10 TERRIFYING Horror Movie Openings (That Led To Disappointing Movies)

This was an inevitable inclusion for this list, as Ghost Ship’s first impression is widely regarded as one of the best in all of 2000s horror.

Moviegoers are shown an extravagant party aboard a luxurious Italian ocean liner in the early 1960s, complete with all the lavish attire, music, food, and drink that would’ve been typical for the time and place. Everything’s going well until an anonymous traveller releases a thin metal cable that rapidly bisects everyone except a young girl – Katie – in viciously inventive fashion.

Admittedly, it’s outlandishly over-the-top, yet it’s also shockingly brutal and heartless, and regardless of plausibility, the mere idea of something like that happening is almost certainly enough to send shivers down your spine.

Once it moves into modern day, however, Ghost Ship becomes an absolute slog to get through.

Chiefly, it sacrifices the possibility of gnarly kills committed by grotesque spirits for having paper-thin protagonists meander around the decrepit ship while occasionally confronting poorly realised special effects. Naturally, there’s also trite romance and forced fighting amongst the crew, as well as a painfully obvious and trivial twist that steers the film into full-on comedic territory.

Ultimately, Ghost Ship aims for more drama and suspense than horror, yielding something like a thematically and artistically shallow The Shining at sea.