5.3/10 just doesn't do it justice...

Rating: 8/10 (8 November 2000)

I could follow suit and summarise the plot once again - which, seemingly contrary to the beliefs of most who have seen it, does indeed exist - but it would be pointless. My main feeling on what makes Event Horizon a film of true quality is not only the excellent storyline, highly credible acting and superb special effects, but the impression it leaves on the brain for hours after viewing. If you truly understand what is going on, the film grips you in a vice lock for 90 minutes and, if the environment (i.e. a dark room, late at night!) is right, provides you with genuine shocks and thrills other quite-unquote 'horror movies' such as Scream can't manage. Certainly, there are some very unsettling moments - the subliminal flashes are pretty sickening - but they aren't just thrown at you for the sake of audience reaction, they contribute to the haunting image the film leaves you with, and believe me it does. This is surely displayed in the way that the gore involved in characters' deaths is mainly left to the imagination, that of DJ for example was all the more disturbing for me because of the focus on his facial expression and the sound he makes. The only real blood and guts is flashed up because of brief illumination or a second-long blast of images, which adds to the tremendous intensity. Of course it also has the old-fashioned make-you-jump moments which will seem all the more nerve-wracking if you were as absorbed as I was. And to cap it all, a film with an emotive soundtrack opening with a pounding Orbital track and leaving you with one final shock seconds before Funky S**t by the Prodigy kicks in has to be good.
9/10
Now I want that Special Edition on R2 DVD.