Best unofficial WArhammer 40k prequel that's ever been made.
This movie is a cult classic and for some reason highly underrated. The first half is definitely better than the second half but still quite entertaining. I love the dark and gritty visual style of the movie and the cast isn‘t bad too.
"You know nothing. Hell is only a word. The reality is much, much worse."
I can’t get over how good this looks. The set design is interesting and the color grading is pretty crisp. The horror elements are pretty good and while I feel like there was more to this story, the cast elevated everything.
„Libera tutemet ex inferis" is not only a sentence from the film and is translated as "save yourself from Hell", but should perhaps also be a warning for the viewer(s). By hell, however, I don't mean the creepy idea of the underworld, but the hellish boredom that the film caused me, at least. This is perhaps one of the better Paul W. S. Anderson films, which unfortunately still doesn't make it a good film. The film is not worthy of a more detailed review.
I heard that much of this film cut before release, I would have been very interested to see what that version would have been like. Either way, a great film as it stands.
7/10
"Event Harizon
unrated SCE".
Is still a very very entertaining watch,
The Special effects were really really good
for the time even with the budgeting problems they
had, with the movie completely having to be
cut at the beginning and the opening
sequence re-shot of this big
Elaborate rescue of this mining ship.
But that was all chopped up and graphed
throughout the movie anyway.
This movie with it's all star cast is the perfect blend
of SyFy and Horror and it certainly
isn't shy about the horror,
Thank god because that's what sets this movie apart from all others and still has people talking
about it 20 plus years later.
I love the practical effects,
Always awesome to see.
I am so pleased that after absolutely bombing at the box office but doing absolutely amazing on it's dvd release finally it's found it's audience which give it all the love and appreciation this hybrid movie definitely deserves.
"YES THEY SEE"
Fantastic movie! A personal favorite since release.
I can however understand people who don't like it. But as a small comfort it could be worth knowing that Paramount cut the schedule to an insane short timeframe, forcing for example editing to be done i four weeks (instead of the usual ten).
Just so they could have something to cash in on before Titanic that was running over schedule and budget.
Not to mention that they had to edit it three times since the first two versions was to gory for the executives and test groups. :)
As a thanks Paramount stored the negatives of the production in a salt mine and improper handling resulted in these degrading to "useless quality".
Sources:
https://youtu.be/rHnUfPZR_S4
https://youtu.be/9bw6yHaz7PY
https://youtu.be/4Sc2CYeNxl4
https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/event-horizon-and-the-lost-director-s-cut/
Like others said, great concept (Solaris but make it horror) but there's an over-reliance on cheap jump scares. I don't know if it's worthy of its cult classic status.
Wild ride, amazing cast, quality jumpscares (my definition: a good jumpscare, but also blatantly telegraphed, for the most part), and a story that kept me on my toes right up to the credits! The effects are amazing for 1997. Honestly the only real fault I found was that the story was clearly more in-depth at one point, and while I think the director is right, the scares are more effective this way, with the viewer left to mostly imagine what's happening, the rest of the cut plot bits would've helped flesh out the story. Thanks, Paramount! I think I'll keep it around for another viewing in a couple of weeks or a month, just to see how the plot feels a second time and knowing what I know now.
"Event Horizon" is a great looking Sci-Fi film. The ship designs both internal and external rival many other good ones I've seen. Paul W.S. Anderson fills this movie with interesting shots and frames the characters in a lot of doorways and corridors. The ones that come to mind are the "meat grinder" tunnel and the square glowing-green passageways filled with circuit boards. The design of the gravity drive with its three rotating rings had a real gothic look about it. The concept of the story is very attractive. The premise of a ship that can create its own black hole and jump to a different location in the universe is enough to make a Sci-Fi geek break into a thrill-induced sweat. And with the concept of the ship jumping into Hell and then back well that triggers the Horror nerd reaction. I think the movie is really strong until about the 40-minute mark when it turns strictly toward Horror which frankly doesn't work too well. There's some pretty graphic gore but the editing cuts are so quick it's questionable whether the terror of the fate of the original crew is explored to the extent that it should be. The film stays bleak throughout except for the character Cooper who provides some misplaced comic relief late in the film that really deflates the established dark mood. The cast primarily Lawrence Fishburne and Joely Richardson are very engaging but Sam Neill is just too bland to be very threatening at all. Overall though I give "Event Horizon" higher marks based on its neat visuals but knock it down a bit for the lazy ending.
Story: 7/10...so much potential! Space travel. Relativity and black holes. Hell and other dimensions. But about 2/3 of the way through any sense of developing these themes is abandoned.
Dialogue: 5/10...script isn't laughable, but is filled with tropes and predictable conversations.
Performances: 5/10...nobody is incredibly believable in their role, but neither is anyone abysmal. Fishburne's performance gets better as the movie trucks along, but Neill just becomes silly. Everyone else is flat as can be.
Misc.: 4/10...bad CGI, lazy sets, boring camerawork and editing, and awful soundtrack. But there are a couple good scares I guess.
Overall: 5/10...rides the line between good/good and bad/good so ends up being pretty forgettable.
Streamed via Hulu (Cinemax)
I'm never a big fan of sci-fi horror but I'm surprised I enjoyed this one. The first half was bad to be honest, lots of uninteresting science talk almost put me to sleep, but then it start getting better and pulled my interest back in. The story was quite solid with fantastic production design, great atmosphere, good direction, and those unexpected disturbing moments. The cast wasn't that great except Fishburne, he's fantastic. The CGI feels dated but I love the practical effects. Overall it's fun and enjoyable for the most parts. Alien, Aliens, and Alien3 remain untouched.
An actually pretty creepy and intense horror movie. Definitely deserves to be one of the "cult classics" though the very end could have been structured a bit differently to make it more solid.
The visuals, set design and effects were top notch considering this was a film made even before the matrix and for a movie set in '97 it actually makes space quite believable. The writing was fairly solid and tight. Very few wasted scenes or dialog though some characters like Cooper really felt out of place. The actors acted the shit out of their roles and were completely believable as stranded and terrified crew in an alien situation. The plot, though not particularly smart, actually tries its best to keep things going, keep the tension building and the terror as real as possible. The premise itself requires some suspension of disbelief but for what it is, it stays fairly solid through most of it. There are barely any jump scares and instead relies more on psychological horror to keep you on the edge of your seat but the directing pretty much got in the way at the end trying to make for an explosive finale in what should have been a more slow burn of a horror ending considering how the movie tries to take its time for the rest of it. The sound design was probably the weakest aspect and the foley towards the end was pretty damn bad
I really enjoyed this one. Really tight movie and a must watch for fans of horror
Cosmic Horror done wrong: the movie. Great concept but lacklustre execution. Very reference-heavy. But man do I want to see In the Mouth of Madness now.
Riddled with stupid decisions that makes you bang your head against the wall.
Event Horizon is a terrifying science-fiction horror film from director Paul W.S. Anderson. When a spaceship that has been to the edge of the universe mysteriously returns after having gone missing for 7 years, a search and rescue mission is sent to investigate; but they soon discover that the ship has brought something back with it. Featuring Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Jason Isaacs, and Joely Richardson, the film has a strong cast. And, Anderson does a good job creating an intense and frightening atmosphere. Additionally, the set designs are especially good and make for an interesting futuristic look. However, there are some problems with the tone, and the gore is a bit gratuitous. Frightening and horrific, Event Horizon is an impressive dark thriller.
1.5 / 2 directing & technical aspect
1 / 1 story
1 / 1 act I
1 / 1 act II
1 / 1 act III
.5 / 1 acting
.5 / 1 writing
0 / 1 originality
0 / 1 lasting ability to make you think
0 / 1 misc
6.5 / 10
"Event Horizon" is a great looking Sci-Fi film. The ship designs both internal and external rival many other good ones I've seen. Paul W.S. Anderson fills this movie with interesting shots and frames the characters in a lot of doorways and corridors. The ones that come to mind are the "meat grinder" tunnel and the square glowing-green passageways filled with circuit boards. The design of the gravity drive with its three rotating rings had a real gothic look about it. The concept of the story is very attractive. The premise of a ship that can create its own black hole and jump to a different location in the universe is enough to make a Sci-Fi geek break into a thrill-induced sweat. And with the concept of the ship jumping into Hell and then back, well, that triggers the Horror nerd reaction.
I think the movie is really strong until about the 40-minute mark when it turns strictly toward Horror, which frankly doesn't work too well. There's some pretty graphic gore but the editing cuts are so quick it's questionable whether the terror of the fate of the original crew is explored to the extent that it should be.
The film stays bleak throughout except for the character Cooper who provides some misplaced comic relief late in the film that really deflates the established dark mood. The cast primarily Lawrence Fishburne and Joely Richardson are very engaging but Sam Neill is just too bland to be very threatening at all. Overall though, I give "Event Horizon" higher marks based on its neat visuals but knock it down a bit for the lazy ending.
It was probably super movie back in '98
Clearly it took some inspiration from Hellraiser's series, but still a fast-paced horror sci-fi, enjoyable on its own. Also Richard T. Jones made me laugh much more than it should.
Predictable, cheesy and a lackluster ending, but it's still fun Sci-fi B-Movie schlock. There's actually some cool designs, and potential for real scares here.
I don't get it...this movie could have been so great if they didn't screw up the second half. Wtf was that?
One of the most creepy SF movies ever...
The least shitty movie from Paul W.S. Anderson. It's bizarre and pretty insane.
One of the weirdest and creepiest movies I've seen in a long time! Bit scared to go to bed now :')
"The ship brought me back!"
Just awesome, one of my favourite movies, and HIGHLY underrated! Despite liking horrors, I don't find many of them scary, but this one was sssscary man! It probably didn't help that the first time I saw it, I was a little high. Had no idea what it was about going in to watch at the cimema, but was the only decent movie on at the time. Like chiew said, gave me the heeby jeebies and then some!
If you like your horrors a little less graphic, and a little more physiological, give this a whirl... but preferable NOT while you are high, although it's just as scary sober, as I've found after watching it several times since, something I rarely do with any movie.
One of few films to give me the heeby jeebies.
Fantastic Space-Horror! One of the few good ones.
A lot of people really hate this movie but I kind of liked it.
some fucked up movie! (but the good kind)
Best SciFi horror yet
Shout by WardVIP 8BlockedParent2015-08-01T23:43:11Z— updated 2020-05-24T15:59:20Z
This could have been a great film, and i thought it was going to be after a good first half, but then the 2nd half went and ruined everything, very very disappointing/terrible second half in my opinion.