Haunting of Queen Mary is an interesting horror movie. When it works it really works. When it doesn’t, it becomes a muddled mess. We start off in 1938 just minutes after the discovery of a bloody crime aboard the vessel. We then jump to modern-day, Long Beach CA where the ship sits in a shallow dock as a tourist trap. Directors Gary Shore and Rebecca Harris flex their style with a boatload of gimmicks but the script, written by Shore and Tom Vaughan tries to execute narrative gymnastics that leave things a bit murky. Still, there is enough to enjoy here, including a wonderfully brutal murder sequence, to keep the ship afloat.

As the movie begins, it’s Halloween night, in 1938. The Queen Mary is on one of her many voyages when a pair of incidents halt the journey. After going on a murder spree, third-class passenger David Ratch (Wil Coban) sits in a straightjacket below decks. Meanwhile, passengers scatter to the upper decks with life jackets on in response to an engine failure. Weaving the interlocking narratives we jump to present-day Long Beach, CA. Digital marketer Anne (Alice Eve), her son Lukas (Lenny Rush), and her estranged husband Patrick (Joel Fry) are visiting the titular landmark that languishes dockside as a tourist trap. Anne is pitching an idea to bring new attention to the Queen Mary. As she chats with the creepy Captain Bittner (Dorian Lough) about a job, her son and husband take a tour of the ship.  Anne lands the gig but reunites with her family to discover that her son had a dangerous mishap in the ship’s abandoned pool. Yes, as I mentioned, we are slammed with a lot of exposition before we are allowed to sit back and enjoy the journey.

Anne and Patrick return to the Queen Mary with the pretense of starting their work on a VR Tour of the ship. Strangely, Captain Bittner is upset that they didn’t bring their son along for the job. Creeper.  Their real M.O. is to figure out what happened to their son at the pool. As this story plays out we jump back to 1938 and follow the narrative of future axe murderer David Ratch as he travels with wife Gwen (Nell Hudson) and daughter Jackie (Florrie Wilkinson). Despite doting over his talented young daughter he eventually loses it, taking us to where we were at the beginning. How does all of this come together? Will Anne ever find out what happened to her kid on the tour? Will we ever discover what drove a passenger to murder in 1938? I mean yes, I think. With so much going on the film eventually culminates into a chaotic mess.

Eve does a fine job as Anne, but is given little to work with under the strict slow-drip of revelations. I would also give props to the casting of Rush in raising the visibility of talented performers with disabilities. I also have to say that the film has easily one of the best axe murder scenes committed to film. It’s gruesome, awash with crimson splashes and split skulls, and pleasantly cringe-inducing.

That said, this script needed to be trimmed. With multiple timelines throughout the 1 hour and 54 minutes, the film struggles to maintain momentum while delivering a comprehensible mystery. Sure, a film like this should keep the viewer guessing but damn! Too, locating the film on The Queen Mary does virtually nothing to enhance the story. The icon and its history are squandered in favor of a new ghost story and characters that we struggle to connect with.

Haunting of Queen Mary is a worthy effort but one that fights to stay afloat. It’s a fun diversion that will soon fade from memory like a grey ghost in the fog.

6 Out of 10