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Ghosts of Mars (2001): John Carpenter Runs out of Gas
Description
Ghosts of Mars lost money, and it didn't win too many critical fans when it was released.
Still, its Wikipedia page claims it "garnered a cult following."
So is the movie really that bad? After all, it's a John Carpenter movie, a guy who is infamous for releasing movies that audiences and critics don't get and then, years later, everyone (or seemingly everyone) comes around to loving.
Well, that's not the story here. You can find the film in "underrated movie" threads on Reddit, but you can also find it on the popular movie podcast How Did This Get Made.
So for this episode, I thought I would weigh in on where this polarizing movie came in for me.
I discuss the film's Native Martian subtext, Carpenter borrowing from Carpenter,and very large baby-talking villains.
In 2176, Mars is terraformed and run by a matriarchal society. When a disturbance occurs in a remote mining outpost, a police unit heads out to investigate. But what they find threatens the survival of all men and women on Mars.
Directed by John Carpenter.
Starring:
Ice Cube Natasha Henstridge Jason Statham Pam Grier Clea DuVall Joanna Cassidy
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And to read more of Will's writing or check out more podcast episodes, you can visit him at: willturntale.com