EVENT HORIZON
Jack Choo
Directed by Paul Anderson
Cast : Lawrence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan
Run Time : 1hr 50mins
Rating :**** out of ***** (at your own risk!)
EVENT HORIZON is dreadful horror
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No, it is not a bad film, in fact it is so good at achieving its purpose, I actually wished the film would end itself quickly. EVENT HORIZON is not your run-of-the-mill sci-fi film, I'm sure many who have watched this will agree. It is not even origina l in that sense, and it does borrow heavily from films like ALIEN, HELLRAISER and even BLADE RUNNER. The magic of this film lies in its unorthodox setting and methodical build-up that makes it wonderfully horrifying.
The story brings us to the year 2049, where space travel has progressed enormously. The Event Horizon is actually a ship built for a secret experimental purpose: it has the ability to fold time and space thus making it possible for travelling distances not reachable in a man's lifetime. The ship disappeared as soon as it went into operation but after 7 years, reappearing again within the orbit of Neptune. A search and rescue team led by Miller (Fishburne) is given the task to check for survivors of the Event Horizon. The designer of the ship, Dr. Weir (Neill) follows to satisfy his curiosity as to what actually happened to his otherwise technologically impressive ship.
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EVENT HORIZON is a sci-fi horror film, much truer to the word than something like, say, ALIEN would ever be. While in ALIEN, the crew has to cope with a ferocious creature while encased within tight spaces, in EVENT HORIZON, the forces which assault th e crew are undefined, but yet so powerful and horrifying. The story unfolds itself slowly and the suspense build-up is superb, up till the point where I really felt like saying out loud "enough! I can't stand this anymore!" There are more than enough jolt s to send your adrenalin pumping overtime. The story in itself is not exactly something very exciting and also, the acting is only at most, average by most commercial standards. Even so, the essence of horror is carried out very well in this film, thanks to its well-paced storytelling, disturbing set designs and some really gory sequences (which incidentally, has been quite generously removed by our censorship board).
Director Paul Anderson (who did MORTAL KOMBAT) and his team of "atmosphere" creators have done well in keeping EVENT HORIZON within the bounds of the term "horror." This picture did not do very well at the US box-office most probably for the dread-fact or impact it has on most audiences; people will not see it again and not many would recommend their friend to watch this. Although on the face of it, EVENT HORIZON is mostly molded for mass entertainment; many thrills, spills and suspense to keep audience s in focus. However, the offbeat horror element which it ultimately convey audiences is very disturbing. My friend and I could not say a word to each other for quite a while after going through the `experienceí of EVENT HORIZON. I guess it was just the im mense feeling of dread which the film had cast upon us.
Be forewarned, this film is not for the faint-hearted nor for pure entertainment. Be prepared to be disturbed if you should decide to watch this film! EVENT HORIZON is highly recommended, but at your own risk! It has been a long time since good horror embraced the big screen, and EVENT HORIZON is one movie that does this.
The Flying Inkpot's Rating System
* Wait for the TV2 broadcast.
** A little creaky, but still better than staying at home with Gotcha!
*** Pretty good, bring a friend.
**** Amazing, potent stuff.
***** Perfection. See it twice.
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From: Chris (quantuman2000@mailcity.com)
the best movie ever, really scary (which is what i look for in a movie) and adrenilin pumping. i really agree with the person who wrote the review, that person is an excellent writer. i will recommend this site and movie to my friends