Death Ship Blu-ray delivers great video and mediocre audio in this fan-pleasing Blu-ray release
Survivors of a tragic shipping collision are rescued by a mysterious black ship which appears out of the fog. Little do they realise that the ship is actually a Nazi torture ship which has sailed the seas for years, luring unsuspecting sailors aboard and killing them off one by one.
The haunted ship subgenre is not something that's explored much these days, with 2002's "Ghost Ship" perhaps the last major effort to claim multiplex attention, and that didn't go well. Back in the 1970s and '80s, fascination with all things floating and demonic was more common, with "Death Ship" (released in 1980) a prime example of what the premise has to offer on an absurdly tiny budget. It's ridiculous and dips a toe in tastelessness, but the core terror experience is acceptable for fans of the scary stuff, eating up 90 minutes with creepy corridors, unexplained antagonism, blood showers, and the most dangerous peppermint candy ever committed to film. Toxic sweet stuff that would make Willy Wonka envious. And for those who enjoy a costumed vision of B-movie oddity, there's George Kennedy running around in full Nazi regalia, trying his hardest to epitomize unholy evil. Pacing is certainly on the slack side and the screenplay does whatever it can to avoid a realistic character response to broad acts of violence and obvious poltergeist occurrences, yet "Death Ship" is undeniably entertaining when caught up in the heat of the moment, striking an unusual tone of doom that eases the overall thinness of the production.
Out at sea on a luxury cruise ship, Captain Ashland (George Kennedy) is about to hand over command to his replacement, Marshall (Richard Crenna). None too pleased to be giving up his position, yet disgusted with his daily work dealing with chatty tourists, Ashland is on edge, concerning Marshall and his family, including wife Margaret (Sally Ann Howes) and children Robin (Jennifer McKinney) and incontinent Ben (Danny Higham). When this peaceful voyage is rudely interrupted by a derelict ship roaming the ocean, the resulting crash sinks the party vessel, leaving Ashland, Marshall and his clan, lounge singer Jackie (Saul Rubinek), lovers Nick (Nick Mancuso) and Lori (Victoria Burgoyne), and passenger Sylvia (Kate Reid) as the lone survivors, left adrift on a lifeboat. Coming to the rescue is the ghost ship, which the survivors happily board, unaware of the danger ahead. Struggling to settle in and radio for rescue, the group is confronted with a few horrible deaths and unsettling emptiness, soon discovering evidence of a Nazi crew that's mysteriously disappeared. As nighttime falls, the nightmare awakens, with the spirit of the ship possessing Ashland, who takes over as captain of the rusted vessel, out to kill the rest of the survivors. Scrambling for safety, Marshall and the gang attempt to escape the ship's interior, only to discover the true purpose of the floating killer and its hunger for fresh blood.
Directed by Alvin Rakoff, "Death Ship" is not a subtle piece of cinema, yet there's a certain mysteriousness about the picture that's frustratingly persistent. We're dealing with an enormous German ship floating through the ocean hunting for victims, with a ghostly presence steering and maintaining speed, yet Rakoff elects to hold back on subtitling the barked Nazi orders, creating some confusion as to what is actually being communicated onboard the vessel and bewitching Ashland, who's eventually guided by these phantom commands. I suppose one needs to be up on their German to receive the full "Death Ship" experience, diluting some of the tension Rakoff is attempting to build.
Language quibbles aside, the bulk of the film is devoted to basic haunted house shenanigans, where the hapless survivors tour the innards of the craft, hoping to locate safety, yet find only horror dressed up in deceptively peaceful activities such as movie watching, candy selection (would you put a 40-year-old confection in your mouth?), and showering. As the ship begins to take its victims by tossing them overboard or slathering them with the blood of previous victims, the picture finds a properly ghoulish angle to play, with the PG-ish nature of early going giving way to an R-rated closer, ratcheting up the violence to satisfy genre purists, while unleashing Kennedy as a bulky force of doom, waltzing around the vessel in a malevolent haze, guided by a determined Nazi spirit. Of course, none of the survivors actually accept the obvious evidence of paranormal activity tap dancing right in front of them, making "Death Ship" a waiting game for someone to get it and fight back. The moment never arrives, with the majority of the dramatic experience dedicated to characters casually ignoring clear signs of danger, most showing more interest in sleep and dry clothes than the murderous appetites of their temporary floating home. It can be irritating, but I suppose that's the point. We wouldn't have much of a movie if the characters were smart.
The ship's secrets are spilled in the finale, introducing a real world uneasiness to bottom shelf junk food. By displaying images of the Holocaust to accentuate the terror of the antagonist, "Death Ship" goes from acceptably demented to mildly offensive, incorrectly assuming viewers need to be reminded of a paralyzing historical nightmare to accept the dangers waiting for the survivors. The additional dramatic weight and melodramatic acting that accompanies the revelation kills the fun factor of the picture, turning the third act into a needless slog of ghoulish Nazi details nobody asked for. And, once again, even after such a pants-wetting discovery, nobody simply jumps off the side of the ship and swims for safety. Better to battle the depths of the ocean than remain on a floating concentration camp with a poltergeist crew. Or maybe that's just me.
The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation is perhaps the best "Death Ship" is ever going to look on home video, with the forgotten picture handed a pleasing upgrade to Blu-ray with minimal hiccups. There's a fair amount of debris and scratches to contend with, but nothing that causes concern. Fine detail is acceptable for neglected ship interiors, horror make-up, and facial reactions, capturing a sense of panic and sweat, while costuming reveals fuzzy textures. Colors are adequate, remaining balanced and purposeful throughout, though early scenes with Ashland and Marshall on the cruise ship appear slightly unnatural, with hot skintones. German ship encounters offers darker hues in mud and steel, with blood red a particular standout, making a critical shower sequence pop with horror. Shadow detail tends to solidify in low-lit environments, but remains largely controlled and readable.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix works uphill to retain its original sense of tension. The front stage is a little out of whack, with the center channel showing minimal presence, often burying the dialogue when scoring and soundtrack selection surge in power, requiring a boost of volume to hear voices. Further volume riding is necessary for sound effects, which are intended to unnerve but remain persistently shrill, hurting ears during a few shock sequences. It's an uneven track that appears to be doing the best it can with iffy source elements, leaving the listening experience aggressive, tinny, and limited in scope.
Deleted Scenes (4:13, SD) expand a climatic confrontation between Ashland and Marshall, and provide a minor extension for a moment of ship chart discovery for Marshall and Nick.
"Learn What the Ship is Saying" (3:41, HD) is actually a valuable supplementary feature, with Katarina Leigh Waters (as "Frau Waters") translating most of the German dialog of the film. Turns out, some important material is explored in the foreign tongue, leaving the film's resistance to subtitling a real mystery.
"Nightmare Theater Mode" (6:20, HD) is hosted by Waters, who reads off the credits of key cast and crew, while sharing a few tidbits about the movie's release and reception. If there's more to this "Mode," Waters fails to mention it.
Before "Death Ship" grows serious, it's actually manageable escapism with a few creepy passages and committed performances, while Rakoff manages to pull off a sense of doom on a shoestring budget, adding a few stylistic touches that develop the terror. It's not a picture that's been exhaustively considered and designed, but for a low-wattage chiller with a few famous faces, "Death Ship" is entertaining, evoking an era when all a movie needed was a rusted boat and George Kennedy as a possessed Nazi to entice ticket buyers into theaters.
Scorpion Releasing is bringing director Alvin Rakoff's 1980 horror Death Ship to Blu-ray. Starring Academy Award winner George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke), as well as Richard Crenna (Rambo: First Blood), the film makes its widescreen and HD debut November 6th.
