Interesting concept, bloody mess of a movie

Rating: Null/10 (11 May 2000)

I looked forward to seeing this movie mainly because I'm a Sam Neill fan -- he's an excellent, underrated actor who doesn't get enough good roles. The basic premise (a haunted ship that has literally been to hell and back) also sounded interesting. Well, it all adds up to maybe not THE worst movie of all time, but unquestionably one of them.
The beginning, maybe the first 40 minutes or so, was actually not bad, and Sam Neill created an interesting character as Dr. Weir, a lonely man tormented by guilt over his wife's suicide. There was also some genuine suspense, with ominous little hints that horrible things were about to happen. Unfortunately, once the anticipation ended and the actual horrors began, "Event Horizon" became ridiculous and revolting.
Anderson is one of those directors who seem to think that to create terror, you have to show rivers of blood and graphic images of human flesh being torn apart with the guts hanging out. At a certain point, though, it all becomes really gross, rather than scary. For truly frightening films, see "Rosemary's Baby" or "Repulsion" (another Roman Polanski film), which relied strictly on psychological horror.
In the second half of "Event Horizon," Neill's character became so grotesque that even the best actor couldn't have done anything decent with it. Laurence Fishburne is a good actor but he was much better in "Just Cause" (even though it was a pretty mediocre movie).
"Event Horizon" is a total waste of time and talent.