The late nineties was a good period for the not-quite-seventeen Puck as the underpaid teenage theater workers of the world cared more about discussing the merits or Chumbawamba or Alicia Silverstone and less about keeping young impressionable minds like mine away from gore and violence in R-rated movies. Thus, Digger and I were able to attend a showing at a long since defunct theater to see Event Horizon, our enthusiasm based only off of the plot synopsis and images I had seen online. To Digger’s recollection, we were almost literally blown away by the oppressively loud speakers in the theater but I was more taken into the relative beauty of the film. Now, don’t get me wrong, you cannot call Event Horizon groundbreaking or award-winning by any stretch but it has a special charm that still warms a place in the cold, dank chambers of my heart.
One of my favorite aspects in just about any movie is a small, self-contained cast of characters. With the main crew eight strong, there is enough time to establish at first superficial aspects of the normal lives of the deep space exploration team before they are sent to salvage a long-lost ship called … the Event Horizon. On its maiden voyage to venture into the depths of space, the Event Horizon disappeared without a trace only to resurface years later, seemingly with no life aboard. Captain Miller and his team aboard the Lewis & Clark are assembled along with the recovered ship’s architect, Dr. Weir, to search and salvage the vessel and determine where it has been for the past seven years.
Not long after the salvage crew is on board do they uncover some of the oddities of the ship. At its heart is a magnetic gateway capable of creating an artificial black hole, theoretically allowing travel to the farthest reaches of the galaxy in as little as a day. As the gateway opens, it envelopes a crewman into the portal and severely damages the Lewis & Clark, stranding those remaining on the mysterious ship with no rescue boat. This is where things get interesting as those on board begin seeing visions of family and friends, as if something is pouncing on their fears and vulnerabilities. It could be the toxic buildup of carbon dioxide, the claustrophobia, or something else but in many cases tragic events occur.
If you have not seen Event Horizon before, you probably would not have very high expectations. For that I would not blame you. With an IMDb reference sheet as long as my ambitious goals in life, director Paul W. S. Anderson (from Resident Evil fame) takes many facets of classic horror and sci-fi films and mashes them together in a remarkably coherent form. But unlike most notable movies set aboard a interstellar vessel, Anderson is more focused on horror as the crew races to fix their lifeboat, find out the final destination of the last crew, and stay alive at the same time. If you could qualify a few thousand ton space craft as a psychopath, we might as well have a slasher movie here.
For me, one of the most astonishing parts of this movie is the cast. While the story could very well have superficial, it does manage to tap into some real human elements and emotions. The two leads, Laurence “Larry” Fishburne and Sam “Dr. Grant” Neill almost tie for best showmanship as each are saddled with fairly deep back stories that ultimately serve in the finale. But Neill eeks it out slightly going from just a Burke-like corporate shrew at the beginning to a man who is possibly just going insane due to the extreme circumstances or has a darker motive to learn just where the previous crew vanished without a moment’s hesitation. Even the supporting characters are fleshed out greatly to get a sense of who they are now and who they were then to get you attached before they are put in harm’s way. The fact that Anderson was able to attract established as well as up and coming stars like Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson, Richard T. Jones, and Jason Isaacs for a cheesy horror/sci-fi flick justifies it more than any other cheap Alien knock-off ever could.
Reportedly, the original cut of the film was over two hours long, featuring more carnage and gore, especially during the video log from the previous crew but was cut down to the final film we have now. As you may have guessed from some previous reviews, I am not opposed to gore and graphic violence for the sake of the story. Event Horizon has all that in spades. While it may not be grounded in the same sense of reality as the Saw films and its brethren, the violence here was disturbing, mostly in the sense that these are characters who have had enough time stand out and to sympathize with. Even in the finale as we have the requisite showdown between good and evil, the good guys triumph but at a steep physical and psychological price.
Considering I was going to make this a Mini Scum review, I may be reading way far too much into this movie than I had intended. That being said, Event Horizon was one of the few movies that actually made me jump in a theater (the deafening volume may have helped) and with its palpably tense atmosphere, is arguably the best film Paul W.S. Anderson has made. For what that’s worth.
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