User Reviews

The film concerns about a group of friends (Luke Perry , Dan Cortese, David Hewlett) undergoing their annual journey , they go fishing . Luke Perry also brings his fiancée , Polly Shannon . They're suffering money problems and hire an old yacht from Dorian Harewood and Olivia Dábo . The small boat crew enter into a thick flog and after encountering themselves the HMS Queen of Scots , a passenger luxury liner , disappeared in 1939 at a remote region of the Bermudas triangle ; nowadays , it is floating drift . The mysterious vessel is lost at sea for more than 50 years . But one time aboard the cavernous , eerie ship , the disconcerting group encounters that the decaying Oceaner liner is anything but deserted . When a series of bizarre occurrences happen and the crew becomes trapped inside the luxury cruise , they soon learn it is inhabited by the haunting previous crew .

This frightening picture contains scary suspense , terror , horrifying tension and being quite entertaining . The deserted ship is portrayed as a complete riddle with screams and grisly aspect . The movie paid attention to building up a terrifying atmosphere instead of stabbing and violent killing spree . The action takes place into a rusty ship wreck , though it is externally made by computer generator , as usual . The plot isn't original , but being gradually revealed with nutty enchantment , a ¨The shinning (Stanley Kubrick)¨ style , and it attracts viewer's attention . The picture is starred by usual television actors , giving passable performances : Luke Perry (Beverly Hills) , Dan Cortese (Melrose Place) , David Hewlett (Stargate Atlantis) , Polly Shannon (Femme Nikita) , Olivia DÁbo (Wonderful years) and Dorian Harewood (China beach) . If you're enthusiast of the mystery tales and B-films , so you'll encounter this picture to be agreeable . If your interest lies on a more cerebral terror movie , then I highly recommend you skip this one . This TV movie was rightly directed by Lewis Teague ; during the 8os , he was a successful director (Jewel of Nile , Cujo , Alligator), but , nowadays , he only makes television series (Nash Bridges , Dukes of Hazzard : the reunion , OP center). The high box-office ¨Ghost Ship¨(2002 , by Steve Beck with Gabriel Byrne and Julianna Margules) rips off images and scenes from this television movie . The film is recommended for all horror lovers which will find several nice eerie shots, though not very logical , but still their appetite for gruesome scenes will be satisfied.

Spoilers herein.

'The Shining' was a truly risky idea: make the hotel an actual character, in fact the primary character containing and directing all the others. So in standard Kubrick fashion, there was a movie within a movie, the inner movie being that written and directed by the hotel.

This pale copy misses that basic core. Instead it assumes that you can build a movie around two women with nice shapes and funny faces.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

This movie isn't the greatest movie ever made but I definitely enjoyed watching it. It moved quickly and before I knew it, it was over. The storyline is about three men who go on an annual trip and this time they go fishing -- and end up in the Bermuda Triangle. Greed takes over Stu and he kills the Captain and his girlfriend. I think the end seemed a little rushed... and it made a bad lasting taste of the movie (There are many "chase scenes" in movies, but when a luxury liner starts chasing two people in a lifeboat -- come on!). But all in all, it was just plain fun!

There are very few ghost ship movies out there today that are worth two rats poo's. If you like movies that take place on or around derelict ocean liners then this movie is definitely for you! The casting is OK, the script isn't award winning, the acting is mediocre BUT the story is absolutely fantastic! Its the kind of plot that can give you goosebumps, especially the beginning intro that tells the story of the famous liner that vanished without a trace before WW2. If you've read a review that contradicts the start date of WW2 I just want to point out that history recognizes two events that triggered WW2, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of July 7, 1937 and September 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. I guess the movie producers chose 1937. Anyway, the eerie radio mayday from the Queen of Scots, that the characters' fishing boat picks up, helps set the stage for the 'Bermuda Triangle' phenomenon. In the morning the characters discover the radio has shorted out and then an eerie fog sets in and the engine dies. The compass, of course, spins wildly. Then the steam liner slowly appears from the fog.

The outer shots are CG (lets face it, a steamship to film on in real life is kind of hard to find!) but once on-board the deck and interior shots most certainly feel like a gilded age steamship that's floated around for a few decades. If you are like me and you want movies to explore the 'nitty gritty' of a setting, like the boiler room in The Shining mini-series or other mechanical areas in buildings or ships, then you will love this!

The first thing they do whilst on-board the ship is to pass through the empty public spaces and the ballroom before making their way to the bridge. Once there, they try the radio but alas there is no power so mention is made of the 'carbide' batteries that may still hold a charge (not the chemical carbide, but batteries made by Union-Carbide). Still no go, so the decision is made to go to the engine room to get lights going. Long story short, there are amazing shots of the turbine engine room, control panels, boilers, etc. In this movie they get the lights on and the engine room humming!

There are ghosts, but their reason for existing is a little hazy. One of the characters goes cuckoo and starts killing other characters until only two remain. In making their escape they open the fuel valve on the deck and dump it everywhere with the intention of firing a flare to blow up the ship since its full of lost souls, then they jump overboard to a dingy. They think its easy until the ship puts itself at full throttle and comes after them. Pausing for a moment I couldn't help but be like 'holy Toledo the ocean liner is trying to kill them'. The ship gets blown up, sinks, and the duo are rescued. A radio announcer in the end points out that the survivors claim to have come from a fishing boat Blue Jay, but that boat disappeared a few years ago. A little end note that nods to the creepiness of the Bermuda Triangle. Being a supernatural enthusiast and lover of classic ocean liners, this movie is a favorite!

When a guy named Stu (Perry) invites his buddies Tommy (Cortese) and Gus (Hewlett) - as well as his girlfriend Julia (Shannon) - to the Caribbean island of St. Sebastian, he figures it will be fun, sun, and smooth sailing on the high seas. Unfortunately, Stu is strapped for cash, so he can only afford to charter a rusty old tub of a vessel, run by Captain Morgan (Harewood) (groan). Fortunately, a local lady named Charlie (D'Abo) who works as a "First Mate for Hire" is also there to keep things in line. The only problem: sensitive soul that he is, Dan Cortese - er, I mean TOMMY - is having persistent visions and nightmares of a boat-related trauma in the past. There's also some voodoo. Compounding all the supernatural evil is the fact that our shipmates are all in the general vicinity of a Bermuda-based triangle of some sort. Who will escape the trials and tribulations of THE TRIANGLE? Evidently fearing that MTV Sports was stifling his creativity, here, finally, national treasure Dan Cortese boldly steps out in a movie bearing his name. He's top-billed with Luke Perry, their two names and faces acting as the proverbial siren song, drawing video store patrons toward the DVD. Much like the Bermuda Triangle itself, once you're caught in the spell of these two magical Himbos, you can never escape. Director Lewis Teague knows a thing or two about casting - he was the man who cast Jay Leno as an action star in Collision Course (1989). We all remember how Leno shot first and asked questions later, especially as it related to brutally slaughtering Randall "Tex" Cobb's character. So now the casting acumen of Teague shines once more by shrewdly marshaling the services of one Daniel Cortese when he had so many, many other people he could have chosen. Apparently Eric Nies wasn't available.

Despite looking like he's not quite comprehending what's going on around him, Cortese here is portraying a lawyer. Like any good attorney, his powers of observation, deduction, and logic come to a head when, after our heroes are plainly neck-deep in supernatural goings-on, he astutely offers, "This place is whacked!". Thank you, Mr. Cortese. Thank you for that. But, in his defense, he does bend metal piping with courage and conviction, and he also has special Cortese-powers of precognition or something. Cortese's presence can't help but remind us all of Short Fuse (1986) and its star, Art Garfunkel.

Sharing the screen with Cortese is Luke Perry, who apparently was supposed to go psycho Shining-style, but it happened at the drop of a hat and wasn't set up very well (maybe he was in a rush to get back to West Beverly to attempt to complete his fourteenth year as a high school Junior). The presences of D'Abo and Shannon were welcome, but the whole outing becomes dull and routine and they can't save it. Hewlett is the token "wacky friend", though he does take what may be the first-ever selfie in cinematic history. Pros: the movie is well-lit and you can actually see what's going on. Cons: Marlin-fishing stock footage, green-screen "explosions" and CGI weather. WEATHER! That may be the lowest low since Driven's CGI quarters.

Finally, there's a poster in the background of one scene that appears to be advertising for a rapper named President George Bush. Now that's a rap name. Also there's an evil voodoo spirit that we can only guess is named "Bockadoo". At least that's what it sounds like. Now you can see what we're up against here. Rather than getting released to theaters, to DVD, to VHS (they were still doing that in 2001, right?), or to HBO or other services, The Triangle was released direct-to-TBS SuperStation. Even the awesome powers of Luke Perry and Dan Cortese can't rescue the shipwreck that is The Triangle. It should be easy to avoid this slow-moving vessel.

This is one of those movies that automatically brings me back to my childhood. I was merely twelve when it came out, and being the horror obsessed preteen that I was, it was a must see every time it came on the television. Recently, I had the opportunity to re-watch this film with a more mature perspective, and I have to say, for what it is, the Triangle still impressed me.

First off let's get the truth of the matter out of the way: this is a low budget made for TV movie. With that said, we are dealing with low budget effects, and less experienced actors and writers. This film, however, manages to provide an interesting story with interesting characters, and a fairly suspenseful atmosphere.

The story itself revolves around four friends, and two tour guides who get trapped in a time warp in the Bermuda Triangle. While stranded they come across a ship that was lost over seventy years ago, when left with no choice to board, the triangle knocks them off one by one. While the plot sounds pretty straight forward initially, there is some complexity to it. We find out early on that one of the main characters if broke and desperate for money despite spending the remainder of his money frivolously in order to appear well to do. While on the ship, the supernatural forces at work in the triangle take advantage of this fact and make him do its evil bidding.

Cheesy as it may be at times, it's difficult to argue that this film is rushed. We are allowed to learn a fairly decent amount about the personalities of each character in the story -- this allows us to care about the characters and build suspense based of empathy. This is especially true of one of the characters who is haunted by the ghost of his deceased younger brother while on the ship.

With all these tongue and cheek made for TV film coming out today (Sharknado and the like) I don't understand why this film isn't getting a little bit more recognition. Is it cheesy? Yes. Is it fun? Yes. Does it still manage to relieved a fun and suspenseful story? You bet!

Recommended. It hasn't been shown on television in years, but if you can track down a copy, give it a shot.