Director: Alvin Rakoff.Starring: George Kennedy, Richard Crenna.

Rating: 6 Out Of 10

This week I have chosen to review “Death Ship.” This film is Out Of Print but many things from this film such as the VHS/Poster cover has been used in Horror films today. (Look at Ghost Ship.) Embassy Home Entertainment distributed “Death Ship” on VHS and Embassy is a big company that many films on their label have yet to be released on DVD. Some films include: “The Video Dead” “Humoungous” and “Rituals,” along with many more great Genre titles other than Horror.

“Death Ship” was made in 1980 and was Directed by Alvin Rakoff, (If my mind is correct this was his only Horror film.) It starred your average Actors and Actresses, but many stand out. Such as Richard Crenna, who was in “Leviathan” “The Evil” “Devil Dog: Hound Of Hell and the “Rambo” Series. Also George Kennedy, who is famous for his low and high budget films such as “Just Before Dawn” “DemonWarp” and the “Naked Gun” films.

Let’s begin the film …

We open on the sea with a giant boat with a destination unknown, the horn is blasted through the air only to be drowned out by German language rolling through the halls of the boat. George Kennedy is the captain of another boat, a party boat. Where passengers are having a swell time as music is playing loudly danceing around in Halloween outfits. Then a quick cut back to the German boat where the ships controls are moving by themself. The crew of the party boat find the boat on their radar where it’s on a collision course. (The funny thing I will add is that everytime the camera is filming the German boat it’s day, but the party boat in the exact same timeframe it filmed at night, pitchblack night.) The film keeps the same pace of showing the German boat with the wacky controls and the mass going through the water, kids playing around, the halloween party and the ship crew tracking the ship as it rises up on their location. Up until the German boat crashes through the cruise boat causing everyone to go into panic, as the cruise boat sinks to the bottom of the ocean. The next scene show’s a few remaining passengers on a life boat sailing nowhere, until they rescue the captain of the ship. The survivors soon are welcomed to find another ship just sitting in the ocean, what they don’t know is that it’s the same ship that crashed into them. Everyone soon boards the ship looking around for the crew on deck, but there isn’t any crew. (How bizzare.) While carrying the cruise ship captain the stairs, used to board the ship falls apart and then plummeted into the ocean but they make it fine back onto the boat. (Just a half dozen of ship oil is poured on them but they make it.) While looking over the ship, things begin to happen such as visions and more scenes of the ship having a life of it’s own.

It’s time to sail as the ship raises it’s anchor, leaving one survivor left to drown as he is tossed from the ship. The survivors begin to explore more of the ship, discovering it’s German, while more echoes of German dialect and classical music roam the boat. Nothing happens for awhile, until a map is fount that tells that the ship is on a never endiing course across the Atlantic ocean. More visions occur and Ms. Logan eats a peppermint, then becomes sick only to be chocked to death by the Captain who had a vision he was choking a Nazi soilder. (The burial at sea scene with Ms. Logan has to be the best part so far, because they had her body wrapped as a mummy and as she fell from the boat it was in slow motion. It was kinda funny.) Now the Captain is back on his feet and claims that he now has control over the ship since he is a Captain and no one can drive the ship but him (In simple terms, the Captain is possesed by the ship.)

The next few parts are boring up until the couple of the group decide to take a shower together once inside the door to the shower locks on the female turning the water into blood. The kids of the survivors leave their room only to be caught by the Captain but then returned to the room. The lady in the blood shower is then dragged away by the Captain only to be a sacrifice to the ship and tossed into the Ocean. A chase then begins as the only 2 male lead survivors chase the Captain through the hallways into a room filled with Nazi flags, Nazi Radio broadcasts pictures of Hitler and the secert behind the ship is revealed. The boat was used in World War 2 by the Nazi’s as a P.O.W. transport ship which then became a interrorgation chamber where they performed acts of violence and killed many on board. Now not all on the ship were POW, because soon they find a freezer loaded with frozen bodies. The possesed Captain was taken under control by the ship only to supply it with blood to survive.

WIth the final climax of the film the Captain tries to kill the final survivors of the inital crash, which would be another Captain, his wife and kids. This other Captain I haven’t mentioned before was in a conflict with the possesed Captain (Before possesed of course,) where he took over his ship. The kids jump off the ship to land on the saftey raft tied to the ship. There is one more chase with both Captains and the wife but they soon jump off the ship as well.

(Shhhh almost done.)

The possesed Captain wants the ship to chase after the raft but doesn’t and this causes the captain to take matters in his own hands, which leads to his death by the rotary engine within the ship. The family is then rescused by a helicopter and the DEATH SHIP roars on with it’s never ending lust for violence.

Overall it’s not a bad film, there were some scenes of Gore or death scenes that were done quite well. I believe this was intended not to be a scary or shocking film, just a film that digs deep into ones subconcious making one believe something has a hold on them but in reality it doesn’t. Which is what basicly happens to George Kennedys character. The feel of the film has a more Surreal tone and even though it was somewhat flawed and boring at times, it was still a good Horror film to watch.

Share this article:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google