Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Ghosts of Mars 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Three previous Blu-ray editions of John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars (2001) have been reviewed on our site by Greg Maltz as well as by my current colleagues Dr. Svet Atanasov and Marty Liebman, respectively: Sony Pictures' 2009 BD-50, Powerhouse Films' 2017 limited-edition BD-50 + DVD combo with booklet (reissued here), and Mill Creek Entertainment's 2019 BD-25. To read their thoughts and analyses of the movie, plus those discs' a/v presentations and bonus features, please refer to the linked reviews.

Melanie has bad breath.

Ghosts of Mars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Scream Factory's two-disc "Collector's Edition" of Ghosts of Mars contains a slipcover featuring identical theatrical poster art as the BD case in the initial pressing. The Ultra HD disc is encoded as a BD-66 (actual disc size: 62.7 GB; feature size: 61.6 GB). The 4K transfer from the original film negative is presented in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) The standard 1080p Blu-ray gets a BD-50. The film appears in its original exhibition (and Carpenter's oft-preferred) aspect ratio of about 2.39:1.

Columbia Tri-Star's 2001 SD transfer (on the R1 "Special Edition"), which I watched in preparation for this review, was a decent offering by the studio. It delivers solid black levels and is generally free of any source-related artifacts. This is likely the master Sony used when it transferred the film to Blu-ray sixteen years ago. When Powerhouse Films released it in the UK, the disc sported a superior encode compared to Sony's US BD. Even so, the picture shows its age beginning with the first two reels. (I jotted this observation in my memory bank even before watching Scream's discs for the first time.) I noticed some fuzziness and a lack of finite detail in some of the long shots. Scream's presentations not only sport better detail but also improve the flesh tones. The Powerhouse transfer has a bit of a dark red push as you can see in Screenshot #34. (Cf. with capture #s 33, 35, & 36.)

Clarity is also substantially improved. For instance, while my frame grab (#40) from the 4K of the "Welcome to Chryse" sign may not entirely show it, the engraving of the letters is clearer to see and also more readable while watching the film (particularly on a large screen) compared to the DVD and older BD transfers. As you can see from the screen captures of the new discs, gunfire and explosions are quite bright. Highlights are not overblown.

I scrutinized the UHD transfer on a 4K monitor and couldn't pick out a single print-related artifact. The new Blu-ray is also almost equally strong but the UHD bests it in terms of overall detail. I could see even more facial detail on the left cheek of Sgt. Jericho Butler (Jason Statham). (See screenshot #s 27-28.)

The UHD boasts an average video bitrate of 82.2 Mbps for the feature and an overall bitrate of 86.5 Mbps for the whole disc. The AVC-encoded Powerhouse Films disc sports a standard video bitrate of 35.0 Mbps while Scream's 1080p disc is not too far behind with an average of 32.0 Mbps.

Screenshot #s 1-20, 24, 28, 32, 36, & 40 = Scream Factory 2025 4K Ultra HD (downscaled to 1080p)
Screenshot #s 21, 25, 29, 33, & 37 = Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment Special Edition 2001 DVD
Screenshot #s 22, 26, 30, 34, & 38 = Powerhouse Films 2017 BD-50
Screenshot #s 23, 27, 31, 35, & 39 = Scream Factory 2025 BD-50 (from 4K restoration)

Twelve scene selections accompany the 98-minute feature on both discs.

Ghosts of Mars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scream Factory has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround track and a downsampled stereo mix also encoded in DTS-HD MA. Columbia TriStar's Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (448 kbps, 48.0 kHz) sounds not only more compressed, but also muffled compared to the 5.1 tracks that have appeared since Powerhouse's 2017 release. The .LFE is quiet except for 2-3 occasions on Columbia's lossy track. Based on Greg's original review, it's highly likely that Sony did not perform any remastering of the DVD's AC-3 when it made the Dolby TrueHD track ca. 2009. It's quite apparent to my ears that the native 5.1 underwent a remastering effort for the Indicator edition eight years ago. Not only is it rangier and more balanced than the DD 5.1, but dialogue sounds louder, too. Scream's 5.1 shares a lot of similarities (notably music and f/x placement) with Powerhouse's track, but it suffers from a weaker encode. Audio on the US release is encoded at a mean bitrate of only 2673 kbps. Powerhouse's encode averages a whopping 4213 kbps. I did notice some differences between the two. For example, the Powerhouse delivers better dynamics in the higher frequencies compared to Scream's 5.1. The Surround track on the UK disc felt it reached higher pitches when played at an identical volume as the Scream. One outstanding highlight on the Scream audio is that I could hear flames really burst during explosions. My audio score for the Scream discs is 4.25/5.00.

The optional English SDH is about 98 percent accurate according to what I heard in the dialogue and sound f/x. In one instance, the track translated dialogue accurately between two characters but didn't separate their individual lines with en dashes.

Ghosts of Mars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Scream has retained most (but not all) of the extras on the DVDs and BDs. Absent is a concept art gallery featuring illustrator John Eaves's original production designs, which can be found on the Indicator releases. (Scream lists an "Image Gallery" on the back cover but I couldn't find one.) Also not included is the second part of The Guardian interview with Carpenter, which covers the auteur's career from 1984-1994. The forty-minute Q&A with Nigel Floyd at the National Film Theatre, London is also on the UK BDs. Scream has included a recent interview with a historian. For synopses of legacy extras, please consult the earlier reviews.

DISC ONE: 4K UHD

• Audio Commentary with Director John Carpenter and Actor Natasha Henstridge - recorded in August 2001, this archival commentary with Carpenter and his main star runs for nearly the full duration. This track is not as good as the one recorded for disc releases of Vampires primarily because Carpenter too often gets sidetracked from discussing Ghosts of Mars by tossing in jokes and remarking upon Henstridge's personality. (It's clear the two got to know each other during the shoot.) I appreciated when Henstridge went into her philosophy for acting, looping her scenes, and sharing anecdotes of the shoot. Late in the commentary, Carpenter begins to talk about the research process he embarked on in pre-production. I would have loved to hear more about his preparatory work much earlier in the commentary. In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary with Director John Carpenter and Actor Natasha Henstridge - recorded in August 2001, this archival commentary with Carpenter and his main star runs for nearly the full duration. This track is not as good as the one recorded for disc releases of Vampires primarily because Carpenter too often gets sidetracked from discussing Ghosts of Mars by tossing in jokes and remarking upon Henstridge's personality. (It's clear the two got to know each other during the shoot.) I appreciated when Henstridge went into her philosophy for acting, looping her scenes, and sharing anecdotes of the shoot. Late in the commentary, Carpenter begins to talk about the research process he embarked on in pre-production. I would have loved to hear more about his preparatory work much earlier in the commentary. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Assault on Outpost 13: Scoring GHOSTS OF MARS – An Interview with Film Music Historian Daniel Schweiger (9:46, 1080p) - this 2024 interview with Schweiger was conducted by Daniel Griffith of Ballyhoo Motion Pictures. The film music historian discusses Carpenter's score for Ghosts of Mars in the context of other heavy metal works written for the silver screen. Schweiger provides a very nice historical context for a variety of films that were composed in the heavy metal genre. He also talks briefly about how this score by Carpenter has a Led Zeppelin-influence to it. Cues from an isolated score (which unfortunately is not included as an alternate track for the feature on Scream's discs) are played while the scenes for which they were written are shown. In English, not subtitled.

• Red Desert Nights – Making GHOSTS OF MARS (16:59, upconverted to 1080i)

• Scoring GHOSTS OF MARS (6:23, upconverted to 1080i)

• GHOSTS OF MARS Special Effects Deconstruction (6:33, upconverted to 1080i)

• Original Theatrical Trailer (2:09, 1080p)

Ghosts of Mars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I don't agree with those who consider Ghosts of Mars a poor film and Carpenter's worst. Natasha Henstridge is very good as the lead protagonist and probably the better option to portray Lt. Melanie Ballard over Courtney Love, who was originally cast in that role. Other strong points are William Elliott's production design and the Mars sets decorated by Ronald R. Reiss. The film's main problem lies in the screenplay Carpenter co-wrote with Larry Sulkis. The way the picture is structured, as well as the mode of narration the two writers chose, undercut the pace at times and leaves it less suspenseful than it could have been. I also thought Ice Cube's character should have been introduced earlier. The writing also falters with a relative lack of exposition about Big Daddy Mars (Richard Cetrone), the Martian Warriors' ringleader. Carpenter's heavy metal score is fine but it would have been better served during the film's most tense moments with the composer performing solo on his keyboards rather than with an ensemble.

Scream Factory's 4K UHD and regular Blu-ray look the best they have looked on physical media. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 is very good but the mix doesn't sound as opened up (at least at times) as it does on Powerhouse's main audio track. Scream's new interview with Schweiger is informative. The Indicator Series release offers a couple of exclusive bonuses (including a vintage interview) so fans will probably want to own both. The movie and Scream's package are RECOMMENDED.