13 John Carpenter movies ranked from worst to best

12. Ghosts of Mars (2001)

One thing John Carpenter’s Ghost of Mars had going for it was its originality. As bizarre and ridiculous as the plot sounded there was nothing like it before.

Influenced by Western cinema and blending genres throughout its course, Ghosts of Mars takes us to the 22nd century where Mars has been almost turned into a second Earth with people able to live and form a society. The plot focuses on a group of officers who are tasked to go against residents of a colony who have been possessed by the ghosts of Mars’ original inhabitants, hence the film’s title.

The film stars Ice Cube, Natasha Henstridge, Jason Statham, Pam Grier, Clea DuVall, and Joanna Cassidy and was written by John Carpenter himself alongside Larry Sulkis. Some of the flaws of the film were the use of flashback sequences that caused confusion more than anything, weak acting paired with poor dialogue, and a more campy tone than one would expect from a film of this genre.

Not to say the film didn’t have its moments with some memorable sequences and action. Ghosts of Mars definitely falls to Carpenter’s weakest films. It was ambitious but didn’t quite hit the mark with moviegoers and critics.