Ghosts of Mars

MPA Rating: R-Rating (MPA)

for strong violence/gore, language and some drug content.

Moral Rating:	not reviewed
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience:	Adults
Genre:	Action, Sci-Fi
Length:	1 hr. 38 min.
Year of Release:	2001
USA Release:	August 24, 2001

Featuring	Ice Cube, Natasha Henstridge, Jason Statham, Pam Grier, Clea Duvall
Director	John Carpenter
Producer	Sandy King
Distributor	TriStar Pictures, a division of Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment

Here’s what the distributor says about their film: (from the producer) Set in the year 2025, humans have moved to Mars. They have organized a division of labor and they are mining the planet for natural resources. However, when one mining team digs up a long-buried pod full of aliens, and the bodies of the human workers are instantly inhabited by the strange beings, a war ignites. What first seems to be a battle against crime for justice suddenly turns into a human battle for survival against the haunting alien force.

Negative—“Ghosts of Mars” was a macabre and repugnant movie. It was filled with self-mutilation, decapitations, massacres, people tearing their skin, piercing themselves with knifes-scissors-forks and hacking themselves and each other. At one point these demonic “Ghost of Mars” gathered around a fire and appeared to be worshiping what I would describe as a satanic figure. It was at this point that we walked out. I picked this movie (unfortunately) on an evening when we had an unexpected “kid-free” night and we decided to go to the movies on an impulse. We usually go to the movies with our 15-year-old son and we are careful about the movies we select, but since it was an “unplanned” movie night, I did not get a chance to read any of the reviews about this movie. I selected the movie by the title (thinking it was sci-fi) and the PG-13 rating. BIG MISTAKE.

I am a born-again Christian but I don’t consider myself “squeamish”. There are some movies that I will not see due to intense profanity, violence or sexual content, but there are some movies that contain some of these elements that I would consider “a good movie for mature audiences” like “The Shawshank Redemption”, “Gattaca”, and even “The Matrix”. But even these movies are not for everyone. I can’t imagine anyone who would like this movie. “Ghost of Mars” was over the top with unadulterated EVIL and it has no redeeming value. Do yourself a favor: save your money and time—SKIP this movie.
My Ratings: [Extremely Offensive / 1½]

Norah Casas, age 42

Movie Critics

…gruesome self-mutilation… tearing at their skin, poking themselves with sharp, pointed objects, slashing themselves, sharpening their teeth, cutting off their faces and wearing them as masks, etc…

Kids-in-Mind

…at least 26 “f” words… explicit and non-explicit, sexually related dialogue…

ScreenIt!

…if you’re a fan of mutilation, dismemberment and decapitation, have I got a movie for you! John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars (that is the full title) is a flick that makes director Paul Verhoeven look like an effeminate humanist…

J. Robert Parks, The Phantom Tollbooth