Ghosts of Mars (titled onscreen as John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars) is a 2001 American science fiction action horror film written, directed and scored by John Carpenter. It was produced by Screen Gems and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film stars Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Jason Statham, Pam Grier, Clea DuVall, and Joanna Cassidy. Set on a colonized Mars in the 22nd century, the film follows a squad of police officers and a convicted criminal who fight against the residents of a mining colony who have been possessed by the ghosts of the planet's original inhabitants. The film received mostly negative reviews and was a box office bomb, earning $14 million against a $28 million production budget. The film would be John Carpenter's last feature until his return with The Ward in 2010. The film has received a cult following since its release, with critics praising the action sequences, soundtrack and blending of genres. Given the film's debt to Western cinema, particularly the works of Howard Hawks, it has been considered by a number of critics as an example of the Weird Western subgenre. Plot Set in the second half of the 22nd century, Mars has been 84% terraformed, giving the planet an Earth-like atmosphere. Martian society has become matriarchal, centering on the city of Chryse, with smaller, far-reaching outposts connected by an expansive network of trains. In the wake of a series of mysterious 'incidents', Mars Police Force officer Lt. Melanie Ballard is called before a tribunal to give testimony following a disastrous mission to the remote mining outpost Shining Canyon to retrieve convicted felon James 'Desolation' Williams of which she is apparently the sole survivor. Through a series of flashbacks, and flashbacks within flashbacks as new perspectives are incorporated into the narrative, Ballard recounts her mission to Shining Canyon. Accompanied by commanding officer Helena Braddock, cocky sergeant Jericho Butler and rookie officers Bashira Kincaid and Michael Descanso, Ballard arrives at Shining Canyon to find the town seemingly deserted. Investigating the town's jail, Braddock discovers a trio of individuals who appear to have sealed themselves into one of the cells; among them science officer Dr. Arlene Whitlock. Ballard and Butler discover a number of disoriented miners and an escaped Desolation. The group are soon attacked by several of the miners, forcing Ballard and Desolation to band together and incapacitate them. Ballard is forced to shoot and kill one