Event Horizon
by Cheeto
Posted on 9 July 2021
Rating -
Event Horizon is a 1997 science fiction horror film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson and written by Philip Eisner. It stars Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan and Joely Richardson. Set in 2047, it follows a crew of astronauts sent on a rescue mission, after a missing spaceship, the Event Horizon, spontaneously appears in orbit around Neptune. Searching the ship for signs of life, the rescue crew learns that the Event Horizon was a test bed for an experimental engine that opened a rift in the space–time continuum and left our universe entirely, allowing a malevolent entity to possess the ship.
I must admit, when I first saw Event Horizon, it totally threw me off guard. For some reason, I had an image in my head just prior to watching it, of what I thought it was going to be, well I can safely tell you, it was nothing like I pictured it.
First off, I love the cast of this film, Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill starring, what more is there to like? Although it is kind of weird to see Sam Neill play anyone else but Dr. Alan Grant (sorry to be that guy). The supporting cast is great too, and they are all well written, and they actually have personality’s (some a lot more than others). The whole film, apart from the first 20-30 minutes, is set entirely on the ship ‘The Event Horizon’, as I have reiterated many times before, I am a sucker for films set at one location. So with all of this, the film has a decent foundation.
I like the story of this film, it’s not something new, but it has a very unique take. The writing is okay, it’s not the best, but it’s something that you’d expect from a late 90’s horror film. The acting is decent, it certainly isn’t our two main leads best work of their careers, the one word to sum their performances up is; inoffensive. I also think that the CGI is actually quite decent for the time, also; I like the way that in some shots; they use practical effects. This film is very entertaining too, I was really hooked to the film at all times, this is the sign of a good film. I also love the ending of the film, I’m not going to spoil it, but it certainly gets the heart racing.
Unfortunately, there are some negatives about this film, the one overlying negative is; this film isn’t scary in the slightest to me. Surely a horror film should have.. you know.. horror in it? While I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, due to the film being good anyway, it may disappoint a few people wanting a good scare. I just don’t find the premise scary, even though it is interesting, and you can kind of see the creator’s vision. This film follows all of the tropes you’d expect to see in a late 90’s popcorn flick, luckily for me, I don’t mind this. I think that Sam Neill is weird in this film, once again; I know it’s not his fault that he is sort of typecast as Dr. Alan Grant, it’s just odd to see him SPOILER play the bad guy. For the whole film, he just sort of has this slightly menacing grin, this adds to the film not being that scary.
Overall, I had a blast with this film, it totally achieved what it was going for. It’s hokey, cheesy, and I’m here for it. Watch this one guys.
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