Yes the beginning ship collision is poorly done but nothing afterwards is. Gales accepts the job, although he realizes the vessel is a death ship: overinsured, flagless, near-derelict, and staffed by men like himself, who are without documentation. In essence, it's a traditional haunted ship story, but on watching the viewer realises they're exposed to a minor horror classic – a film that is a hundred times better than the Gabriel Byrne-starrer GHOST SHIP made twenty years later. We rented it and I have VERY vague recollections of it not being very good but I never got round to see it as an adult. Death Ship by Jim Kelly. The only thing that bothered me was the way that the initial ship collision was shown--no one bothered to explain how the 8 survivors got off their doomed ship or why a group spread out all over their ship would manage to get together on the lifeboat (and oddly they all seemed to know each other before the crash)! Originally released on DVD in England in 2007, Death Ship had at the time had been transferred from a print that was not perfect and contained a few sporadic imperfections but was believed to be the best surviving source material. DEATH SHIP originated as a screenplay by Jack Hill (SPIDER BABY) titled “Blood Star” – who receives story credit here alongside David P. Lewis (KLUTE) while TV director John Robins (HOT RESORT) receives script credit – which frankly would have to have been more interesting than the final product. Death Ship. I suspect that it has not held up well to time. The name George Kennedy both on the cover and on the credits linked the two facts together. When a series of bizarre occurrences happen and the crew becomes caught in a web of ghastly deeds ,they soon learn is inhabited by haunting previous crew. Awards As a nightowl, I keep watching it. It's got a freaky plot (Nazi-ghosts floating around the oceans and torturing survivors of a horrible shipping disaster), and an amazingly chilling atmosphere. And... she dies. Nazi death ship driving people insane, a shower full of BLOOD, and George Kennedy going full … A luxury liner collides with a mysterious ship and sinks, leaving nine survivors, including the captain (George Kennedy). The undertones and references towards the Nazi reign are eerie and photographed in viciously black and white. Review of B. Traven's The Death Ship. Even though, it was blatantly obvious and predictable. Working at a video store in the late 80's I saw this film rent better than many "better" films. Do not watch this movie if you only like good movies and good acting. "Death Ship" was obviously produced on a flimsy budget, as the cost-conscious opening shipwreck demonstrates - we're not talking James Cameron here! One of the most notorious "bombs" of the 1980's, DEATH SHIP actually turned out to be one of the most interesting movies I've seen in a while for a couple of reasons. Your prudish sensibilities will be very disappointed. Death Ship. External Reviews I remember it from 20 years ago-Better than the film- Ghost Ship-. The isolated setting is elaborated rather professional by director Alvin Rakoff. So glad this turned out to be waaaay better than I was expecting it to be. "Death Ship" is a 1980 horror film starring Richard Crenna (Rambo series) and George Kennedy (Naked Gun series). Drifting, they spot a strange black ship floating by and climb aboard. That is probably why late 70's and early 80's horror/splatter movies still stands today. The most striking aspect to the film for me was its ominous looking poster artwork (which would be reused by the similar in plot 2002 'Ghost Ship') of a skull transpiring from the front of ramshackle ship. I was greatly impressed! ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Creepy! It still kept me guessing at certain parts. And pity the poor actors -- George Kennedy, Richard Crenna, Nick Mancuso, Sally Ann Howes; it's the TV-jeebies. However as time has passed, the screenings have been reduced to odd ball commercial TV screenings, if its screened at all. Metacritic Reviews. Oh, and one of the coolest original movie posters ever designed! I’m a huge fan of Jim Kelly’s journalist series, set in Ely. Some of the scenes in this film were absolutely frightening! Death Came Through a Phantom Ship, as you may have already guessed from the band’s nationality, is a concept album based on the famous Dutch legend of the Flying Dutchman. Released on 13th July 2020 by Nucleus Films to commemorate it's 40 years milestone. "Death Ship" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone, based on a 1953 short story with the same title by Richard Matheson. It begins with a pseudo-creepy introduction track filled with minor-key keyboard melodies and a recording of a sailor sending a message to a mysterious ship he meets at sea. Oh yeah, George Kennedy actually gave an award winning, creepy performance as the captain who wanted to take over the Nazi Freighter. Blood comes in the form of a cruise ship, carrying all of our protagonists. Once again, the charm of movies like "Death Ship" passes by on many people. George Kennedy was good as the Captain of the cruise ship. This is a cheesy movie, the effects aren't great, but dammit, if I'm flipping the stations and its on, I just can't stop watching it. View all reviews for Carach Angren - Death Came Through a Phantom Ship Black metal for non-black metal listeners. It was also a perennial renter. Strictly second-string city. I've been on the look-out for this film ever since. That disc had included a disclaimer citing the film lab that housed the original camera negative closed in the late 1980's and the aforementioned resources were "lost" as a result. It already has got the things it really needs: tension, a fair amount of effective horror and great music. Which brings us to the present day - after all these years, I finally score a copy by chance, excitedly bring it home and, with a set belief in my mind that it's going to be a huge disappointment and a rubbish movie, I line up the alcoholic anathestic and push the tape into the cringing VCR... To my surprise, "Death Ship" turns out to be a winner! A film needs more than that. Alvin Rakoff is a Canadian television, stage, and film director who has spent most of his career working in England. [22 May 1980]. Death Ship unfortunately turned out to be about as frightening as "The Love Boat." Many was the night that this played on HBO and other pay services that I stayed up late to watch. This film, "Death Ship", while it was a made for TV movie, is actually pretty scary. "This ship needs BLOOD!!" Not a masterpiece, but it sure left a lasting impression.. Far from the total turkey its reputation would suggest. Released theatrically by Avco Embassy, DEATH SHIP languished on VHS from Embassy before Nucleus Films released a stacked DVD in 2003 utilizing a so-so quality master. However, for the rest who aren't as picky, this is a great chilling movie. And pity the poor actors -- George Kennedy, Richard Crenna, Nick Mancuso, Sally Ann Howes; it's the TV-jeebies. People have all but forgotten it. Ok, we've already stated the fact that I LOVE b-movies. When I was a little kid, driving by this local videostore on my bike, I always stopped to take a quick peek at this amazingly cool video-cover displayed in front of the store window (just look up the poster art here on IMDb). A group of three space explorers face a dilemma, when they explore a crashed ship, that looks very similar to their own. Atrocious acting,nonsensical script,very low production values:all these elements can be found in Alvin Rakoff's "Death Ship".So why am I not going to trash this little movie?It's simple,I really like this film for those very reasons.It is everything low-budget horror movie should be,yet still manages to tell its story and generate a considerable amount of unease and dread.A cruise ship is destroyed by another ship(the Death Ship),killing most of the crew.The few survivors of the crash,who include the captain(George Kennedy from "Creepshow 2" or "Just Before Dawn"),a family of four and some others,decide that it would be a good idea to board the same ship that crashed their cruise ship.The death ship then starts killing its new victims.Despite so many bad comments "Death Ship" is still watchable.It has some really creepy scenes and memorable moments.Yes,the film doesn't make very much sense,but that's not what director Alvin Rakoff intended.Instead he puts together nightmarish sequences surrounded by an eerie sounds.You have to be a real horror fan to fully appreciate "Death Ship".Check this one out,it's pretty good.Highly recommended. Check this one out and give it time--it won't let you down. Around that same time I saw on television just a few little fragments of a French-dubbed horror movie taking place on a ship. Episode 4.6 “Death Ship” Original air date: February 7, 1963 Writer: Richard Matheson (adapted from his short story) Director: Don Medford Rating: 6/10. No -- less. Professionally wanting as this may be, film-makers have re-worked the concept twice now. Sure it's trashy and shot ugly, but it's FUN! beware of the severe late 70's early 80's problem with lighting. George Kennedy stars as the captain of an excursion liner who is facing retirement with less than a dignified attitude, who's boat is rammed by an old Nazi freighter that apparently acted as a sort of floating death camp, complete with a medical atrocities ward. User Ratings The castaways enter into the rare German ship and after encounter themselves trapped and they figure out that things are not as they should. Boarding the ship results to be a big mistake since the tragedy that overtook the lives of crew and captain lingers and starts to affect the present passengers. In fact, I'd file it quite high up in my "Lost Gems" folder - quite why this one has been resigned to the Dustbin of History and the Golden Turkey awards is beyond me. A crewless Nazi torture-ship malevolently hunts down and sinks Caribbean pleasure cruisers. Scorpion was able to use the American interpositive for their 2012 DVD and Blu-ray as part of the Katarina's Nightmare Theater line. Check box if your review contains spoilers. I recently broke down and picked up a really neat UK release on DVD and so got my first look at the film in a decade or so. A spooky, trashy anomaly set adrift in an ocean of cinematic slasher films during the early '80s, Death Ship is the kind of movie people stumble upon late at night on TV and spend years trying to track down again. The atmosphere in the movies of that time era simply can't be reproduced today. But will they ever get off alive? One of the lamest death scenes I've seen. By the time I was old enough to go rent it, the copy had mysteriously disappeared from the videostore. The only reason I find myself talking about this movie is that it seems to have wound up on many late night reruns lately. The cast did a pretty good job. DI Shaw and DS Valentine find themselves with 60-year-old case on their hands following an explosion on Hunstanton beach. The ship collision near the start of the movie, that sank the cruise liner carrying the survivors, was caused by the Death Ship in its ghostly mission to search for more victims. One scene in particular, when Nick Mancuso falls into a water filled hold of the ship only to be scooped out in a net full of rotting corpses is the stuff of nightmares! This low budget UK/Canadian collaboration was based on a story entitled Blood Star by one Jack Hill – yep, the exploitation king who made SWITCHBLADE SISTERS amongst other drive-in flicks in the 1970s. The mysterious roving Nazi "death ship" that picks up the survivors of the rammed vessel(including George Kennedy and Richard Crenna) is perfectly creepy--all rust on the outside and dust covered rooms within. One of the most notorious "bombs" of the 1980's, DEATH SHIP actually turned out to be one of the most interesting movies I've seen in a while for a couple of reasons. An abandon, rusty, Nazi torture ship, roaming the seas, looking for victims. The images of the abandoned ship, guided by unsettling noises really chills you. DEATH SHIP turned out to be my Halloween 2004 movie without even intending to have it be the feature of the night. No crew. About the only gripe I have with the movie is the death scene of Victoria Burgoyne. However, these few good elements are not enough to counteract the film's overwhelming sense of boredom. That the ship seems to have a mind of its own and that unseen crewmen seem to be just around the next corner compliments the aire of uncertainty and mounting claustrophobia which builds as the one time survivors fall prey to the forces of the ship. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game - Complete Edition, Death Ship unfortunately turned out to be about as frightening as "The Love Boat." The film is an ultimate guilty pleasure, and it's mindless fun, entertainment. She gets in the shower and starts freaking out when the water turns to blood. Those of you who did see DEATH SHIP on its maiden release and would like to catch up with it again might want to invest in a region-free DVD player if you do not currently have one (the Zenith DVP615 is a nice portable unit that is easily alterable to Region 0 by Googling it). [9 June 1980, p.B1], The movie degenerates from the merely farcical to the appallingly tasteless...As the end draws mercifully near, one character proclaims: "This ship I don't know if it was the film in the cameras or some other technical aspect but todays films are just too clean and polished. Like at least one other reviewer here the lurid cover art of Death Ship drew me in as young, impressionable boy standing in the local dodgy video store in the early eighties shortly before many of the horror and exploitation films therein were whipped from our shelves by the fledgling BBFC and consigned to that cinematic void that lurks somewhere between obscurity and cult-fame. Just a burning need for blood. The story was inspired by the legend of the Flying Dutchman. But, when it made its limited run on cable, I watched it by myself in the middle of the night with no lights on. Siersdorfer also led Bainton to a 32 page German booklet written in 1954 by Otto Mielke, entitled“Das Totenschiffin der Südsee” or “Death Ship in the South Sea.” Mielke seemed to know a lot about the Ourang Medan’s route, cargo, tonnage and engine power and even, allegedly, the Captain’s name. DEATH SHIP turned out to be my Halloween 2004 movie without even intending to have it be the feature of the night. Notable Video Game Releases: New and Upcoming. VIRUS in 1999 (rogue ship seemingly abandoned, which when boarded proves to be an unpleasant experience) and this year's GHOST SHIP, an even closer related caper, which has even ripped-off the original POSTER with only subtle alterations. It is good enough to be added to any horror fans video library. As far as obscured horror titles are concerned, Death Ship is definitely one worth checking out. No oil or gas or whatever the hell normal ships run on. I'm not familiar with the synopsis policy early 80s, while reading this one does not really spoil the adventure, but still you get the gist of where this is going. The idea behind the movie is interesting. Anyways the movie itself was actually interesting. George Kennedy and Richard Crenna definitely are decent actors, although they're not really showing it here. And surely this film has all those right elements for a b-movie. It kept me spellbound and wondering what was going to happen next. Except for one grisly, chilling scene too horrible to describe, this one was an unintentionally funny stroll. And this co Canadian / UK produced low-rent, b-grade picture effectively delivered on its promised chills, despite its low-budget that shows from its creaky, murky and minimal execution. | A dilapidated German freighter from WW2 curiously rams a modern cruise ship and ten survivors board the mysterious vessel. 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