Ghosts of Mars (2001)

Frankly, this could have been set anywhere, but Mars in the late 22nd century is the venue for this slice of mediocre sci-fi horror. It all centres around a group of police officers who are detached to a remote mining colony to apprehend the wanted murderer "Desolation Williams" (the single-gear actor that is Ice Cube). Led by "Ballard" (Natasha Henstridge) these cops, and their target, soon discover that their location has been compromised and pretty soon they are under siege from an army of zombies with an unique (and quite well depicted) means of entering and controlling the human body. Odd to see Jason Statham with hair, but otherwise I found this to be a pretty unremarkable drama that I can't think John Carpenter would look back on particularly fondly. Henstridge is competent, but her part is so generic and the dialogue - especially with her and a lacklustre Pam Grier is banal. It looks OK, and the pace once we start picks up too, but the whole thing is really derivative and this attempt to mix the horror and sci-fi genres is too dependent on some, admittedly decent, make up effects before an ending that left me wondering if a sequel were to be in the offing. Fans of JC may get more from it, but for me it's not a film to bother watching again.