Verdict: Audiences will feel more tricked than treated.

Details: Starring Julianna Margulies and Gabriel Byrne. Directed by Steven Beck. Rated R for strong violence/gore, language and sexuality. 1 hour, 29 minutes.

See it: Theaters and showtimes for Ghost Ship

Rate it: Write your own review

Review: A lot of strange things are happening aboard the haunted vessel Antonia Graza.

Blood oozes from holes in the wall. Doors slam shut by themselves. Scrumptious beans turn into slithery maggots and a deathly pale little girl who looks as if she were dressed to play the lead in "The Wizard of Oz" mysteriously appears . . . then disappears.

All of these unearthly goings-on lead one frustrated first mate to remark hilariously, "This ship is (messed) up!"

And so is his film.

"Ghost Ship" sails into theaters just in time for Halloween. But audiences will feel more tricked than treated after sitting through this silly gorefest that wastes the talents of several good actors.

Yes, we're talking about you, Julianna Margulies ("ER"). And you, too, Gabriel Byrne ("The Usual Suspects"). While we're at it, let's throw in Ron Eldard ("ER") and Isaiah Washington ("Clockers"), too.

So much talent, so little script.

Though "Ghost Ship" does offer a few - and we stress few - gotcha jolts, director Steven Beck ("Thirteen Ghosts") is more interested in staging "Friday the 13th"-like bloody deaths than true suspense. Needless to say, with such gruesome images as passengers being decapitated, slashed in half, gouged in the face and impaled, "Ghost Ship" isn't a film for the faint of heart.

As more spookier films ("The Sixth Sense," "Signs," "The Others" and "The Ring") have already proved, you don't need over-the-top gore to keep moviegoers on the edge of their seats.

When done right, an eerie breeze, creaky stairs, a foreboding shadow or ominous music can do the trick.

"Ghost Ship" is essentially a haunted-house tale set at sea. A Canadian Air Force pilot (Desmond Harrington) recruits a top-shelf salvage crew to investigate a ship that has been spotted floating adrift off the coast of Alaska.

The crew, which includes Captain Murphy (Byrne), team leader Epps (Margulies), first mate Greer (Washington) and three technicians (Eldard, Karl Urban, Alex Dimitriades), quickly discovers the mysterious ship is the remains of the fabled Antonia Graza, thought lost at sea for more than 40 years. The ship, however, holds a murderous secret, along with a fortune in unmarked gold bullion.

Before you can say, "Shiver me timbers!" the salvage crew becomes victims of unfortunate accidents. You can pretty much predict the order of their deaths by where the actors are billed in the opening credits.

Margulies, who does her best impression of Sigourney Weaver's take-charge Ripley character in the "Alien" movies, is the film's star, and that should tell you something about her fate.

Although Margulies is stuck in a dead-end film, her magnetic intensity makes her the only character worth watching. Washington is mildly amusing as a soon-to-be-married crew member who thinks it's not really cheating if he does the nasty with a shapely ghost. Meanwhile, Byrne sleepwalks through his role while mumbling such lines as, "When the sea gives you an opportunity, you take it."

As in most horror films, "Ghost Ship" has its share of standard-issue dialogue. Among them: "There's something moving in there!" "What the?" and "Don't go in there!"

Read that last line again. Then repeat it to yourself before shelling out $7.50 to see "Ghost Ship."

— Kevin D. Thompson, Cox News Service