Ghost Ship (2002 film)

Ghost Ship
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Steve Beck
Produced by	Joel Silver Robert Zemeckis Susan Levin
Written by	Mark Hanlon John Pogue
Starring	Gabriel Byrne Julianna Margulies Ron Eldard Desmond Harrington Isaiah Washington Karl Urban
Music by	John Frizzell
Cinematography	Gale Tattersall
Edited by	Roger Barton
Production company	Dark Castle Entertainment Village Roadshow Pictures
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	October 25, 2002 (2002-10-25)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States Australia
Language	English
Budget	$20 million
Box office	$68.3 million

Ghost Ship is a 2002 American-Australian horror film directed by Steve Beck. The film was shot in Queensland, Australia and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It stars an ensemble cast featuring Gabriel Byrne, Julianna Margulies, Ron Eldard, Desmond Harrington, Isaiah Washington and Karl Urban.

Despite its title, the film is unrelated to the 1952 film of the same name.

In May 1962, aboard the Italian ocean liner SS Antonia Graza, dozens of wealthy passengers dance to the song "Senza Fine" sung by Francesca, an Italian singer. A young girl, Katie Harwood, sits alone until the ship's captain offers to dance with her. Elsewhere, a hand presses a lever that unravels a thin wire cord from a spool. The spool snaps and the wire whips across the dance floor, bisecting the dancers.

Forty years later, at a bar, a boat salvage crew — Captain Sean Murphy, Maureen Epps, Greer, Dodge, Munder, and Santos — celebrate their recent success. Jack Ferriman, a Canadian weather service pilot, approaches them and says he spotted a vessel adrift in the Bering Sea. Because the ship is in international waters, it can be claimed by whoever brings it to port. The crew sets out on the Arctic Warrior, an ocean salvage tugboat. The ship is the Antonia Graza, which was believed to be lost at sea. As they prepare to tow it, they discover it contains a large quantity of gold. After a series of supernatural events, the group decides to abandon the salvage effort but take the gold, but an invisible force sabotages the Arctic Warrior. The tugboat explodes as its engine is restarted, killing Santos.

Left with no other option, the group begins repairing the Antonia Graza. Greer encounters Francesca, who seduces him into betraying the fiancée he has ashore, then leads him off a precipice to his death. Captain Murphy enters the captain's cabin and finds his ghost. The captain explains that they recovered the gold from a sinking cruise ship, the Lorelei, along with a sole survivor. Murphy is shown a picture of the survivor, whom he recognizes. He rushes to tell the others, but begins hallucinating and sees everyone as the ghost of the burned Santos, who provokes him into a murderous rage. The others think Murphy has gone mad and lock him in the drained fish tank, where he is later found drowned by Epps.