... for such a little project and, I assume, such a little budget, but the narrative is disjointed, the acting is stiff and the characters kind of annoying. Sadly, I would not recommend it.
30 Reviews
Had potential...
syldt123 October 2020
Amara should have brought the rest of the Supernatural crew with her
sarejina1 April 2021
I wanted to start by mentioning that another reviewer gave inaccurate info on what happened to the Mary Celeste. She was not run aground by her captain (if she was where did the captain and his family go?), as she was found floating by another vessel and taken to Gibralter. People are still trying to figure out what happened to those on board. There was definitely a good story to be told about researching this ship. I didn't feel like this movie accomplished that. I don't think this film qualified as a horror movie, and it seemed like the writer didn't quite know what they wanted to say...I was pleasantly surprised to see Richard Roundtree and I thought he did a good job. SInce Amara starred in this film it's too bad the Winchesters weren't investigating because they would have done a much better job and the movie would have been more interesting lol.
You might be bored out of your seat...
paul_haakonsen23 October 2020
First of all, I must say that the movie's cover/poster was actually the best part about the entire movie. Yeah, a sad thing to say, I know, but that is actually the truth.
And the movie's cover was just way too reminiscent of the 2002 movie "Ghost Ship", for better or worse. Sure, I like the cover of both movies, but they are actually two very similar covers. And the movies actually share similarities as well. So go figure.
Well, the storyline told in the 2020 movie "Haunting of the Mary Celeste" turned out to be rather mundane and boring actually. Very little of anything worthwhile watching took place throughout the course of the entire movie. Which made for a very prolonged movie, let me just tell you that. So in my opinion then writers Jerome Olivier and David Ross didn't really manage to deliver a wholesome and entertaining movie.
Richard Roundtree was actually the actor whose performance carried the movie and made it somewhat bearable to sit through the ordeal that is known as "Haunting of the Mary Celeste". It should be said that the acting performances were adequate from all people on the cast list, but it was Richard Roundtree that stood out as the most memorable performer in the movie.
For a horror movie then "Haunting of the Mary Celeste" was bland, so very, very bland. And there was absolutely nothing scary about the story whatsoever. So I can't claim to be overly impressed with what director Shana Betz managed to do with the material from the writers.
If you enjoy a proper horror movie then "Haunting of the Mary Celeste" is not the best of choices, as there are far more scary horror movies readily available.
My rating of "Haunting of the Mary Celeste" ends on a mere three out of ten stars. I wasn't impressed, nor particularly entertained. And this is definitely not a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time.
And the movie's cover was just way too reminiscent of the 2002 movie "Ghost Ship", for better or worse. Sure, I like the cover of both movies, but they are actually two very similar covers. And the movies actually share similarities as well. So go figure.
Well, the storyline told in the 2020 movie "Haunting of the Mary Celeste" turned out to be rather mundane and boring actually. Very little of anything worthwhile watching took place throughout the course of the entire movie. Which made for a very prolonged movie, let me just tell you that. So in my opinion then writers Jerome Olivier and David Ross didn't really manage to deliver a wholesome and entertaining movie.
Richard Roundtree was actually the actor whose performance carried the movie and made it somewhat bearable to sit through the ordeal that is known as "Haunting of the Mary Celeste". It should be said that the acting performances were adequate from all people on the cast list, but it was Richard Roundtree that stood out as the most memorable performer in the movie.
For a horror movie then "Haunting of the Mary Celeste" was bland, so very, very bland. And there was absolutely nothing scary about the story whatsoever. So I can't claim to be overly impressed with what director Shana Betz managed to do with the material from the writers.
If you enjoy a proper horror movie then "Haunting of the Mary Celeste" is not the best of choices, as there are far more scary horror movies readily available.
My rating of "Haunting of the Mary Celeste" ends on a mere three out of ten stars. I wasn't impressed, nor particularly entertained. And this is definitely not a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time.
a nicely atmospheric sea-going ghost story
davidm-1412 March 2021
I've been in an indie/low budget movie kick for a bit, and this one qualifies. a group of investigators goes with a doubting sea captain (a wonderful turn by the great richard roundtree) to attempt to make contact with the mary celeste and/or the "realm" in which the crew of that ship has supposedly been taken to. it's moody and claustrophobic, since it mostly takes place on a small ship at sea surrounded by fog. they do make an attempt to explain what they're doing, but it seemed like a lot of gobbledygook.
also not sure about the types of comments people are leaving for movies like this. almost every one is just "worst movie i've ever seen". how is that helpful for anyone wanting some information before committing to a film? people should be understanding how to review a film before doing it, otherwise, what's the point? you really want to see the worst movie ever made? there's quite a few. "santa claus and the ice cream bunny" comes to mind as a good one to pick, but i'll be damned if it wasn't enjoyable on a certain level.
also not sure about the types of comments people are leaving for movies like this. almost every one is just "worst movie i've ever seen". how is that helpful for anyone wanting some information before committing to a film? people should be understanding how to review a film before doing it, otherwise, what's the point? you really want to see the worst movie ever made? there's quite a few. "santa claus and the ice cream bunny" comes to mind as a good one to pick, but i'll be damned if it wasn't enjoyable on a certain level.
Kudos...
tmccull5224 October 2020
Congratulations to Shana Betts, Jerome Olivier, and David Ross. You managed to put together the most boring horror movie that I've ever seen, and if that wasn't enough, you capped this "achievement" with an idiotic ending.
Ordinarily, if I see a particularly bad horror movie, I'll take the time to write a fairly detailed review. This one isn't worth the effort. Do yourself a favor and pass on this cinematic cure for insomnia. Then again, if you're in dire need of sleep, this yawnfest might just be the cure for what ails you.
Ordinarily, if I see a particularly bad horror movie, I'll take the time to write a fairly detailed review. This one isn't worth the effort. Do yourself a favor and pass on this cinematic cure for insomnia. Then again, if you're in dire need of sleep, this yawnfest might just be the cure for what ails you.
What a waste
blade_killer3-921-16298024 October 2020
Shot pretty much in darkness throughout
cjwilkinson-8180831 October 2020
Of all the faux pas of movie directors, to make a film where you can't make out what's going on because you can't see has to be the worst. there's simply no excuse for it!
Combine this with it being pretty boring when you can follow it, you may struggle to make it to the end. About 2/3 through was the best i could do.
Combine this with it being pretty boring when you can follow it, you may struggle to make it to the end. About 2/3 through was the best i could do.
May I suggest Ghost Ship?
galuwatra22 April 2021
So close to greatness...
villa-337315 April 2022
I know this is not a success. It was almost there. The intimate setting is great. Acting is quite passable. The build of terror via the music is nice.
All of the elements are there, but it just doesn't deliver on scare.
One other thing, for me, is that it is a nice short film...I am so tired of 3 hour films!
This is fun, though..I would love to have been able to edit this....all of the pieces to the puzzle of scare are in place, some rearranging could have made this GREAT!
All of the elements are there, but it just doesn't deliver on scare.
One other thing, for me, is that it is a nice short film...I am so tired of 3 hour films!
This is fun, though..I would love to have been able to edit this....all of the pieces to the puzzle of scare are in place, some rearranging could have made this GREAT!
Love the mystery
alexb-5513718 February 2021
Don't be fooled by the negative reviews, because this is how a mystery is supposed to roll out. It's not a super hero multimillion dollar SFX movie, erase this out of your brainwashed mind once and for all, because people have a tendency to judge a movie by how much freakin explosions there are how many 2 second screen shot there is.
Just sit back relax and let the story give time to take shape and just appreciate the mystery. Now if you're like me who loves mystery movies, this story will keep you entertained throughout the movie. In addition I love antiquities and the ship that is used in this movie is so perfect for the part. All made out of wood but despite it's old age, the ship is still solid and seaworthy.
What a great cast, Emily Swallow is so gorgeous and really plays her role with perfection and maybe if you noticed she has that Jennifer Garner vibe, she's so adorable. Than there's Richard Roundtree for those who don't know him he played the leading role in Shaft. I thought he lead the movie with his great acting talent, very poised and showed self confidence that made his character even more convincing. Another one that look and voice sound like another fine actor Louis Gossett Jr.. Than there's Alice Hunter just discovered her, great actress and so beautiful. She looks so much like the gorgeous singer Kelly Rowland from the 90s very popular girls band Destiny's Child. Anyhow over all the movie is well paced and keeps you wanting more. Enjoy
A mild and atmospheric horror film.
parry_na25 February 2022
Ultimately this is an enjoyably mild and atmospheric horror film if you get past the slightly dull first half. It has the production values of a TV Movie, but is atmospherically shot with a nice line in melancholy.
The acting is convincing throughout, even during the talky scenes set in featureless cabins. A slow burner for sure, but not bad. My score is 6 out of 10.
The acting is convincing throughout, even during the talky scenes set in featureless cabins. A slow burner for sure, but not bad. My score is 6 out of 10.
Don't find this film
markthomassintek9 December 2020
REVIEW - THE HAUNTING OF THE MARY CELESTE
Ok let's start from the beginning here shall we, the real ship the Mary Celeste was run ashore as an insurance scam by its captain and was found floating in the Atlantic on 4 December 1842 with no one on board.
Since then rumours started to spread how it was found deserted at sea with no crew.
This simply is not true but this film uses this to base it's story upon.
Basically a ghost story at sea with people going missing and one of them for no reason just turning up at the end.
The problem with this film is simply the fact that it is boring, appauling even with no real story, nothing happening and simply far too slow with unbelievable people acting in unbelievable ways to events which are happening.
A very, very, very poor film and one to simply avoid at all cost!
Rating 2 out of 10
Ok let's start from the beginning here shall we, the real ship the Mary Celeste was run ashore as an insurance scam by its captain and was found floating in the Atlantic on 4 December 1842 with no one on board.
Since then rumours started to spread how it was found deserted at sea with no crew.
This simply is not true but this film uses this to base it's story upon.
Basically a ghost story at sea with people going missing and one of them for no reason just turning up at the end.
The problem with this film is simply the fact that it is boring, appauling even with no real story, nothing happening and simply far too slow with unbelievable people acting in unbelievable ways to events which are happening.
A very, very, very poor film and one to simply avoid at all cost!
Rating 2 out of 10
Must watch movie to be confused
lincyjoina9 November 2020
Slow low-budget drama that has little to offer
kuarinofu29 November 2020
The cover art that is just a rip-off of the Ghost Ship really misrepresents this film.
Haunting of the Mary Celeste (2020) is a slow low-budget drama that is just too predictable to be interesting.
All the 'horror' in this comes in a form of a couple of apparitions and some tricks with coins and magnets.
At a certain point, the ending becomes obvious and you're just waiting for it to wrap-up. The ending scene doesn't make too much sense, and overall there's not that much substance in this besides some dramatic elements which are spoiled in the first scene.
It's not hard to understand the motherly love dynamic that is going on and kind of works. But if you market this as horror, please include some actual horror.
It's not horrible, but the marketing did this film a disservice.
Haunting of the Mary Celeste (2020) is a slow low-budget drama that is just too predictable to be interesting.
All the 'horror' in this comes in a form of a couple of apparitions and some tricks with coins and magnets.
At a certain point, the ending becomes obvious and you're just waiting for it to wrap-up. The ending scene doesn't make too much sense, and overall there's not that much substance in this besides some dramatic elements which are spoiled in the first scene.
It's not hard to understand the motherly love dynamic that is going on and kind of works. But if you market this as horror, please include some actual horror.
It's not horrible, but the marketing did this film a disservice.
Music Stolen
dual_head_eagle3 November 2020
loads of filming...
ops-5253523 October 2020
In a confined space, the outdoors smokefilled and in daylight inside a safe haven of a harbour of tirnanoir somewhere out there where the celestial duties goes like a merryweather. its a film that has great ambitions, credibel acting, but none whatsoever story nor budget to hoal in the line of great success
its a little ghoststory with some physicalelements like warp hole and magnetic fields, and parapsychological features as removiung objects through thoughtpower, and voodooshamanistic feature as talking heads and whispering seagulls calling from the abyss...
its a flick where you get tired of close up shoots, and silly descicionmaking and where you , at the end thinks they got what they came for and that they deserved their cruel destiny.so in other words curiosity killed the cat, and the grumpy old man draws a heavy sigh of relief, its barely a recommend
its a little ghoststory with some physicalelements like warp hole and magnetic fields, and parapsychological features as removiung objects through thoughtpower, and voodooshamanistic feature as talking heads and whispering seagulls calling from the abyss...
its a flick where you get tired of close up shoots, and silly descicionmaking and where you , at the end thinks they got what they came for and that they deserved their cruel destiny.so in other words curiosity killed the cat, and the grumpy old man draws a heavy sigh of relief, its barely a recommend
Much better than expecting; a rare gem
martindavies-9519626 September 2021
This film is atmospheric ; well acted and well filmed ; I wasnt expecting much from this film but it's far better than a lot of bigger budgeted horror films that are out at the moment ; it rattles a long at a good pace and is never boring ; if you're anyway interested in this sort of film dont miss ; you'll be pleasantly surprised ; good cast ; especially good to see Richard Roundtree.
Sleeper Gem
mgardnerld24 October 2020
This is one of those low-budget horror films where you're not expecting much, and it manages to pull off an exciting and intriguing story. Yes, the production values and special effects are low-budget, but so are most in this genre of indie horror/ suspense film. I applaud the film makers who pulled off this big tale on what I imagine was a shoe-string budget. I loved the story it tells.
Well.... they tried
gactech13 April 2021
The crew should have abandoned this ship
bitbucketchip8 November 2021
The story of the Mary Celeste is a nautical mystery with a very plausible explanation. The ship was found adrift and abandoned in 1842. While many explanations have been offered, the most likely is the owner ordered the captain to run it aground and swim to shore. The ship later broke free and drifted away. Apparently this same owner had attempted a similar insurance scam earlier but it failed. This time it worked. The owner really wanted rid of this boat.
None of which, despite the title, has anything to do with this film. A researcher with the acting ability of a pornstar - ironically played by an actress by the name of Swallow - drags a few students out to sea to a plate-tectonic-rift-the-writers-never-paid-attention-in-science-class-mumbo-jumbo location to contact the Mary Celeste because we-never-bothered-to-figure-out-why. The team succeeds in wasting a lot of time onboard ship doing nothing of a scientific nature. They sit around and chat and muse and bribe the captain. Eventually the film budget runs out. Roll credits.
It was a mistake to call this a horror movie, because there are no horror elements. Sci-fi would have been a better characterization. The supporting cast did a decent job given they had a camera shoved in their face the entire time. Seriously, the camera operator needs to learn the concept of personal space. The lighting technician must have gotten sea sick and returned to shore, because the bulk of the film is shot in the dark for no reason related to the plot. There are no special effects. The music is auditory somnambulism.
Four stars for the supporting cast (mostly Roundtree) and for mercifully keeping the film short. Zero stars for the ending, which can only called such because of when it occurs in the film. Four stars.
None of which, despite the title, has anything to do with this film. A researcher with the acting ability of a pornstar - ironically played by an actress by the name of Swallow - drags a few students out to sea to a plate-tectonic-rift-the-writers-never-paid-attention-in-science-class-mumbo-jumbo location to contact the Mary Celeste because we-never-bothered-to-figure-out-why. The team succeeds in wasting a lot of time onboard ship doing nothing of a scientific nature. They sit around and chat and muse and bribe the captain. Eventually the film budget runs out. Roll credits.
It was a mistake to call this a horror movie, because there are no horror elements. Sci-fi would have been a better characterization. The supporting cast did a decent job given they had a camera shoved in their face the entire time. Seriously, the camera operator needs to learn the concept of personal space. The lighting technician must have gotten sea sick and returned to shore, because the bulk of the film is shot in the dark for no reason related to the plot. There are no special effects. The music is auditory somnambulism.
Four stars for the supporting cast (mostly Roundtree) and for mercifully keeping the film short. Zero stars for the ending, which can only called such because of when it occurs in the film. Four stars.
Not Really Much Of A Horror Movie
wandernn1-81-68327421 March 2021
This movie was really pretty terrible. But it wasn't crap entirely because of acting or filming. The story was bad. It's not horror. There was nothing scary about it. Really an episode of Ancient Aliens is scarier and more horrifying than this. I advise people to watch Ancient Aliens, not this. 3/10
On Par With "Us"
qormi11 March 2021
"Us" is undeniably the worst movie I have ever seen in my life. "The Haunting of the Mary Celeste" is a close second. This poor excuse for a horror movie was utterly boring and beyond stupid. It was nothing but garbage and made absolutely no sense whatsoever. The only saving grace was Richard Roundtree, who can definitely act. It is incomprehensible to me how such a stupid movie was offered to the public.
Ghost ship this isn't
takato052425 February 2021
Wow, just wholly worthless
ryanpascall12 December 2021
With a pretty good cast, this should have been atleast an middling movie. Instead we have a senseless plot, absolute lack of any sense of creepiness, scares or drama and just a lot of shouting at Nothing and people staring off screen looking confused.bseriously, there is one scene where the fabulous Richard Roundtree stands on the boat, looking to his right (off screen) while frowning and glances to his left and right continually for 2 minutes for absolutely no reason at all and scenes like this abound!
I've not felt so cheated out over an hour of my life before as this film did, wholly and completely worthless as a movie.
I've not felt so cheated out over an hour of my life before as this film did, wholly and completely worthless as a movie.
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