RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars
John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars (2001)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
19 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:99

Fresh:19

Rotten:80

Average Rating:3.6/10

Consensus: John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars is not one of Carpenter's better movies, filled as it is with bad dialogue, bad acting, confusing flashbacks, and scenes that are more campy than scary.

Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

US Box Office: $7,307,616

Synopsis: In the year 2176, Earth has colonized Mars, and all positions of power are held by women. Police Lieutenant Ballard (Natasha Henstridge) is assigned to take a crew via train from the metropolis of... In the year 2176, Earth has colonized Mars, and all positions of power are held by women. Police Lieutenant Ballard (Natasha Henstridge) is assigned to take a crew via train from the metropolis of Chryste to the deserted mining town of Shining Station to capture an extremely dangerous convict, Desolation Williams (Ice Cube). When Ballard and her crew arrive at Shining Station, an eerily deserted town, they find not only Williams, but also scientist Dr. Whitlock (Joanna Cassidy), who has secluded herself in the colony for safety. She tells Ballard and her crew that a mining project released a mysterious cloud from beneath the planet's surface. It is possessing the colonists, causing them to hunt down and kill off any non-possessed beings. Ballard and her crew decide that they must destroy the possessed beings for the good of the planet, a job which is more difficult than anyone predicts. John Carpenter's 17th theatrical feature combines action, horror, and sci-fi with thematic elements from earlier works (most notably ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 and THE THING). Rough around the edges with lots of energy and a sense of fun, GHOSTS OF MARS is a spirited genre cocktail. [More]

Starring: Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Jason Statham, Pam Grier

Starring: Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Jason Statham, Pam Grier, Clea DuVall, Joanna Cassidy

Director: John Carpenter

Director: John Carpenter
Screenwriter: Larry Sulkis
Producer: Sandy King
Studio: Screen Gems

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
1 - 5 of 25

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
11/02/01
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

Mad Max Heads for the Angry Red Planet on a Pitch Black Night of the Living Dead.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
03/27/09
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Mark Halverson
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review

Ghosts of Mars is not Carpenter at his best. It may very well be Carpenter at rock bottom.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
02/14/08
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A turd wrapped up in a nice bow is still a turd.

Full Review Source: Supercala.com | comment Comment
12/31/05
John Venable
John Venable
Supercala.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Zap2it.com | comment Comment
02/25/04
J. V. McAuley
J. V. McAuley
Zap2it.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Jim Shelby
Jim Shelby
Palo Alto Weekly

More Mars lacks than Mars attacks and an outing for Carpenter die-hards only.

Full Review Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) | comment Comment
03/04/03
Harry Guerin
Harry Guerin
RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/30/02
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Original movies on the Sci-Fi Channel have better production values.

Full Review Source: Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) | comment Comment
06/20/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
06/19/02
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

a complete and utter disaster

Full Review Source: NutzWorld | comment Comment
05/12/02
Blake French
Blake French
NutzWorld

The monsters were just not scary.

Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies | comment Comment
05/05/02
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
03/14/02
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page | comment Comment
02/21/02
James O'Ehley
James O'Ehley
Sci-Fi Movie Page
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
all

Latest News for John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars

January 17, 2007: Disney Signs On with "John Carter of Mars"
Not too long ago Jon Favreau was this close to directing "John Carter of Mars" for Paramount Pictures, but the studio let their option on the property lapse -- and we... More...

May 13, 2005: John Carpenter to Return to Directing with "Apostle"
Yahoo! brings some news that should please the horror fans out there. Seems that legendary scare-master John Carpenter ("Halloween") will be returning to the... More...

June 06, 2001: Clea DuVall, Pam Grier, and Joanna Cassidy have joined the cast. Opens in new window
More...

June 06, 2001: And about how the fighting in his film eschews those trendy Matrix moves. 'There wasn't a lot of flying around at the Alamo,' says Carpenter. Opens in new window
More...

See All

More DVDs

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
98% 98% Up
88% 88% Ballast
67% 67% The Merry Gentleman

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

60+ New Moon pics

60+ New Moon pics

You want Twilight images? We got 'em!

Salt trailer

Salt trailer

Angelina Jolie! Espionage! Action!

RT Presents Zombieland

RT Presents Zombieland

Exclusive screening

2012

2012

Emmerich unleashes havoc in these clips

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Rachel McAdams Rumored for Spider-Man 4 Source: Mania.com
100
  • Danny Elfman Leaves The Wolfman Source: Cinemusic.net
19
  • Oldboy Remake Rumored Dead Source: Latino Review
11
  • Francis Lawrence Directing a Futuristic Sgt. Rock Source: Hollywood Reporter
2
  • Can Avatar Make Money? Source: New York Times
91
  • Robert Pattinson Says Breaking Dawn Could Roll in Fall 2010 Source: Collider.com
24
  • Joe Johnston Talks The Wolfman Source: Ain't It Cool News
8
  • Jason Schwartzman Talks Scott Pilgrim Source: Collider.com
0
  • Weekly Ketchup: Abrams eyes Micronauts, Aykroyd as Yogi Bear
99
  • J.J. Abrams Producing Micronauts Movie? Source: Wall Street Journal
11
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: George Clooney's Best Movies
92
  • Critics Consensus: A Christmas Carol Dazzles But Disappoints
43
  • Ho-ho-horror! 10 Scary Christmas Movies
36
  • Weekly Ketchup: Abrams eyes Micronauts, Aykroyd as Yogi Bear
33
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Christmas Carol Tops, Precious Rocks
32
  • Friday Harvest: Prince of Persia, The Road, and more!
26
  • Total Recall: John Cusack's Best Movies
15
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
14
  • RT Presents Zombieland
5
  • RT on DVD: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
0
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Scott Hicks Talks The Boys Are Back
0
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
14
  • Richard Kelly chats about The Box
1
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
15
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
  • Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview
40
  • Michael Moore: The RT Interview
139
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars at Rotten Tomatoes
  • John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars at IGN
  • John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
Oscar nomination for Rockwell?
Oscar nomination for Rockwell? External Link

Join Moon director Duncan Jones' quest to get Sam a nod.

Werewolves Prowl the Movies
Werewolves Prowl the Movies External Link

TIME tells us the tales behind 13 of Hollywood's most famous wolfmen.

The Return of Pee-wee
The Return of Pee-wee External Link

The 57-year-old is headed back to the Playhouse. Details catches up with the iconic star.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter External Link

Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.

Competitions
Win Tranformers: Revenge of the Fallen and more on DVD
Win Tranformers: Revenge of the Fallen and more on DVD External Link

The year's biggest film is here and we're giving away big Transformers prize packs -- including both movies and the animated series.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.