EVENT HORIZON (REVIEW)
Dir. Paul W.S. Anderson
Reviewer. Martyn Wakefield
Unlike other big a-list films set in space, EVENT HORIZON takes no time in letting the viewers know that this is a horror centric blast from the other side of the Galaxy. Where ALIEN became about suspense, Paul W.S. Anderson's 1997 throws the audience into chaos and never lets go.
With no extraterrestrial menace, EVENT HORIZON features a device that allows dimensional travel, unfortunately for the rescue crew here, the gateway is two way and brings with it the dark sorrows of their pasta to life.
Sam Neill, Laurence Fishburne, Joely Richardson, Sean Pertwee, Jason Isaacs and Kathleen Quinlan are amongst a crew set to uncover the returning ship and seek it's crew but one by one succumb to the true nature at the ships heart.
With huge sets and even bigger set pieces it's easy to forgive some of the aged CGI and with such an a-list ensemble, the 95 minute run time feels far too short for a story that brings as much character as it does horror giving little breath for pause, something some horror films could still learn from.
Seeing Neill go full Cenobite really encourages any comparison to HELLRAISER and the interdimensional macguffin feels more aligned with the Lament Configuration than anything from outer space, bringing to life a real hellish view of sci-fi horror.
Religious symbology, brain melting science and layers of hidden messages leave this a long lasting legacy that deserves multiple watches and one that blends shocking horror familiar with Barker and Raimi with the depth of Von Trier and Cronenberg. Paul W.S. Anderson may have a chequered resumé in horror but EVENT HORIZON is his magnum opus. Despite now being 25 years old, EVENT HORIZON is still one of the best examples of how Hollywood horror can be scary and everlasting.
The only thing that could make this any better is the release of the oft rumoured but never seen directors cut featuring gorier and more terrorsome scenes of the first space crew and their ultimate demise.
