| Ghosts of Mars | |
|---|---|
 U.S. theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | John Carpenter |
| Written by | John Carpenter Larry Sulkis |
| Produced by | Sandy King |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Gary B. Kibbe |
| Edited by | Paul C. Warschilka |
| Music by | John Carpenter |
Production companies | Screen Gems Storm King Productions |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $28 million[2] |
| Box office | $14 million[2] |
Ghosts of Mars (titled onscreen as John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars) is a 2001 American space Western[3] action horror film written, directed and scored by John Carpenter. It was produced by Screen Gems and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It stars Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Jason Statham, Pam Grier, Clea DuVall and Joanna Cassidy. Set on a colonized Mars in the 22nd century, the film follows a squad of police officers and a convicted criminal who fight against the residents of a mining colony who have been possessed by the ghosts of the planet's original inhabitants.
Ghosts of Mars received mostly negative reviews and was a box office bomb, earning $14 million against a $28 million production budget.[2] The film would be John Carpenter's last until his return with The Ward in 2010.
Ghosts of Mars has received a cult following since its release, with critics praising the action sequences, soundtrack and blending of genres.[4][5][6] Given the film's debt to Western cinema, particularly the works of Howard Hawks, it has been considered by a number of critics as an example of the Weird Western subgenre.[citation needed]
- ^ "John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars (2001)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ a b c John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars at Box Office Mojo
- ^ "Escape From Outer Space: An exploration of John Carpenter's 'Ghosts of Mars'". PopOptiq. October 21, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ "411MANIA". The Gratuitous B-Movie Column: Why John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars Is Awesome. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
- ^ "Oeuvre: Carpenter: Ghosts of Mars". Spectrum Culture. May 24, 2019.
- ^ "Hear me out: why John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars isn't a bad movie". The Guardian. June 4, 2021.