Is subpar John Carpenter better than no John Carpenter? 2001’s Ghosts of Mars is arguably the weakest effort from the master of horror who gave us such classics as Halloween, The Thing, Escape from New York, and The Fog; but, nearly a decade removed from his last film (2010’s The Ward), fans - myself included - are clamoring to see Carpenter return to the director’s chair. When it comes to Ghosts of Mars, does absence makes the heart grow fonder, as the old adage goes?

While I hesitate to use the word “bad,” Ghosts of Mars remains a disenchanting viewing experience. Despite working with one of the biggest budgets of his career ($28 million), Carpenter is unable to deliver much of interest. The horror and science fiction elements are minimal, largely used as a conduit for an action plot, yet the few and far between action set pieces are largely underwhelming; standard gun and hand-to-hand combat. That just leaves a lot of exposition.

It wouldn’t be so bad if the story was compelling, but it’s told in too maladroit a manner to get invested in. Set in 2176, Ghosts of Mars follows a police unit led by Lieutenant Melanie Ballard (Natasha Henstridge, Species), Commander Helena Braddock (Pam Grier, Jackie Brown), and Sargent Jericho Butler (Jason Statham, The Meg) as they transport a prisoner, Desolation Williams (Ice Cube, Anaconda), across the red planet, which is 84% terraformed with an Earth-like atmosphere for its 640,000 colonists.

The ghosts in question are a breed of airborne spirits that possess people, forcing the hosts to mutilate themselves and then others. It begins with the group of miners who unwittingly unearth them and rapidly spreads in numbers until there’s a seemingly unstoppable horde of haunted meat puppets. With special effects makeup by KNB EFX Group (Kill Bill, Scream), they look like a cross between Hellraiser’s cenobites and Mad Max 2 cyberpunks, with a leader, Big Daddy Mars (stuntman Richard Cetrone), who too closely resembles Marilyn Manson.

The film is book-ended by a courtroom hearing in which Ballard tells the story of how she’s the lone survivor of what was supposed to be a routine prisoner transfer. I suspect it was Carpenter and co-writer Larry Sulkis’s (who previously did uncredited work on Carpenter’s Village of the Damned) attempt to build intrigue with a misdirect, but it only impedes the pacing. Then, within the story Ballard tells, there’s an abundance of additional flashbacks. Rather than just experience the story as it unfolds, any time one character questions another about what has occurred, viewers are subjected to a recollection of the events.

Henstridge feels a bit miscast in the lead. The model-turned-actress excelled in Species because the role almost exclusively relied on physical expression, but she stumbles when faced with Ghost of Mars’ abundance of exposition; a challenge for any actor. The fun supporting cast bolsters her up, though. A pre-shaved head Statham is shoehorned in as a would-be love interest, but he still carries his own. Cube utilizes his arrogant, tough-guy persona along with a touch of humor. Grier, although underutilized, is a treat to watch in her militant part. Clea DuVall (The Faculty) is typecast as the stereotypical lesbian, while Joanna Cassidy (Blade Runner) pops up as a scientist.

Carpenter reteams with Gary B. Kibbe (They Live, Escape from L.A.) - his regular cinematographer for the latter part of his career - so at least the film looks good. Carpenter also composed the score, but don’t expect his traditional, atmospheric synthesizer work. A small portion of that is present, but Carpenter collaborated with heavy metal luminaries Anthrax, Buckethead, and Steve Vai to record the soundtrack. It’s an interesting experiment on its own, but the screeching guitars often sound out of place in the context of the movie.

Ghosts of Mars received a Region B Blu-ray with a few more bells and whistles from Indicator not too long ago, but Mill Creek’s new release is available for a fraction of the cost. The transfer itself looks sharp, although some slight compression is noticeable. It also features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack not available on Sony’s previous domestic release. Archival special features are ported over, including an audio commentary with Carpenter and Hendstridge, a 17-minute making-of piece, a featurette on the score, and special effects deconstructions.

Carpenter occasionally sounds like he’s being forced to record commentaries against his will, but being joined by an actor seems to bring out his chattiness (see his tracks with Kurt Russell or Jamie Lee Curtis). His commentary with Henstridge is no exception; it’s more entertaining than the film itself. They have a fun and friendly rapport with plenty of good-natured ribbing back and forth between stories from the making of the film. Henstridge even points out the film’s many flashback sequences and comments on Big Daddy’s resemblance to Marilyn Manson, which Carpenter shrugs off.

Ghosts of Mars has shades of Escape from New York, the Western conventions he explored in vampires, and hints of The Fog’s mystique and The Thing’s paranoia. Add to that an eclectic cast and then-modern production values, and it could have been another classic in the John Carpenter canon. Instead, however, it’s more lifeless than the titular ghosts. Not only does it lack the style and atmosphere that made Carpenter’s early work so effective, but it’s also overwrought with exposition, an egregious amount of flashbacks, and clunky pacing.

Ghosts of Mars is available now on Blu-ray via Mill Creek Entertainment.