Synopsis
The Lewis and Clark head to the Event Horizon, a ship that had disappeared, but has now returned, to investigate a distress signal. Something else has returned with the ship and it wants to torture their souls.
Thoughts
I always become intrigued when I hear of a film that blends science fiction and horror. Although the whole "space crew on a secret mission that goes awry" plot is well overdone, I'll still sit through a film with that premise because they're hit or miss really. Sure, some of our beloved iconic horror figures (Jason X, Leprechaun 4: In Space, Hellraiser: Bloodlines) have fallen prey to the, ironic, horrific outer space plot, but we all know those are barely redeemable as a science fiction horror film. No, we're looking for something that isn't trying to cash in and has a somewhat of an original story.
The first time I saw Event Horizon, I was 13 years old and my mom and I just so happened to catch it on HBO around 11 PM. Usually, my parents would avoid the movie channels after 10 PM due to the fact that around that time, all that was on was softcore porn. With the upgrade to the new cable boxes though, we got the on screen digital TV guide and those awkward moments of stumbling on to naked dry humping were avoided.
Visually, this movie is absolutely brilliant. Quite aesthetically pleasing. It's as if every single shot was handled with care. Dare I say, a sort of precision. Meh, too much credit, but the movie looks fantastic. It has its faults, but not many to really note though. The way everything was lit really adds to the horror tone of the film. Yes, tons of technical lighting techniques were used, but for the sake of trying not to sound like a know-it-all, we'll just say it was done very well.
The make-up and effects still look amazing. Well, the fact that they used CGI for the zero gravity props in the opening scene of the film is kind of pointless, but everything else looks just as terrifying as it did the first time I watched it. The CGI is pointless because they could have easily used real props and created a levitating effect. Why does this bother me? Because of all the lifelike effects of blood and advanced technology that they used. The detail that they put into those aspects are, again, absolutely brilliant. Even though there were shots done with green/blue screens, those CGI floating props are annoying. Oh, and Dr. Weir's eyes...I'm just going to throw that in the same boat with the floating props.
The plot of Event Horizon is pretty decent. The pacing was great. I felt pretty engaged the entire time. The film definitely moves from science fiction to an all out action horror towards the end and it does it quite well. The final act of the film is what makes it so great. The psychological outcome leaves room for people to speculate on sequel possibilities. I say a sequel would be absolutely terrible and I hope no one ever attempts it. I'll give you an example of a movie that ended quite similarly and ended up getting a sequel. The Descent was fine the way it ended. It left the viewer to speculate, maybe eve write up some fan fiction. But no, someone couldn't leave well enough alone and we got The Descent: Part 2. I rest my case.
Event Horizon is one hell of a film not to be missed. Science fiction and horror blended very well and the visuals are quite stunning. However, do not expect academy award winning acting here. Also, the stereotypical funny guy...here's there too. Still, see Event Horizon if you haven't.
IMDB: 6.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 4.4/10
WeFLM: 6.5/10
Come for the science fiction. Stay for the horror.
-kp
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