Great premise..poor delivery!

Rating: 6/10 (15 May 2006)

I always think about H.P. Lovecraft whenever viewing movies mixing the genres of horror and sci-fi. I'm not saying that this movie is based on or directly influenced by a Loveraftian tale. However, I'm sure that H.P.L. would have been entertained. Event Horizon begins by offering a chilling and creative premise: A space ship capable of warping space returns after missing for several years and is adrift within the orbit of Neptune. A science team is sent to search for any survivors and investigate the situation of the ship's disappearance. The team discovers that the shipped warped into a dimension of pure evil and went insane; eventually killing themselves in the process. However, what the team is late in discovering is that the ship itself has become haunted (possessed) and is attempting to murder the rescue team members. Viewer questions arise: Has the ship become an sentient evil entity, or are the possessions and poltergeists caused by residual spiritual energies?
This creative premise had me intrigued. The movie essentially becomes an orbiting haunted house. What a concept! Unfortunately, the promise of a great ghost story is lost on unoriginal elements. The spooky events used to convey the plot become tired and clichéd. Visual hallucinations, sudden sounds of slamming doors, and laughing ghost children (overused in most horror movies of the late 90's) are meant to convey the atmosphere of a haunting, but fall flat.
A better directorial approach should have included each member of the team offering different arguments on the causes of the haunting, bringing in a science-verses-the-world-of-the-spiritual theme. A Lovecraftian blend of the spiritual and hard science would have made this movie more thought provoking and encourage intense conversations among the viewers.
This movie is an example of how many of today's directors are incompetent in utilizing sound and visual imagery to convey a creepy atmosphere. A study of "Legend of Hell House", Kubrick's "Shinning", or Val Lewton's "I Walked with a Zombie" would have assisted the director in forming an appropriate atmosphere for this movie.
In summary..Event Horizon offers a great horror premise, but the cinematic events fail to carry it through.