Two decades later, the Ghost Ship opening scene proves it’s still one of the most gruesome in horror

Ghost Ship was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on October 25, 2002. The supernatural horror flick is helmed by Steve Beck with a screenplay from John Pogue and Mark Hanlon. Here's the official synopsis as mentioned on IMDb:

A salvage crew discovers a long-lost 1962 passenger ship floating lifeless in a remote region of the Bering Sea, and soon notices that its long-dead inhabitants may still be on board.

It's been more than two decades since the film dropped, but its gruesome opening scene is still fresh in my mind. So let me dissect it further and tell you why I love the film's opening scene.

The opening scene from Ghost Ship is still the most gruesome I have ever seen

Ghost Ship has one of the most gruesome opening four minutes of any film. Even after so many years have passed since I first saw it, the memory of those images is stuck in my brain. The first few moments of the scene trick you into feeling comfortable. It's set on a luxury Italian ocean liner in 1962 that is full of rich passengers. People are dancing on the deck while a singer is singing in the corner.

The ship's captain offers to dance with a young lady named Katie, and she obliges. That's where the makers pull the rug under your feet as a wire pierces through the ship. This literally slices every human being into two pieces. All this, mind you, happens in roughly the first four minutes of Ghost Ship.

Now, imagine a ten-year-old me watching all of this. Either you will be traumatized for life, or you'll become a bigger fan of horror. The latter happened to me, and that's why I'm writing about the opening even after so many moons have passed. The makers use all the tools at their disposal to set up an opening scene that touches all chords. First, they trick the viewers into feeling a sense of comfort. Slow music, a soothing singing voice, and a visual that feels warm.

All of this is butchered when people die in a split second. That too in the most gruesome way possible. I can't imagine any other horror film that has such a shocking and powerful opening scene. The little girl that I mentioned above, yeah, she survives. Thanks to her short height, the wire goes right above her and beheads the captain and her dance partner.

One needs imagination and creativity on another level to come up with such a bizarre scene. It's also acted well and shot nicely. Despite its brutal nature, the film doesn't feel like torture p*rn. That's the beauty of Ghost Ship.

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