Haunting of the Queen Mary 2023 Movie Review
The new horror “Ship of Ghosts” by Gary Shore is a film of such an unusual genre that it will be difficult to watch it without a guide – it will seem like a chaos of frightening incoherent frames. We are immersed in something terrible, hidden in the gloom of the screen, but loud and merciless. We are immersed in the legend of the Queen Mary. This name will not mean anything to new generations of Russians, but it is familiar to every American – like Disneyland or Barbie.
“Queen Mary” and “Queen Elizabeth” – two luxurious superliners, each much larger than the “Titanic”, which plowed the Atlantic in the middle of the twentieth century, causing burning envy among those who were not lucky enough to swim from Europe to America on them. During the war years, the Queen Mary was repainted gray and became a transport ship for the transfer of troops – Hitler even promised 250 thousand dollars for her sinking. She transported tourists from the 30s to the mid-60s, tickets were sold like hot cakes. But everything comes to an end, and in 1967, the Queen Mary, returning from her last flight, became an eternal joke in Long Beach, California. From the “Queen” they made an expensive hotel, and they lead excursions to it, and in terms of the number of visitors it competes with Disneyland – the demand is huge. And all because of ghosts, which the company claims
According to Time magazine, this is one of the most haunted places in the world. Allegedly, there is still in one of the cabins the curious spirit of a man brutally murdered in it. The press and advertisements report more and more paranormal events aboard the legendary ship. Moving along the decks and saloons, the excursionists felt sharp changes in temperature – near the 2nd class pool, where the girl drowned, near the ill-fated cabin with the murdered. Sometimes a clear smell of perfume and expensive cigars suddenly arose, the lights flickered for no reason. Not to mention the door squeak, whistle, heart-rending screams and echoes of illegible secular conversations of people who have not existed for a long time. Moreover, there were witnesses of the constant appearances of a bearded sailor in blue overalls – more than half a century ago, he was crushed by a watertight bulkhead when an accident occurred in the boiler room, and now wanders restlessly about the ship. Frost on the skin came from the sudden appearance of wet footprints on the floor near the 1st grade pool and from children’s laughter in the 3rd grade game room. Not to mention the classic “lady in white”, who regularly appeared to the speechless sightseers.
Maybe all these miracles, like myrrh-streaming icons, are the work of secret mechanics? They don’t say that in the movie.
Newspapers make a thoughtful conclusion: we are not given to know everything about our world, and even more so – about the worlds that exist nearby. And if people believe in God, then why not believe in the presence of paranormal activity hovering on the periphery of our everyday life? As the advertisements for the Queen Mary tours say, “Ghost encounters are possible during the day, but after sunset the spirits come out in droves to play.” Therefore, for the brave, night tours are provided, which include a luxurious “dinner with spirits”, a “paranormal boat trip” and a meticulous “investigation of the supernatural phenomena”.
The well-known author of more than thirty horror films, writer Hunter Shea, has released a memoir of a night spent on the Queen Mary. “I wanted to take a tour of the ship, have a delicious dinner in one of its fine restaurants, and in the evening take a paranormal walking tour,” he writes. “I moved into my cabin, threw my bags on the bed and decided to walk the decks. here you can feel the weight of history – the energy of millions of lives, come and gone, hangs like thick smoke. I heard strange sounds and knocks. I saw a brown stain sweep past me on the ceiling, and I felt chills. ” These memories are haunted like ghosts, and the most concrete thing about them is the fact that, having parked nearby, the writer was struck by the size of the Queen Mary.
That is the preamble. It dragged on, but without it, I repeat, in no way: it will be impossible to understand what this scattering of frightening shots, flashes, yells and roar is about. And these are the authors, having for the first time received permission to shoot a film on a real Queen Mary, trying to recreate and multiply the atmosphere of commercial excursions for the poor fellows who have no chance of ever being at the piers of Long Beach.
This is a film without a narrative – a plot that can be retold. There is a starting move: a modern family of photographers with a midget son goes to the Queen Mary to see the advertised ghosts. And he encounters the parallel life of one of the flights of the 30s, when Fred Astaire himself tapped for passengers (actor-dancer Wesley Alfin is good in this role), and passengers dressed in masks celebrated Halloween – a perfect backdrop for bloody murders. And further – according to the list: we will be shown a sailor who died in the boiler room, and a girl from the pool, and bloodied knives, and nightmares in that ill-fated cabin.
Following the canons of a horror film, the authors intertwine the fate of the participants of a long-standing flight with the experiences of a family of photographers – so that they flow into each other, and the viewer is completely confused about where is who and who is where. I’m not sure if this is good for the film: its plot is drowned in thick smoke. The director relies more on the terrible sound and darkened light that hides what is happening with a deaf haze than on dramaturgy and acting work, which are not there. Strict blood lovers will find there a lot of crushed skulls and other gourmet pleasures, pure lovers of meanings will not find anything.
The creator of the picture, director Gary Shore, spent a lot of time shooting commercials and music videos (this experience affected the episode with Fred Astaire – the only one that has a beginning and an end). He then debuted with the 2014 feature film Untold Dracula, which grossed $215 million worldwide. “Ship of Ghosts” is intended to open the trilogy, which will be filmed in its entirety on the “Queen Mary”.
