To get the premise of "Ghost Ship," take "Titanic" and pretend the souls of its less-fortunate passengers (i.e. the dead ones) decided to forego the Big Shiny Ballroom in the Sky and stay on the ship -- scaring the living bejeezus out of anyone who disturbed their rest.
Kind of gives a whole different meaning to "My Heart Will Go On."
"Ghost Ship" is a scary movie with aspirations to be more than just a genre flick. At times it succeeds, displaying a macabre whimsy and comic self-awareness that make you hope it will rise above its scary movie status, but in the end, "Ghost Ship" sinks from too many plot holes and the sort of cliched finale that makes you concede that all your high hopes were for naught.
A glitzy, lavishly shot opening introduces us to the ocean liner Antonia Graza and its equally glitzy passengers. Everything is so glittering and happy, in fact, that there is only one solution in the realm of horror movies: People must die. And gruesomely, if it all possible.
Cut to modern day, when a ragtag group of salvagers (evidently this is an actual profession) led by Murphy (Gabriel Byrne) and Epps (Julianna Margulies) are led to the remnants of the once-mighty ship by an Air Force pilot named Ferriman (Desmond Harrington). If you happened to notice the title of the movie in the credits, on your ticket stub or any number of other prominent places, you probably have no doubt as to just what's lurking on the ship.
Rocket science "Ghost Ship" is not. In fact, this film follows the rules of horror movie frights and deaths so methodically that you'll be able to spot every major plot progression about five minutes after the characters are introduced. So long, Hot-Blooded Rebellious Dude. Sayonara, Guilt-Ridden Leader.
With all the stylized glitz and gore around them, it's easy to forget that there are actors involved in this visual feast -- legitimate ones, even, like Byrne and "ER" expatriate Margulies. Their characters are little more than stereotypes with death sentences, but Byrne and Margulies bring a human warmth to their roles that make you wish they could stick around a little longer before their appointments with imminent death.