... To call Event Horizon a sci-fi however, might be to do it something of a disservice because its as much a horror film than a sci-fi - its certainly pretty horrific anyway! I prefer to think of it as a haunted house in outer space, this time with a haunted spaceship in a movie which plays out ... Read review
The year is 2047. Years earlier the pioneering research vessel Event Horizon vanished ... more
without a trace. Now a signal from it has been detected and the United States Aerospace Command responds. Hurtling toward the signal's source are a fearless captain...
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Drawing from Andrei Tarkovsky's heady science fiction meditationSolarisby way ... more
ofAlienandHellraiser, this visually splendid but pulpy piece of science fiction schlock concerns a mission in the year 2047 to investigate the experimental American spaceship...
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The year is 2047. Years earlier, the pioneering research vessel Event Horizon vanished ... more
without a trace. Now a signal from it has been detected, and the United States Aerospace Command responds. Hurtling toward the signal's source are a fearless captain...
In this eerie science-fiction ghost story, an astrophysicist (Sam Neill), haunted by the ... more
memory of his wife's suicide, joins a rescue mission to salvage his life's work: the Event Horizon, a prototype spacecraft capable of faster-than-light travel that has been missing for seven years. Their arrival triggers contact with something beyond human experience--and more dangerous than ever imaginable. Similar in plot to Andrei Tarkovsky's eponymous screen adaptation of Stanislaw Lem's science-fiction novel SOLARIS, EVENT HORIZON provides some truly potent moments in its often potent combination of horror and sci-fi.
The year is 2047. Years earlier, the pioneering research vessel Event Horizon vanished ... more
without a trace. Now a signal from it has been detected, and the United States Aerospace Command responds. Hurtling toward the signal's source are a fearless Captain (Laurence Fishburne), his elite crew and the lost ship's designer (Sam Neill). Their mission: find and salvage the state-of-the-art spacecraft. What they find is state-of-the-art interstellar terror. What they must salvage are their own lives, because someone or something is ready to ensnare them in a new dimension of unimaginable fear.
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
...I sat through. To call Event Horizon a sci-fi however, might be to do it something of a disservice because its as much a horror film than a sci-fi - its certainly pretty horrific anyway! I prefer to think of it as a haunted house in outer space, this time with a haunted spaceship in a movie which plays out like a strange hybrid of Aliens, The Shining, Sphere and Hellraiser...and borrows quite frequently from all those sources for its ideas. In some ... ...what you are given and Event Horizon is still quite entertaining on a visceral and visual level despite its lack of originality and shambolic plot. The story begins with a salvage craft travelling to Neptune to investigate the reappearance of a ship called the Event Horizon. The Event Horizon was the first of its kind, an experimental vessel which used a system of creating mini black holes to transport itself from one part of the universe to another ... more
Good sci-fi movies are rarer than hen's teeth, whilst bad ones seem to be ten a penny. Its a shame that such an entertaining genre seems to throw up so few movies like Alien and some many like Virus, to name the last steaming heap of sci-fi crap I sat through. To call Event Horizon a sci-fi however, might be to do it something of a disservice because its as much a horror film than a sci-fi - its certainly pretty horrific anyway! I prefer to think of it as a haunted house in outer space, this time with a haunted spaceship in a movie which plays out like a strange hybrid of Aliens, The Shining, Sphere and Hellraiser...and borrows quite frequently from all those sources for its ideas. In some respects, Paul Anderson's movie is very, very good, notably in the gore and visuals departments, but in others such as the plot itself its little more than a chaotic mess. Its a shame, because with a better plot and a little more concentration on characterisation, this could have been one of the best sci-fis ever made in my opinion...
Anyway, you get what you are given and Event Horizon is still quite entertaining on a visceral and visual level despite its lack of originality and shambolic plot. The story begins with a salvage craft travelling to Neptune to investigate the reappearance of a ship called the Event Horizon. The Event Horizon was the first of its kind, an experimental vessel which used a system of creating mini black holes to transport itself from one part of the universe to another in the blink of an eye and 7 years ago it went through one and never came back, disappearing completely. Now its back and a team of the usual suspects(ex-army and misfits) along with the ship's creator (who is also the only one who really knows what is going on) are on their way to investigate if any of the crew are alive and to bring the Event Horizon home.
That would be too simple though and its not long after boarding the Event Horizon that things start looking rather like something very bad happened and high-tailing it out of there might be a very good idea. Not only is the bulkhead splattered with the blood and gore of the crew and a lacerated, torn up body is found floating around the place, but the instruments are showing signs of teeming life aboard what seems to be a ghost ship. It turns out the life detected is the ship itself and whilst where it has been for 7 years remains a mystery, what its intentions are towards its human intruders is rather more obvious...it wants them dead.
OK, I admit for anyone who has seen the movie that's a rather simplistic version of events, but its difficult to describe a very confusing movie like this without giving too much away. Obviously Anderson's idea was to let the mystery of where the ship had been unfold as the movie progressed, but for some reason then took the decision to leave 20 minutes of the plot on the cutting room floor which in my eyes at least was a huge mistake. If you are left at the end with 101 questions you wouldn't be alone because an awful lot of the whys and wherefores are left unexplained which is one of the most annoying things about Event Horizon. The plot is chaotic, its everywhere and its never fully explained nor does it seem to be the main focus of Anderson's movie anyway! Neither does the characterisation of his cast members either, aside from Sam Neill who is afforded a little development as the mad genius creator of the Event Horizon, who are all quite one dimensional. Neill and Fishbourne(captain of the salvage ship) offer a little credibility and class to the proceedings whilst the rest perform well but are otherwise faceless as none seem to have much of a personality or past - we are told one has a son back on earth, another a wife and one made a mistake which lead to a colleague being killed but that’s it. You are left with a group of cardboard cut-outs, ready and waiting to be 'offed' in some spectacular fashion. Whilst this is a standard feature in horror movies, its not a good one, because unless you are told something about a character it s impossible to connect with them or care when death takes a long, raking swipe at them with his reaping hook.
Still, what Anderson does focus on is the visuals and the atmosphere of his movie and he certainly has some interesting sets to play with. The drive room of the vessel looks like something out of a Hellraiser movie, a large revolving studded metal ball in a spiked chamber could have fitted neatly into any Clive Barker setpiece and its probably no coincidence either when one character rises in flames from the water, his carved up features immediately bringing Pinhead to mind. Other parts of the ship are very reminiscent of another of its influences - Aliens and Kubrik's 2001 seems to be nodded towards occasionally as well, although its been a while since I saw that movie so feel free to shoot me down on that one. Great attention has been paid to all parts of the visuals, including globules of liquid floating around in zero gravity which is strangely beautiful to behold and some seriously gory scenes which are anything but pretty! There is certainly enough here to keep the gore hounds happy, as well as perhaps turning a few stomachs in some flashy shock scenes which I found quite well executed and rather wonderfully depraved in at least one case which is like a Hellraiser version of the suspension scene in The Cell. I had no complaints at all with the visuals.
The influences of this movie are, it has to be said, more than a little obvious, to the point where you are left with a question: "homage or theft?". I wouldn't like to comment(theft!), but be sure that watching Event Horizon will remind you frequently of a number of other movies from the horror and sci-fi genre. I did enjoy watching it, despite it confusing plot which left me scratching my head for the most part whilst enjoying some of the more visceral moments and great sets. Given a better plot(i.e. one which adds up) and some attention made to its characters, Event Horizon could have been an excellent movie, but as it stands its really only entertaining on a visual and a bloody sense and worthy of a four star rating solely because the genre is starved of real class.
Advantages: Some very powerful moments Disadvantages: Similar to "Alien"
Although Event Horizon is a reasonably entertaining science fiction/ horror movie, its story and imagery are highly derivative of other films, and there is scant evidence of any originality or creativity in its construction. Starting as an uninspired imitation of Alien, Event Horizon suddenly turns into a tired retread of The Shining. Some of Clive Barker's highly idiosyncratic imagery from his classic Hellraiser is also used, to little effect. The ... ...is something evil... Event Horizon's initial closeness to Ridley Scott's Alien is glaringly obvious. Both films feature ships that have the low-tech feel of long distance trucks, and both crews squabble and speak in hard-boiled one liners. The Event Horizon crew are military, but this seems little more than a nod to James Cameron's Aliens. The plot unfolds in the same way as that of Alien: the crew go into suspended animation; they awake to discover ...
puneet_anand 15.08.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Event Horizon (DVD)
Advantages: Do I really need to go through that again? Disadvantages: A coupla cliches, but not enough to many me annoyed
...call is received from the Event Horizon; a United States Aerospace Command research vessel. The ship had been working on a secret government project to find a way to travel faster than light, using an atrificial black hole as its means of transport.
7 years ago, the ship disappeared. A cover story was created, and fed to the public, and the ship passed into history, until now...
The USAC salvage ship Lewis and Clark has been despatched to Neptune ... ...How crap is that?), Event Horizon is subtle, the storyline building as the film progresses, until the viewer is scared into a new pair of underwear by the time it finishes.
And isn't that what a film's about? Storyline? My favourite film is the Terminator. Not because of the explosions, the gunfights, or the blood, but because the storyline is so engrossing and believable that I become part of it whenever I watch the film.
A film with lots of blood, ...
Tanthalas 22.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Event Horizon (DVD)
Advantages: Great effects for those wishing to see blood and guts. Disadvantages: Too many hints of previous sci-fi movies.
...salvage mission set for The Event Horizon.
The crew contain the designer of the lost Eent Horizon Dr. Weir (Sam Neill), who is backed up by a military like crew with a brave and fearless captain named Miller (Laurence Fishburne). As they travel into deep space and discover the lost ship, a search mission takes place only to find blood and corpses.
Unknown to the crew, the Event Horizon is a ship designed to travel at the speed of light. Not by ... ...crew fourced to board the Event Horizon by an accident on their own ship, slowly discover they are not alone. And events that produce fear and panic in the crews mind, make them realise they need to leave. this is hightened by one of the crew dissapearing and reappearing into the ships main drive system, then only to be found trying to kill himself through fear of whats happened.
Dr. Weir soon becomes what seems to be possesed by the Event Horizon, ...
themagic_uk 13.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Event Horizon (DVD)
...this story.
Plot
Event Horizon is a secret project star ship. It Has BEEN equipped with experimental prototype of gravitons engine. Thanks that was able to create an artificial wormhole which bend time and space so travel from point to point lasted nothing (kind of inter-dimensional bridge). In 2040 sent to Neptune to get ready for its first jump to our nearest star system - Proxima Centauri. Everything is working great till Earth loose contact ... ...receives fainted signal from Event Horizon. They try to contact crew and investigate what happened, but unfortunately there is no answer. Rescue star ship has been sent to check what is going on and if crew is still alive. When they get to Event horizon a number of strange things start to happen. Rescue team experiences a number of extremely really hallucinations. When they find out what is happening they start theirs survival fighting with...... ...
panther23 19.08.2008 (24.09.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Event Horizon (DVD)
Advantages: very original Disadvantages: not as good on a tv
...British director, Paul Anderson. Event Horizon boasts an all star cast including; Laurence Fishbourne (The Matrix), Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), Kathleen Quinlan and Joely Richardson. Along with a good cast the sound track contains songs from such groups as the Prodigy.
The slogan for the film “Infinite Space, Infinite Terror” was not far wrong, however the film was a lot better in the cinema the first time you see it. If you are going ... ...earlier a pioneering space craft Event Horizon (name I will explain later) vanishes without a trace. They ship no has been detected and a rescue craft captained by Lauence Fishbourne and with the ships designer Sam Neill. All they have to do is salvage what they can do of the ship. This turns out to be more difficult than it appears at first. The Event Horizon was testing a new engine, which basically made a black hole to travel through space, hence ...
ia_young 24.02.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Event Horizon (DVD)
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Advantages: Magnificent Disadvantages: Lawrence Fishburne, but the movie is allowed one mistake
EventHorizon in my opinion is the best science fiction horror movie since Alien. Interestingly enough it bares a lot of comparisons to Alien; firstly the project although joint funded by the UK and the US, received most of its funding from UK money, as did Alien. There are also similarities in the plot and the casting that will not have anyone that had previously seen Alien not drawing some sort of comparison.
The Lois & Clark space vessel has been sent on a special assignment, the assignment is kept a closely guarded secret, its knowledge is know by just one member of the crew. Dr. William Weir is the man with the knowledge, and after much nagging by the remainder of his crew he decides to fill them in on their next mission. The crew of Lois & Clark are going in search of the EventHorizon, a space vehicle that spectacular ...
Advantages: Superb packaging, extra features, cult movie Disadvantages: Brit actors let it down
collection.
~~The extras~~
sghawken has detailed these superbly in his review, so I won't repeat the details here.
Worth mentioning though is the fantastic packaging that you get with this special edition. Enclosed in a hand-painted (so no two will be exactly the same) replica EventHorizon ship that flips open to reveal a hellish interior that contains a neat 2-disc package and informative booklet.
The packaging and extra features really make this a bargain at £9.99 or so (Amazon or play.com), so get one now before it goes out of production! ...
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Professional reviews
Review
"...The director, Paul Anderson, is a stylist to watch..." (Entertainment Weekly, p.54, 05/09/1997)
"...It's especially well-cast....And Philip Eisner's script holds our interest..." (Los Angeles Times, p.F16, 15/08/1997)
"...Visually staggering production design -- truly an event itself..." (USA Today, p.3D, 15/08/1997)
DVD Description
In this eerie science-fiction ghost story, an astrophysicist (Sam Neill), haunted by the memory of his wife's suicide, joins a rescue mission to salvage his life's work: the Event Horizon, a prototype spacecraft capable of faster-than-light travel that has been missing for seven years. Their arrival triggers contact with something beyond human experience--and more dangerous than ever imaginable. Similar in plot to Andrei Tarkovsky's eponymous screen adaptation of Stanislaw Lem's science-fiction novel SOLARIS, EVENT HORIZON provides some truly potent moments in its often potent combination of horror and sci-fi.
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