slayrrr666 "Ghost Rig" is an exceedingly frustrating and dull body-possession story.**SPOILERS**Arriving at a drilling rig, activists Tom, (Jaime Bamber) Vincent, (Jaason Simmons) Annie, (Kerry Norton) Iona, (Heather Peace) Will, (Bryan Carney) Eric, (Rory McCann) Kay, (Richard Norton) Sophie, (Juliet Diamond) and Mole, (David Rae) along with ex-worker Crawford, (Noel Fitzpatrick) prepare to stop it from being sunk into the sea to turn it into a reef. Going about their jobs, they find the supposedly-manned building abandoned and completely empty, which allows them to do their job. After a number of accidents and strange events on-board, they start to think something's wrong, and when dead bodies start turning up, they become even more nervous about what's going on. Finally realizing that the viral outbreak which caused it to become abandoned to begin with has turned them all into psychotic maniacs as it jumps from person to person, they must find a way to get out of the situation alive.The Good News: There was some good stuff to this one at times. One of the better elements is the film's location, which is quite suitable for this kind of film. It's got a perfect type of placement, with the cold concrete feel of the place looking quite spectacular and offering up a claustrophobic placement that settles in really well with several other big parts, including the exceptionally long, darkened hallways, twisting and distorted layout, completely confusing rooms and more which are just perfectly mixed with how the film builds it's scares because there's a series of creepy scenes set in a great location. These scares aren't that bad, with the film's rather fun series of encounters here from the possessed beings attacking everybody, which are some of the best parts to this one. The attack on the monitors with the hammer is absolutely spectacular and brutal, and done through the security camera is a great touch that really makes it quite fun. There's a big attack while the group is stuck inside a protective pentagram, which has a lot of rather big parts about it, from the suspense of who's who, the surprise when it's revealed who, and from the final moment of pure chaos, it makes for an overall satisfying sequence. The last plus is the finale, which has a lot to like. From the gory double murders to the outright spectacular twist that makes for some fantastic back-tracking in the plot, this one ends on a high-note. These here are what work for the film.The Bad News: There was a couple points in here that really brought this one down. One of the main factors is the fact that this one just doesn't have a fast-enough pace to sustain it's suspense-packed story. This one would definitely go over better had this one picked up the pace and threw some adrenaline into the proceedings, as this one tends to feel so much longer than it should due to the fact that the film is so dreary that just about any excitement to be pulled from this will just be sucked out completely. The sad fact is that there's plenty of potential for this one to rise above and actually get going, due to it's really fun premise, but it never capitalizes and doesn't really have that one big scene that really pushes the film over-the-edge. That is really exacerbated by the fact that this one doesn't have much of anything happening beyond the aforementioned scenes, leading this one to have just endless scene after scene of the group running around the rig simply yelling about the situation to each other, which isn't all that much fin to sit through. This is just utterly boring to go through and it makes for some really slow-going scenes, which when mixed with the overall slow-burning pace of everything makes this one such a downer that there's not much it can do about it. Also not working out right is the fact that this one manages to rip-off a quite famous scene from a classic in the blood-testing scene, which should really give it away and it ends up being quite unneeded in the film. The last flaw to this one is the fact that this one doesn't really have any answers for what it's strange accident really is. There's nothing about what it really is or how it got there, and the bit about it entering through the bites is all that's known. These here are what's wrong with this one.The Final Verdict: It's not that this is all that bad of a film, it's just filled with too many scenes that take it down, severely bringing this one down. Really only recommended to those who enjoy these kind of films or find them interesting, while those that will be turned off by the flaws should heed caution.Rated R: Graphic Language and Graphic Violence

robertconnor A group of eco-warriors occupy a disused oil rig scheduled for demolition. It's not long before murder and madness erupts...A great idea rendered unwatchable by a cast of dummies and a script seemingly written by a ten year old. Once again, the producers and director have opted for pretty or handsome faces instead of talented actors. Good actors can usually make something of bad scripts, but bad actors always fail... Worst of a bad bunch is Jaason Simmons who gives a performance of such shocking ineptitude I got the uncontrollable giggles every time he spoke, whilst other cast members are forced to repeat cheesy lines like 'I've got a really bad feeling about this' again and again. Unwatchable tosh of the worst kind.

BennyM In the realm of group-of-people-trapped-with-something-picking-them-off-one-by-one films, there has not been a lot of innovation since Alien and Evil Dead.Not surprisingly, this film does not offer much you have not seen already (at least if you are like me and watch all the thrillers, splatter and horror films you can). Direction and acting could be better, but are satisfactory in most respects within the given limits.Surprisingly however, this one hits the nail on the head in every aspect of the story.The snags in this kind of story has always been these three questions: Why are they in the monster's lair, why don't they leave, and why do they split up? When these questions are not answered to my satisfaction, my suspension of disbelief fails. Then it is obviously just a question of producing a popcorn movie for 15-year-olds to snigger at and forget immediately.But here, the basic premise works, and each question is answered logically: the ten protagonists are eco-activists who board an oil rig to stop it from being toppled. Farfetched as this may sound, it could happen, and I have no doubt Greenpeace activists entertained a similar thought with Brent Spar in those days. Since they need to find the crew of the rig (but expect no problems beyond being told to bugger off), they search the place, and when they find nobody there, they are in a fix, as their very presence is what prevents the oil company from sinking the rig. So they have to stay. (The "weather closing in" excuse preventing the helicopter from returning is ridiculous though, as all the exterior shots of the rig show calm weather with barely any wind at all).In addition to this initial premise, the rest of the story (and the twist-in-the-tale in particular) holds water in a way I had not expected. A rare sight these days, when even Stephen King expects us to believe that local police suspecting a divorced husband of murdering his ex-wife and her lover will not even dig up his back yard fifteen feet from the house (not to mention the fact that as he lived in another state, it would become an FBI case with all the additional resources this would entail).

Tsingiska A small group of environmental activists land on and take over an oil rig that seems to have been left vacant. No crew members can be found, but odd things start to happen nonetheless. Sound familiar? It should, as the same formula has been used in horror movies before, over and over. Isolation, internal conflicts between crew members...'Alien' turned it into a franchise, and 'Ghost Ship' wasn't half bad either. This low-budget Brit flick however is no 'Alien'.You can tell it's director Julian Kean's first time on the wheel of a project of this magnitude. The camera work is simple, minimal. Short clips of the crew keeping a video journal try to establish a documentary-like feel, adding a sense of realism...or trying to, anyway. The acting is for the most part actually surprisingly good. However, where the movie is really lacking, is the writing. There's no credible dialogue, and while the movie takes forever to really get going, there isn't enough character development or emphasis on any one event to actually provide the audience with an interest in what is happening. Nothing happens at first, then a lot happens at once, and you are left wondering what the point was.There's serious effort here, especially from the cast, but the material they are working with just doesn't amount to much.