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Ghost Brigade
Ghost Brigade
Ghost Brigade
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Ghost Brigade
DVD case featuring one of the film's alternate titles, Grey Knight
Directed byGeorge Hickenlooper
Written byMatt Greenberg
Produced by
  • Steven Stabler
  • Brad Krevoy
Starring
CinematographyKent L. Wakeford
Edited by
Production
company
MPCA (Motion Picture Corporation of America)
Distributed byMPCA
Release date
Running time
80 minutes
92 minutes (director's cut)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Ghost Brigade is a 1993 American supernatural horror film set during the American Civil War and directed by George Hickenlooper. Starring Corbin Bernsen, Adrian Pasdar, and Martin Sheen, the film was also released under the alternate titles The Killing Box, Grey Knight,[1] and The Lost Brigade.[2]

Plot

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Slave traders bring back an evil voodoo entity that is accidentally freed by the Confederate Army during the Civil War. The entity possesses the bodies of the dead soldiers to create an army of its own bent on conquest, using the corpses of both the North and South. When both Union and Confederate soldiers are mysteriously murdered by the entity during the Civil War, the opposing troops must overcome their differences and band together to investigate the gruesome deaths. It soon becomes apparent that these killers are anything but human. Instead, they are a maniacal regiment of supernatural forces, and it is solely up to these united American soldiers to fight the slaughterous evil of the Ghost Brigade.

The film centers around Captain John Harling, a Union army man that has been awaiting the end of his enlistment; it is cut short when there are unusual murders of Union troops. To discover the culprits behind this Harling seeks Colonel Nehemiah Strayn, a former Confederate regiment commander, now sitting in a Union prison at Bowling Green, who was once Harling's teacher. The two officers, along with Colonel George Thalman supervising, set out with a small detachment of troops and a runaway slave named Rebecca. When they reach the site where several Union troops were murdered, Strayn tells about what happened to his regiment, whose gruesome end happened at the same place where the Union corpses were found.

After leaving the site and wandering deeper into Tennessee, they come across a group of Confederate soldiers, who quickly surrender, much to the surprise of the Union troops. The Confederate in charge tells Thalman that their group was attacked by a band of undead troops who took many of his men away, yet he was unaware of why he and his people were taken. Thalman, deciding that they require reinforcements, takes off leaving Harling in charge. But during the night, while Strayn and Rebecca are talking just a few yards away from the camp, they are assaulted by Strayn's old regiment, now a bunch of walking zombies. His former second-in-command, Major Josiah Elkins, tells him to lead this new regiment. Strayn refuses the offer, however, and escapes with Rebecca to the camp. Strayn warns everyone at the camp and they all hide behind the carts that the Confederates had with them and wait until the zombie soldiers approach them. After holding them off, they are surprised to see Thalman reappear again, but he has been changed. After being burned by Rebecca he returns to his former self, But before he dies, he puts Harling in charge, in hopes that Harling will see the men out.

The next day, since they do not have time to leave the area, they set a trap for the Ghost Brigade. Using Strayn to lure them back to the Union camp, he surprises them by picking up a pistol and killing one of them with a silver bullet which was created from the silver that the Confederates were carrying. The Ghost Brigade goes into a fury and attacks the joint Union/Confederate troops, who are positioned behind a trench filled with water and wagons turned into barricades. Strayn personally fights with Elkins in hand-to-hand combat before Elkins stabs him. Before he can finish Strayn, Rebecca leaps on top of him. The short struggle continues until Rebecca shoots Elkins by aiming at her chest when he was behind her. While barely alive, Harling realizes that she is infected and has to be shot. Strayn tries to intervene but Rebecca is shot. The last remaining zombie soldier cries over Elkin's corpse before he is shot by Harling. With the Ghost Brigade defeated, they head back for Union territory, where Strayn is sent back to Bowling Green prison for a short period, before he escapes and rejoins the Confederate Army. He fights with distinction during the battles of Gettysburg and other major Civil War battles, but his unusual stand against slavery alienates many of his countrymen. While Strayn is fighting in the Confederate Army, Harling decides to not take his parole and stays with the Union Army for the duration of the war, serving under General U.S. Grant for the remainder of the Civil War.

The film ends with Harling telling the story of Strayn going back to the creek where his regiment was murdered, where he is never seen again.

Cast

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Release

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Ghost Brigade was released on VHS by Turner Home Entertainment in May 1995.[3] Turner later re-released the film again on VHS on August 25, 1998.[4] Vanguard Cinema released the film on DVD on January 1, 2005. The director's cut was released on November 1 that same year.[5]

Reception

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Richard Natale of Variety described it as "part art-house item and part mainstream horror". Natale wrote that it has "more promise than payoff" but praised Bernsen's acting.[6] Nigel Floyd of Time Out London called it "an arty zombie film" that is "involving, with dark undertones".[7] Author and film critic Leonard Maltin awarded the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, stating that the film "aspires to a Peckinpah-type brutality but generally opts for mere shock value."[8] Charles Tatum from eFilmCritic gave the film 2/5 stars, stating that the film was entertaining, with good direction, and felt that it had an interesting idea. However, Tatum noted that the film "shows classic symptoms of post-production tampering", which greatly reduced its effectiveness.[9]

Writing in The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, academic Peter Dendle said, "The movie features strong conceptual underpinnings, though it's a little dragged down by the tritely over-demonized foes."[10] TV Guide gave the film a negative 1/4 stars, writing, "wastes so much time filling in details of the cadaver squadron it seems longer than the Battle of Gettysburg. Trying for the hallucinatory atmosphere of the film version of Ambrose Bierce's OCCURRENCE AT OWL CREEK BRIDGE, this unusual chiller falls prey to mundane scripting, combat-booted direction, and inferior sound mixing."[11]

References

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Ghost Brigade

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Ghost Brigade was a six-piece Finnish melodic doom metal band formed in 2005 in , , renowned for its atmospheric blend of , , , , and , characterized by emotionally charged lyrics and dynamic compositions. The band quickly built a dedicated following through intense live performances at major European festivals, including Summer Breeze, Graspop Metal Meeting, Wacken Open Air, Hellfest, and Tuska Open Air. The lineup consisted of vocalist Manne Ikonen, guitarists Tommi Kiviniemi and Wille Naukkarinen, bassist Joni Saalamo, drummer Veli-Matti Suihkonen, and keyboardist Joni Vanhanen, with the group emerging from the local metal scene in . Their music often explored themes of isolation, sorrow, and , drawing from the melancholic Finnish musical tradition while incorporating heavy riffs, clean and growled vocals, and expansive instrumental passages. Over their active years, Ghost Brigade released four studio albums via : Guided by Fire (2007), Isolation Songs (2009), Until Fear No Longer Defines Us (2011), and IV – One with the Storm (2014), the latter produced at Electric Fox Studios with engineer Tuomas Kokko. In 2020, following a period of inactivity, the label issued a comprehensive titled MMV – MMXX, compiling all four albums to mark the band's legacy. The band announced an indefinite hiatus in December 2015 after a of activity, citing personal reasons and a desire to pursue individual projects, though they announced plans to reunite in late 2019 for performances scheduled in 2020 that were ultimately canceled due to the . Ghost Brigade officially disbanded on August 20, 2020, leaving behind an influential discography in the melodic doom and genres. In 2025, four former members formed the heavy alternative band Ceresian Valot, releasing their debut album Uumen on May 23 via Prophecy Productions.

Production

Development

Ghost Brigade was written by screenwriter , who crafted the story of a horror unfolding during the , blending elements of voodoo and undead soldiers. The film marked the narrative feature debut of director , a Yale graduate known for his prior work, including the acclaimed Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991). Hickenlooper transitioned to fiction with this project, bringing his experience in observational storytelling to the genre. Produced by and Steven Stabler under the (MPCA), a company specializing in low-budget genre films, development focused on assembling a cast including established like and to elevate the production's appeal. Principal photography commenced on July 16, 1992, and concluded on August 13, 1992, primarily in , allowing for efficient scheduling on a modest budget typical of MPCA's output. The project premiered at the from March 5 to 14, 1993, prior to wider release.

Filming

Principal photography for Ghost Brigade (also released as Grey Knight) took place in California, USA. The low-budget production, made for under $1 million, was overseen by Motion Picture Corporation of America and marked the feature directorial debut of George Hickenlooper, previously known for documentaries. Cinematographer Kent Wakeford captured the film's Civil War-era supernatural horror elements, utilizing practical locations to evoke desolate battlefields and prison camps. Production wrapped prior to its premiere at the on March 7, 1993, with a runtime of 85 minutes in its initial cut. The economical approach emphasized atmospheric tension over elaborate effects, aligning with the film's under-$1-million cost as reported in contemporary coverage.

Story and cast

Plot

During the , an ancient evil voodoo entity, transported to America by slave traders, lies dormant until Confederate artillery accidentally unleashes it during a battle. The malevolent spirit possesses the corpses of fallen soldiers from both sides, reanimating them as an "ghost brigade" that rampages across the battlefield, slaughtering Union and Confederate troops alike in gruesome, execution-style attacks without regard for allegiance. This supernatural force, resembling a of vampires, threatens to overrun entire regiments and escalate the horrors of the war. Union Captain John Harling, nearing the end of his enlistment, is dispatched by his superiors, including George Thalman, to investigate a series of unexplained massacres, beginning with a of crucified Union soldiers bearing a Confederate as a macabre signature. Arriving at the site of a decimated Confederate unit, Harling encounters its sole survivor: Nehemiah Strayn, his former West Point mentor and a man with whom he shares a complicated history involving a past over a . Despite their opposing loyalties and personal tensions, Harling convinces the Confederate colonel to join the probe, forming an uneasy alliance to track the renegade regiment responsible for the killings. As the investigation deepens, the duo uncovers the voodoo curse's origins and its power to possess both the dead and living, compelling them to confront eerie supernatural phenomena amid the war-torn landscape. They enlist the aid of a mute survivor named Rebecca, a runaway slave who witnessed the entity's release and forms a poignant bond with Strayn, providing crucial clues through gestures and shared peril. The group endures ambushes by the whistling, relentless ghost brigade, whose soldiers exhibit unnatural resilience and a chilling affinity for Dixie tunes, forcing Harling, Strayn, and Rebecca to improvise weapons like silver bullets forged from melted Confederate insignia to combat the immortals. The narrative builds to a climactic showdown where the unlikely allies must bridge their ideological divide and harness the entity's vulnerabilities—rooted in African spiritual lore—to exorcise the curse before it consumes the entire theater of war. In the aftermath, Harling reflects on the ordeal, with Strayn surviving the battle to return to the Confederate forces before later disappearing at the cursed creek where his regiment met its doom, emphasizing themes of redemption and the between enemy and survivor in the face of otherworldly terror.

Cast

The cast of Ghost Brigade (also known as Grey Knight) includes several notable actors in lead and supporting roles, portraying Union and Confederate soldiers confronting supernatural forces during the . Corbin Bernsen stars as Nehemiah Strayn, a Confederate colonel and Harling's former mentor who joins the investigation as an ally. plays Captain John Harling, the Union officer dispatched to probe the massacres and who teams up with Strayn. portrays General Haworth, the authoritative Union commander overseeing the operation. appears as George Thalman, a Union officer whose forces become entangled in the horror. In supporting roles, Billy Bob Thornton plays Langston, a gritty soldier contributing to the brigade's dynamics. Cynda Williams depicts Rebecca, a mute runaway slave central to the voodoo curse's origin. The film also features early appearances by David Arquette and Matt LeBlanc as additional Union troops, alongside Roger Wilson in a minor role.

Release and reception

Release

Ghost Brigade premiered at the on March 7, 1993. The film was distributed by the and received a in the United States later that year under the title Grey Knight. An alternate producer's cut, running approximately 80 minutes, was released internationally as The Killing Box and domestically on as Ghost Brigade. The , titled Grey Knight and clocking in at 92 minutes, saw a video release in 1994, including a edition marketed as Ghost Brigade (though some versions were mislabeled as Grey Night). In , The Killing Box version premiered on November 21, 1994. The film did not achieve wide theatrical distribution and primarily circulated through formats during the 1990s. Subsequent home media releases included a DVD in the early , which is now . A Blu-ray edition of The Killing Box, produced by Ronin Flix, was released on May 16, 2023, marking a restoration of the producer's cut for modern audiences. Streaming availability emerged later, with the film becoming accessible on platforms like starting March 27, 2018.

Reception

Upon its limited theatrical release in 1993, Ghost Brigade (also released as Grey Knight) received mixed critical reception, with reviewers noting its ambitious blend of Civil War drama and supernatural horror but critiquing its uneven execution. In Variety, Leonard Klady described the film as a "suspense drama with more promise than payoff," praising director George Hickenlooper's assured debut for its handling of performers and period authenticity, as well as the strong technical contributions from cinematographer Kent Wakeford and production designer Mick Strawn, all achieved on a budget under $1 million. However, he faulted writer Matt Greenberg's script for lacking nuance and failing to fully realize its Conradian undertones or deliver as a cohesive horror entry, with some performances, such as Ray Wise's, straining credibility. The film's scarcity of major reviews reflects its modest distribution, but aggregate critic scores indicate modest approval. On , it has one critic review, rated 6/10 by Dragan Antulov of rec.arts.movies.reviews, considered fresh, though no Tomatometer score is assigned. Audience reception has been lukewarm, with an average user rating of 4.6/10 from 10,886 votes (as of November 2025), where viewers often commend the ensemble cast—including and —and the novel voodoo-zombie premise set against historical backdrops, but lament pacing issues, low-budget effects, and reported edits that altered the director's vision in the shorter Grey Knight cut.
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