It 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.

Martian society has become matriarchal, centering on the city of Chryse, with smaller outposts connected by an expansive network of trains.

In the wake of a series of mysterious 'incidents', Police Officer 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.

Investigating the local 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.

Their initial effort to escape is halted when the army of feral miners converge on their position, killing, injuring and infecting several of them.

Confronted by Ballard, Whitlock eventually explains that she fled from her post after discovering an ancient underground vault created by an extinct Martian civilization.

When the door to the vault was opened, it released hostile spirits or "ghosts", which took possession of the workers, causing their violent behavior.

Ballard is briefly possessed until Butler feeds her a hallucinogenic drug, which forces the Martian spirit to leave her body.

The group is forced to flee as the possessed workers breach the jail, leaving only Ballard, Williams, Butler, Kincaid and Whitlock left alive.

While they are able to make it to the train, Ballard realizes that they have a duty to exterminate the Martian threat and decide to return to Shining Canyon to overload the outpost's nuclear power plant, assuming that the ensuing atomic blast will vaporize the spirits.

Realizing their attempt to destroy the spirits failed, she readies herself to face the onslaught alone until she is greeted by Williams, who hands her a weapon.

Mars is shown only once in the daytime, in a flashback when a scientist describes how she found and opened a tunnel, unleashing the alien spirits.

Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle gave the film one star out of five, saying: "Ghosts of Mars is a muddled, derivative, and embarrassing disaster straight on through.

Really loved working with him.“[19] Responding to the criticism towards the film, Carpenter stated he was intentionally trying to make Ghosts of Mars as over-the-top and tongue-in-cheek as possible.

For the film's soundtrack, John Carpenter recorded a number of synthesizer pieces and assembled an all-star cast of guitarists (including thrash metal band Anthrax, virtuoso Steve Vai, genre spanning Buckethead, and former Guns N' Roses/current Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck) to record an energetic and technically proficient heavy metal score.