Ghost Planet

Philip J. Cook returns to his science fiction roots with the independent film Ghost Planet. The film extensively uses computer-generated imagery to create most of its sets. While the writer-director has quite the history of making the most from little resources, over-reliance on CGI, especially on a budget, can turn off viewers. So, how does the sci-fi mystery adventure stack up?

Siblings Max (Joe Mayes), Julia (Claudia Amacher), and George (Mark Hyde) Stone form a highly specialized starship crew. Their most recent discovery sends a frenzy through the salvaging community, even though they were unable to acquire the find properly. The bigger problem is that Stones’ interstellar journey cannot be replicated due to how space travel works. Enter Trudy (Georgia Anastasia), whose enigmatic employer has figured out a way to get the three out of trouble and back to their find.

Retracing their steps is the easy part. Once back on the unknown planet, the siblings and Trudy, who joined to keep an eye on things, discover another ship has followed them. Even stranger is the presence of a girl, Naiad (Julie Kashmanian), who knows more about the technology powering all the spacecraft than the engineers and pilots. How did a second ship follow Max, Julia, and George? What does Naiad want, and how does she possess all this knowledge about alien technology and language?

“…the siblings and Trudy, who joined to keep an eye on things, discover another ship has followed them.”

Ghost Planet begins with a voice-over from Max, who introduces the characters and their woes. This is a rocky start to everything, as it seems like the film is telling and not showing audiences everything. However, as the story unfolds, the characters’ journey becomes more engaging. Once Trudy’s introduced, and the reason Max is hard-strapped to leave the world comes into play, the overexplaining stops. From here on out, the film consists of Max and his siblings navigating space, surviving whatever awaits them in this new world, and, of course, coming face to face with the titular ghosts.

The CGI is dodgy at times, specifically in street settings with various gradients to the lighting. But the spaceship and the planet look quite good, as does a mechanoid being introduced after the halfway point. Most importantly, the actors interact with the special effects very well. Whether they are fighting in front of a bar or piloting through the cosmos, the cast effectively sells whatever they need to do to make this movie universe as real as possible.

It helps that the actors are very good in their respective roles. Mayes is likable but still stern enough to buy as a pilot in over his head. Amacher is fun as the too smart for her own good sister. Hyde effectively sells the more dramatic beats, ensuring there’s something besides spectacle to keep viewers’ attention. Anastasia has a few stand-out lines and plays the android role with refreshing verve. Kashmanian is intriguing and enchanting all at once.

Ghost Planet is a fun little adventure. The CGI-created sets vary in quality at times but mostly look quite good. The actors are swell and lend a lot of gravitas to the story. The plot has some cliches, but there are enough new elements to make this an enjoyable watch. Fans of Cook’s other films, specifically Invader and the Malice franchise, will be most pleased with this production.

For more information, visit the official Ghost Planet site.