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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Voyage of unrealized potential, September 13, 2003
There's just something about ghost ship movies that I cannot resist, so when I spotted Lost Voyage, I had to watch it. The fact that the movie is a straight-to-video/DVD release I had never heard of before made no difference. Judd Nelson was a familiar name from the 1980s, and the presence of Lance Henriksen from TV's Millennium series seemed to bode well. It's quite an interesting movie, not necessarily in a good way. There are a few moments of decent suspense, and the acting really isn't all that bad, yet the movie seemed to pose questions it never intended to answer, and the special effects are just plain weird. As the movie opens, we see the beginning and ignominious end of the final voyage of the cruise ship Corona Queen in 1972; somewhere in the vicinity of the Bermuda Triangle, the ship disappeared into an unexplained atmospheric phenomenon. No sign of the ship was ever found until now. After more than twenty-five years, the ship has suddenly been spotted by a fishing vessel off the coast of Bermuda. This news is particularly interesting for Aaron Brown (Judd Nelson), whose father and step-mother were among the passengers of the ill-fated cruise. He has obsessively studied the Bermuda Triangle ever since, and now he finds himself one of the first human beings to set foot on the mysterious ship in over a quarter of a century. With him are Dana Elway (Janet Gunn), the star of a paranormal based news show, and her crew, alongside a trio of salvage men led by David Shaw (Henriksen). They discover the ship to be in remarkably good condition, but no sign of crew or passengers is to be found. As you might expect, bad things start happening that try to be creepy but never really are, and the dwindling number of individuals on board find themselves in danger of heading back into whatever claimed the ship way back in 1972. The visions that some of the characters see on board the ship supposedly represent their biggest fears or most disturbing memories, but they don't really play that well. We are treated to numerous flashbacks and mysterious new visitations by Aaron's long-dead father, but none of these personal stories seems at all important in the end. I do have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of Scarlet Chorvat as the younger reporter scheming to take Dana Elway's job, and her storyline actually seemed to make a little bit of sense. The really weird thing about Lost Voyage, though, is its special effects. Things aren't really that bad until the closing scenes of the movie, when CGI animation suddenly runs amuck. Many of the climactic scenes look like the kinds of animation you would see in a computer or gaming console game; in a game, they would be impressive, but in a movie they are quite disappointingly fake; I can't recall ever seeing another movie wherein the animation suddenly took on such a peculiar look. The real source of weakness in the movie, though, is the plot. Too many story elements are introduced for no apparent reason, almost nothing about the fate of the ghost liner is revealed, and the end of the movie is quite disappointing. To make matters worse, the two epilogue sequences make very little sense to me and only serve to reinforce the failed opportunities that seem to define Lost Voyage. Despite all of these problems, though, I cannot say I actually hated the film. It had enough potential to keep me interested, but a lot of that potential was wasted in the end.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unfairly rediculed ^^, October 11, 2002
As far as the 'B-horror' genre goes, it's *extremely* difficult to get an edge-ways past the blockbuster hits. Lost Voyage is a perfect example. In many ways it plays out a lot like a 'season primiere' of an X-Files episode or something of that nature. It has the feel of a TV movie, but overall the acting, set design, cinematography, and *especially* sound were very well created and very much attributed to a great, and spooky, envioronment. I think people spend far too much time during the movie looking for things they can insult that they miss what was going on, and it's their loss in this case. It has an unsettling level of eerieness to it, similar to House on Haunted Hill (N. Castle). Many scenes left you silent and pondering...what...the...heck...was that? If it wasn't for the excellent sound, it probably would've lost that feel. CGIs are used quite frequently, but they aren't the dollar-and-dime calibre work you see on made-for-TV movies. They are quite professional looking and very believable -- again, if you just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. All-and-all, excellent movie for anyone who enjoys 'isolation suspense' (as I very much do).
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Almost An Intelligent Thriller, November 29, 2005
"Lost Voyage," starring Judd Nelson and Lance Henriksen, is a very well done B-movie. It isn't quite as good as "Ghostship," which is similar since both are about a cruise ship that vanishes and then pops up a few years later with a few "stranded" passengers. Both films feature a shady salvage crew as well. That's about where the comparisons stop. "Lost Voyage" actually manages to be very enjoyable for the bulk of its duration. However, the ending, like so many before me have stated, is just a little bit goofy and off-center.
Nelson plays a likeable guy who is obsessed with the Bermuda Triangle and the "Corona Queen," the ship that suddenly pops up out of nowhere and carried his parents to their demise back in 1972. He uses plenty of neat little gadgets to track paranormal activity on the ship in hopes of finding out more about his parents' deaths and to assist a news team hoping to bank in on the spooky cruise ship. Lance Henriksen, forever a staple of excellent B-cinema, turns in a wonderful performance as the captain of the salvage crew hoping to make a fast and fat buck off of the wreck. The rest of the cast is comprised of unknowns who all manage to turn in pretty good performances.
Things start to go bump in the night aboard the wreck, and the crew comes face-to-face with an abundance of creepy images and nightmarish visions that are intended to scare the viewer but don't quite make the cut. As the body count rises, the survivors decide to get off of the ship as quick as they can. This results in more deaths and an ending that just falls terribly flat.
The special effects are hokey at times, especially in the ending, but they hold up well thanks to a decently written script with a reasonable plot.
If you enjoyed "Ghost Ship," you might want to give this flick a try. To be honest, though, I'd just wait until this comes on the SciFi channel before I'd buy it. It's worthy of a rental. After that, the buying is up to you.
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