1980: "Death Ship"

                                         Death Ship is an 1980 horror film about a group of shipwrecked castaways who come across a haunted Nazi freighter. The captain of the downed ship, played by George Kennedy, becomes possessed by the Nazi ship and terrorizes the other castaways.

                                         Death Ship is like "The Little Nazi Freighter That Almost Could". It's a movie that almost succeeds in being a pretty good haunted boat movie. It has good atmosphere, the rusted, bombed-out look of the freighter is a perfect location, and the filmmaking is not half-bad. The film gets a solid B for effort.
                                       However, it suffers from a weak script and weak acting. The premise seems to be firmly in place but the writers didn't seem to have any idea where they wanted to go with it. It felt more akin to a haunted house ride where spooky things happen but it's just cheap thrills that don't advance the story in any way. It doesn't help that George Kennedy gives an awful performance as the possessed ship's captain, looking haggard and uninterested. It culminates in a weak climax and no real payoffs.

                                  There was definitely some potential in Death Ship, but it ultimately chickens out and offers no rewards.

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