NAZI DAWN

VE HAFF VAYS OF SPOILING YOUR MOOFFIE

Remember Death Ship, in which a bunch of fools led by George Kennedy climb on board a spectral Nazi torture vessel and find themselves picked off by Nazi ghosts or something? Well, it's kind of like that. Or Ghost Ship - not the original charming and quaint little British B-picture from 1952 (in which a terribly nice Home Counties couple buy an old tub only to find it's haunted by the previously murdered owner) but the unrelated Gabriel Byrne movie from 2002? Well, this is kind of like that as well. Though in feel it's actually got more in common with those DTV quickies like Ghost Rig 2: The Legend Of The Sea Ghost that don't even get to clutter up Blockbusters but fill up those multipack bargain box sets you get off eBay: flatly done, dull to look at, some gore, and a completely ridiculous plot.

Nazi Dawn takes place on the USS Nimitz, a previously decommissioned ship dragged back into service in the War On Terror as a floating torture ship. When almost the entire crew are mysteriously slaughtered, a black ops team are helicoptered in, led by Lance Henriksen, ostensibly to find the terror suspect. But also in the team are a couple of paranormal investigators tracking down something else that's haunted the Nimitz since 1945, and in the right hands could lead to the ultimate weapon. Unfortunately, it's loose and killing off these newcomers, while the ship has only a few hours before drifting into Iran's territorial waters....

Quite apart from the absolute silliness of the plotline - did no-one on the team ever wonder what these two paranormalists were doing there, especially as one is the obligatory (and sole) hot chick with a permanently bared midriff? - what sinks the film below the waterline is the photography. It's one of the most sparingly lit movies in years and I refuse to believe the USS Nimitz saw years of active service with so few interior lights on. They've got power, the generators are working, so why can't we see anything? It's a miracle nobody tumbles down the stairs or trips headlong over one of the numerous corpses littering the decks - nobody can see what the hell is going on. Really, it's a dumb film, badly shot and, despite having plenty of blood and grue (mostly post mortem), and the always watchable Henriksen, it's sadly a bit of a dud.

**

It's available: