Nude Celebs: Francesca Rettondini - Starting off with what may very well be one of the most disturbing and chilling sequences to have ever been committed to celluloid, Ghost Ship raises the bar so high in its opening minutes that there was almost no way it could possibly sustain such horrifying heights. And as such, the rest of the movie steadily becomes more and more disappointing with each plot revelation and poorly staged death sequence.

Starring an excellent cast that includes topliners such as Gabriel Byrne, Juliana Marguiles, and Ron Eldard, Ghost Ship is actually kept more afloat (sorry, couldn’t resist) by some of the more minor players including Isaiah Washington and the jaw-droppingly gorgeous Italian actress Francesca Rettondini. The story, about a salvage crew that discovers a long-lost and abandoned luxury ocean liner that was last heard from in 1962, does its best to notch up an increasing sense of dread, paranoia and claustrophobia, but the movie is saddled by its near slasher-film-like body count and sequence of events. As is often the case with recent horror flicks such as this, there seemed to be more interest in lavish camerawork and digital effects than there was in building a compelling, involving narrative. Such a shame, because for the first ten minutes, it’s easy to believe you’re in for one Hell of a frightening experience.

• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Subtitled, NTSC
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: March 28, 2003
• Also Known As: Chimera
• Production Company: Dark Castle Entertainment, Ghost Ship Films Pty. Ltd., NPV Entertainment, Village Roadshow Pictures, Warner Bros.
• Run Time: 91 minutes