Customer Reviews
Death ship delivers 1980's schlock horror thrills ! - By: Mr. Ae Rayner, 24 Jul 2008 
I had never seen Death Ship until it came out on DVD but curiosity plus affection for 1980's horror movies compelled me to give it a spin! Basicallly the story is of a smalll group of survivors whose cruise ship is rammed by a malevolent old vessel & although they are initiallly relieved to have survived they soon discover the danger is not over: there doesn't seem to be anyone alive on board. It turns out that this ship was once crewed by Nazi's & carries their ghosts with it supposedly searching for victims. Well, that's a bit simplistic but what follows is 1980's fun - the anti social Captain whose character has been established in the opening scenes becomes demonicallly possessed (incidentallly he's the only one to become possessed)& attempts to prevent anyone leaving the ship : the first one to die is played by Saul Rubinek ( he appeared years later in the TV series `Frasier' but was honing his obnoxious persona in Death ship & I'm sure audiences at the time cheered when he met his Maker) - there's a homage to Hitchcock in a blood in the shower scene (no knife involved) & the poor victim's naked blood covered corpse gets thrown into the ocean by that accursed Captain! Next for the high jump is Nick Mancuso who has an unpleasant encounter with a bunch of skeletons whilst trapped in a gigantic fish net !When the Captain finallly gets what coming to him it must have prompted more cheers from 1980's cinema audiences! The surviving family (Mum, Dad & 2 kids) eventuallly make it off the ship but is this the last we'll see of the haunted ship? I won't spoil it by giving away the ending! Viewers may have to fill in some of the narrative gaps - for example, are we to assume that this ghost / death ship has been cruising around crewless since World War 2 & is the fact that the only one to become possessed is the old misery of a Captain from the cruise liner who may have been a Nazi in a previous life? Still, this is a horror film & one should possibly invoke the tag line of "it's only a movie"!
The DVD kicks off with a tantalizing montage of other Nucleus films releases but now to the Special Features - in depth interviews with director Alvin Rakoff, actors George Kennedy & Nick Mancuso & a real bonus is the contribution of the legendary Jack Hill - yes, the man who gave you Pam Grier's finest hour as Foxy Brown ! You can also read pages from the original script which underwent several title changes & there are even deleted scenes included in the extras! It seems that the producers acquired an old ship which was due to be scrapped & you can almost smell it -they must have saved a bundle by filming interiors on the ship rather than building studio sets!
A great evening's entertainment & highly recommended to schlock fans (that'd be me!)
Death Ship at last! - By: P. Smith, 21 Feb 2008 
After seeing Ghost Ship I reviewed it & mentioned this 80's cult classic, saying I doubted this would ever be released on DVD. I was wrong & pleased to be so! I, like others who remembered it, had sought the VHS second-hand but I was delighted when this DVD version was released. Yes the low budget is much more apparent in today's point of view but I still feel, like another reviewer, that despite this there is a very good movie in there. For me it is still a classic & is a wonderful example of the 80's horror film. The idea behind the story is so clever but sadly the final film doesn't quite live up to it even though I could enjoy the film without taking too much notice of it's shortcomings! Personallly I would recommend this movie but then I like it and, like Death Line, it is a classic of it's time.
Not as good as I was lead to believe!! - By: Stephen P. Foley, 09 Sep 2007 
Yes, I'm a sucker for a good horror yarn especiallly if it's one I missed the first time round, & the cover for this dvd drew me in like a moth to a flame. Sadly, this moth got burnt. Though I reallly can't fault the actors in this low-budget affair, I have to say the story begins to falll apart after 6 minutes of boarding the ghost ship. The shower scene just seems shoe-horned in so that we can see a pretty naked body covered in blood, & George Kennedy's descent into madness comes across as: "we can't show you ghosts due to the budget so we'll have one of the survivors become the bogeyman instead."
What's reallly sad is that there's a good horror film in here trying to get out, & one can only speculate on what might of been if the studio had pumped more money into its development rather than restricting it. I'm afraid what we get is an 80's B-movie that has a medicum of tension that soon evaporates into a bottom shelf dud. If you're a fan of good horror you won't find much here that will make you think it's money well spent, & I should know as I wasted money on it!
sail into terror - By: jack firestick, 11 Jul 2007 another video rental favourite from the 80s "death ship" .why has it taken so long to be rleased on dvd? its a gem of a film !a bit like
"the car" in the water,you see things move on the ship & sound effects but
you never actuallly see any ghosts! its obviously low budget but very effective mild horror a ww11 freighter ploughs into a cruise ship &the survivors board the ghostly vessel. the captain is possesed by the german
captain of this ship & tries to kill alll on board .lots of scares along the way including the notorious "bloody shower scene "cut for years.
plenty of extras ,go on enjoy it !
The Death Ship arrives on worthwhile disc - By: A. Hunting, 26 Mar 2007 Having picked up a second hand copy of the VHS some years back, I have been eager for the film to be released on DVD, & now it has arrived I am impressed.
Nearly two decades previous to the copycat 'Ghost Ship' (compare the cover art for the two films & you'll spot the similarities straight away!) the film still stands up as an unnerving atmospheric chiller, with weird camera angles, zoom shots of the empty ship & an atmosphere of impending doom throughout. The gore is quite tame when compared to many modern horrors, but inventive & original for the 1980's.
The plot is pretty basic.The survivors of a sunken cruise liner board the 'Death Ship' desperate for sanctuary, what they get of course, is another thing altogether, & let's just say not many make it out alive.
The dark, dirty waters surrounding the ship, & the empty, long corridors of the vessel give the film an instant 'grubby' feel, you know from the outset something is not quite right, it oozes atmosphere from the start.
The DVD itself is exceptional, not the sort of cult film you'd expect to get the full extras treatment, but it does. Deleted scenes, commentary & 45 minute documentary tell you much more than you'll ever need to know about the film, coupled with three theatrical trailers & previews for other titles.
Picture quality is a vast improvement on the VHS version. The sleeve boasts a high bit rate for exceptional picture quality, which is perhaps a slight exaggeration. Occasional print damage & grain is evident, but considering this was sourced from the only surviving 35mm film print (as the original negatives are lost) it is perfectly acceptable, & certainly better than most low-budget cult horrors that get released these days on obscure DVD labels.
Overalll, if you are a fan of the film this is a welcome release after the lack of Video/TV showings over the years, with enough extras to ensure satisfaction.
