Death Ship (1980)

Director: Alvin Rakoff

Starring: George Kennedy, Richard Crenna, Nick Mancuso

A mysterious ghostly freighter rams and sinks a modern day cruise ship whose survivors climb aboard the freighter and discover that it is a World War II Nazi torture vessel.

So, the film is about a demonic vessel looking for a new captain. The photography in the beginning is really sloppy, choppy, cheap and confusing. The footage of the passenger liner looks like it was filmed with an ordinary hand held cam. Intercutting between the ghostly vessel and the passenger liner was so confusing that it wasn’t clear on which ship the passengers were.

After a very cheaply made crash scene, we are left with a handful of survivors. The very demonic vessel that rammed into them come to their rescue…or does it? They discover the ship abandoned, and soon unexplained events turn their lives into a nightmare. The ship seemingly has a life of its own.

There were some really creepy moments, but also a few very weird moments. The actors tried their best with what they had to work with. Richard Crenna was good in his role, but I didn’t find George Kennedy particularly good.

This plays like a haunted house movie at sea. For most part, it was effective and entertaining. If you’re into this sort of thing, though, rather watch 2002’s ‘Ghost Ship’, which was similar but far more exciting.

Would I watch it again? No.