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa trying his best with a character that is really beneath him. However, the special effects while not horrible are clunky at best, while Antonio Sabbato and Deanna Russo are bland in the leads, the story is sluggish and predictable with a twist that manages to fare even worse and next to no thrills or memorable death scenes, the characters are never engaging and are very stereotypical, the direction is dreary and the script never feels as though it is flowing naturally, all feeling clichéd and stilted with nothing much surprising. Overall, had some good ideas but as said already, the sluggish story, hackneyed script, bland acting and the whole forgettable feel of the movie stop it from being anything more than that, and at the end of the day it just doesn't come together. 3/10 Bethany Cox

This movie is about 7 strangers who mysteriously 'wake up' on a salvage ship out in the middle of nowhere with no idea of how they got there. Of course, they want off and, equally obvious, it's just not going to be that easy. This movie takes off a bit slow but maintains a decent flow that keeps you watching till the very end just to see how it turns out. It's a bit (quite a bit) predictable but still worthy of holding the viewers interest. It has a bit of a 'Saw' premise with a 'long, lost ghost ship' attitude. Antonio Sabato Jr. is still a good actor (I loved him in Earth 2, the series), I just wonder why he's not doing his thing in bigger movies. Another good actor in this movie is Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, he's been in quite a few movies (The Last Emporer, Mortal Kombat and Memoirs of a Geisha) and he's always interesting to watch...unfortunately his role in this movie is minimal although pivotal. If you're looking for something to kill the time then this movie is for you. Don't expect fireworks but you can prepare to be entertained or, at least, occupied for a while.