A must see for anyone who likes to be scared by sci fi

Rating: Null/10 (28 July 2001)

Whilst many will disagree with me, I still find Event Horizon to be an adequate sci-fi/thriller. Those who are new to the genre, and similarly those whose life -is- sci-fi, will no doubt be disappointed with it. When I first saw it I was in a movie theatre with about a handful of other people (I love late night sessions), and while this may be a contributing factor to my positive opinion of the film, I still believe it has -some- decent attributes and will now stop defending my position!
Event Horizon has everything you want in a sci-fi/thriller: suspense, action, a feasible plot, comic relief (although sometimes unwanted) and that feeling that you actually -are- on board a space vessel and that it's not just digital special fx or a well-made set. I have watched too many horror films/thriller, and started doing so at too young an age, that not many films scare me - and Event Horizon did! Probably best viewed at night (with a good sound system!) to appreciate the mood of the film. The sudden movements/actions, backed up by the rather loud and startling sound effects (contrasting the silence which precedes them) makes for a good scare! (in my humble opinion, of course).
The plot is very vague (which is in no way a bad thing) and this 'hell' which they refer to is never completely revealed or depicted which leaves a lot to the imagination. How can one begin to properly describe hell? Especially considering that one's "worst nightmare" varies considerably between people. At least Event Horizon -has- some sort of story to it and doesn't just rely on special effects like most sci-fi movies these days. And if you don't like the storyline or think it's too far fetched, get over it .. it's science FICTION. Sam Neil's character doesn't do too good a job of explaining how the ship works anyway and writes it off as too complex for us to comprehend which is enough for us to accept it and not dwell on it too much.
There didn't seem to be too much character chemistry going on, it was more each to their own, but with a relatively small cast and considering the circumstances they found themselves under, this wasn't such a terrible downfall. The comic relief that Cooper provided was a little too much and did not blend too well with the overall mood the film was trying to create. Personally I found his character to be annoying. Sean Pertwee did some good acting on the other hand and I love his character up until the end! (you'll see what I mean).
So for a "dodgy" sci-fi movie with "borrowed" themes, Event Horizon faired alright and I would give it a 9 out of 10. When I first saw it at the cinema it was my favourite film for at least a year and I'm still not completely sure why...
Oh and the ending .. I liked. Although I'm one of those people that gets sucked into movies and doesn't predict or anticipate things, as clicheed or "typical" as they may be so my opinion could be highly subjective. But nonetheless overall I find Event Horizon to be a good film, for entertainment purposes only as it doesn't delve into anything deeper than that.