History Film / GhostsOfMars

* Dwindling Party: [[spoiler: While Braddock and Descanso are axed off by the miners, Ballard is solely responsible for unintentionally causing the deaths of the rest of her teammates]]

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: Braddock is the first person to die in the movie.

* FlashbackWithinAFlashback: The movie opens with the lone survivor of a mission to transport a dangerous prisoner from a mining colony being found by Mars authorities, then she tells what happened to the government council in flashback. During the mission, after splitting up to investigate, one of her comrades suddenly shows up with three survivors from the colony, and he explains how he found them in another flashback. When he asks them what happened to the colony, this triggers ''another'' flashback where they explain how they inadvertently dug up the Martian ghosts.

* {{Badass}}: "Desolation" Williams.

It's 2176 and UsefulNotes/{{Mars}} has been [[{{Terraform}} terraformed]] to have a breathable atmosphere by some [[LadyLand matriarchal]] mining corporation. A crack-squad of SpacePolice consisting of Melanie Ballard (Creator/NatashaHenstridge), Jericho Butler (Creator/JasonStatham), Bashira Kincaid (Clea Duvall) and Helena Braddock (Creator/PamGrier) is sent to reallocate notorious criminal James "Desolation" Williams (Music/IceCube), only to discover that half the colony has been [[DemonicPossession possessed]] by the spirits of the alien race that used to inhabit Mars [[SealedEvilInACan which were released via a scientific excavation]], causing them to transform into a clan of sadomasochistic self-mutilating punk savages that look as if they're auditioning as extras for ''TheRoadWarrior'' and which murdered the other half. The rest of the movie is spent fighting them off.

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: A triple-header. Braddock is black, a woman ''and'' a lesbian.

It's 2176 and UsefulNotes/{{Mars}} has been [[{{Terraform}} terraformed]] to have a breathable atmosphere by some [[LadyLand matriarchal]] mining corporation. A crack-squad of SpacePolice consisting of Melanie Ballard (NatashaHenstridge), Jericho Butler (Creator/JasonStatham), Bashira Kincaid (Clea Duvall) and Helena Braddock (Creator/PamGrier) is sent to reallocate notorious criminal James "Desolation" Williams (Music/IceCube), only to discover that half the colony has been [[DemonicPossession possessed]] by the spirits of the alien race that used to inhabit Mars [[SealedEvilInACan which were released via a scientific excavation]], causing them to transform into a clan of sadomasochistic self-mutilating punk savages that look as if they're auditioning as extras for ''TheRoadWarrior'' and which murdered the other half. The rest of the movie is spent fighting them off.

'''''Ghosts of Mars''''' is a 2001 sci-fi/action/horror film directed by Creator/JohnCarpenter.

* OldShame: Inverted by being relatively quite recent. ''Ghosts of Mars'' is widely regarded as John Carpenter's worst movie and it would be the last one he made for almost ten years. Ice Cube also disliked the film as well.

'''''Ghosts of Mars''''' is a 2001 sci-fi/action/horror film directed by JohnCarpenter.

* SkewedPriorities: The team is trapped in a ghost town filled with AxCrazy possessed humans and, for the moment, they're reasonably well-fortified in the local police station. So naturally, Jericho decides that now is as good a time as any to see if he can seduce Melanie (if one could charitably call it seduction) by leading her to a closet where they won't be interrupted.

It's 2176 and [[TheRedPlanet Mars]] has been [[{{Terraform}} terraformed]] to have a breathable atmosphere by some [[LadyLand matriarchal]] mining corporation. A crack-squad of SpacePolice consisting of Melanie Ballard (NatashaHenstridge), Jericho Butler (Creator/JasonStatham), Bashira Kincaid (Clea Duvall) and Helena Braddock (Creator/PamGrier) is sent to reallocate notorious criminal James "Desolation" Williams (Music/IceCube), only to discover that half the colony has been [[DemonicPossession possessed]] by the spirits of the alien race that used to inhabit Mars [[SealedEvilInACan which were released via a scientific excavation]], causing them to transform into a clan of sadomasochistic self-mutilating punk savages that look as if they're auditioning as extras for ''TheRoadWarrior'' and which murdered the other half. The rest of the movie is spent fighting them off.

* TheRedPlanet: It's right in the title.

* ForegoneConclusion: The beginning of the movie shows the train arriving back at the capital [[spoiler: and Melanie is the only passenger onboard, foreshadowing that she's the only perceived survivor of the mission.]]

* {{Fingore}]: Dos amputates his own thumb while trying to make a food can grenade. That'll teach him to do drugs and precision work at the same time. Desolation laughs at him for being a dumbass.

* InvincibleVillain: The titular ghosts are just that - intangible ghosts who [[DemonicPossession possess humans]] to interact with the world. The spirits can't be killed by any known means (they even tried a [[NukeEm nuclear detonation]], which did nothing), which means that if their host is destroyed [[BodySurf they'll just move on to the next body]]. The movie dances around this issue by setting up the all-out battle to occur after the story's events, but it's impossible to maintain any hope for the surviving characters because victory is ultimately impossible. Then again, Melanie shows us that getting the entire planet high as balls might do the trick. There's also a certain percent of the population that's naturally immune, so attrition might do they trick.

* NighInvulnerability: The Martian aliens are body-hopping spirits. Their only real weakness is that their hosts can be destroyed, stopping them at least temporarily, and some people can fight off their body being taken over.

* NukeEm: The heroes resolve to dispatch of the punk savages by blowing up the local nuclear power plant.

* OldShame: Inverted by being relatively quite recent. Ghosts of Mars is widely regarded as John Carpenter's worst movie and it would be the last one he made for almost ten years. Ice Cube also disliked the film as well.

* OurZombiesAreDifferent: Living humans possessed by red gas that causes them to file their teeth to points, ritually scar themselves and kill any normal humans they can get their hands on.
* [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Guys]]: From Melanie's hallucination; look's as if the extinct aliens were this.

* OldShame: Inverted by being relatively quite recent. Ghosts of Mars is widely regarded as John Carpenter's worst movie and it would be the last one he made for almost ten years.

* DrugsAreBad: Subverted; the fact that she's taking [[FantasticDrug "clear"]] (and was given a dose immediately after being infected) allows Mel to fight off the alien spirit possessing her.

* InvincibleVillain: The titular ghosts are just that - intangible ghosts, who [[DemonicPossession possess humans]] to interact with them. The spirits can't be killed by any known means (they even tried a [[NukeEm nuclear detonation]], which did nothing), which means that if their host is destroyed [[BodySurf they'll just move on to the next body]]. The movie dances around this issue by setting up the all-out battle to occur after the story's events, but it's impossible to maintain any hope for the surviving characters because victory is ultimately impossible. Then again, Melanie shows us that getting the entire planet high as balls might do the trick.

* {{Matriarchy}}: Specifically of the "Sexy Matriarchy" variant, which describes the matriarchial society of human colonists in the movie pretty well. While women hold the majority of power, it's mostly a [[HellBentForLeather leather-clad]] FetishFuelFuture with dominant lesbian leader figures, and women sleeping their way to the top by getting it on with their superiors is seen as expected. The men are still machos though.

* UnreliableVoiceover: Melanie isn't entirely honest in her recollection of events, understandably so since she's a drug addict and at an inquest concerning the fact that she failed to do her job properly. Most of what she says is true but she lied about being asleep when [[spoiler: Desolation Williams made his escape]].

* DownerEnding: Though it's played in a lighthearted way, the end is pretty bleak [[FridgeHorror if you think about it]]: [[spoiler: the wave of possessions has reached the capitol city of Chryse and the police are called up to fight them]]. In all the excitement of going to war, everyone seems to have forgotten that there's no effective way of fighting the ghosts or even slowing them down for long.
* DrugsAreBad: Subverted; the fact that she's taking [[FantasticDrug "clear"]] allows Mel to fight off the alien spirit possessing her.

* InvincibleVillain: The titular ghosts are just that - intangible ghosts, who [[DemonicPossession possess humans]] to interact with them. The spirits can't be killed by any known means (they even tried a [[NukeEm nuclear detonation]], which did nothing), which means that if their host is destroyed [[BodySurf they'll just move on to the next body]]. The movie dances around this issue by setting up the all-out battle to occur after the story's events, but it's impossible to maintain any hope for the surviving characters because victory is ultimately impossible.

--> '''Melanie''': [When Desolation is pointing a shotgun at her] "Kill me!"
--> '''Desolation Williams:''' [When Melanie is pointing a gun at him] "What you gonna do? Fucking shoot me."

* ScaryBlackMan: James'Desolation' Williams played by Ice Cube,also his brother Uno.

* UnreliableNarrator: It's worth remembering that the events of the movie are being related by a drug addict at an inquest concerning the fact that she failed to do her job properly. Most of what she says is true but she lied about being asleep when [[spoiler: Desolation Williams made his escape]].

* ScaryBlackMan: James'Desolation' Williams played by Ice Cube,also his brother Uno.

It's 2176 and [[TheRedPlanet Mars]] has been [[{{Terraform}} terraformed]] to have a breathable atmosphere by some [[LadyLand matriarchal]] mining corporation. A crack-squad of SpacePolice consisting of Melanie Ballard (NatashaHenstridge), Jericho Butler (JasonStatham), Bashira Kincaid (Clea Duvall) and Helena Braddock (PamGrier) is sent to reallocate notorious criminal James "Desolation" Williams (IceCube), only to discover that half the colony has been [[DemonicPossession possessed]] by the spirits of the alien race that used to inhabit Mars [[SealedEvilInACan which were released via a scientific excavation]], causing them to transform into a clan of sadomasochistic self-mutilating punk savages that look as if they're auditioning as extras for ''TheRoadWarrior'' and which murdered the other half. The rest of the movie is spent fighting them off.

* NighInvulnerability: Fourth variation for the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil evil aliens]].