The planet Mars has always been a mysterious place but because of its closeness to the earth and highest likelihood to have once been habitable to a race similar to our own, people like to conjecture about Martians or unseen forces on the planet. The look of Mars, with its giant, dry valleys, and its terrifying volcanoes and craters is fun for directors to recreate in cinema, which is probably one of the reasons why there are so many films about it. Here is a list of a few notable films about Mars many of which involve being stranded on the planet, not a poker chip set or rescue ship in sight.
Ghosts of Mars
The once great John Carpenter directed this pretty awful film that borrows too heavily from the “Pitch Black” series and nameless other science fiction/horror films. Ice Cube stars as the Mars criminal James “Desolation” Williams who is awaiting transport to a more secure jail. They find that the location of the jail is a desolate wasteland, and has been haunted and ruined by the ghosts of recently undug spirits from the planet’s long lost warrior race. It’s a ham-fisted and silly plot that isn’t helped by poor acting from Ice Cube, Jason Statham and the usually great Pam Grier.
Stranded: Naufragos
Starring the always interesting and controversial director and actor Vincent Gallo as well as too-pretty-to-be-hidden-inside-a-space-suit Maria de Medeiros, “Stranded: Naufragos” is an interesting entry into the stranded in space genre. New comer director and actor Maria Lidon tries hard to make the film less of a horror film than a psychological look into the minds of the stranded survivors as they await what is sure to be their eventual, slow death. A rescue ship is due in 26 months but there isn’t enough oxygen or food to survive that long. There is a silly alien “reveal” n ear the end that doesn’t fit with the film and really the only reason to see this is for the small cameo the late Johnny Ramone makes as a crew member who makes it home.
Alan McGee is a freelance writer from MN.
