Mediocre first half, creepy second half

Rating: 7/10 (17 May 2009)

"Event Horizon" is still working itself out when it starts. It doesn't iron out all the kinks until the movie is half-over. The first half tries, but fails, to be creepy. However, once it finds its rhythm, "Event Horizon" is VERY creepy.
About 50 years into the future, a research vessel called the Event Horizon just disappears. No contact, no trace of what happened or where it went. Seven years later, it reappears, and a rescue crew is sent to investigate. Tagging along is the ship's creator, Dr. Weir (Sam Neill). Once they get there, strange things start happening...
The biggest problem with "Event Horizon" is that the first half just isn't creepy. Paul W. S. Anderson (not to be confused with Paul Thomas Anderson or the guy-who-shouldn't-be-making-films Wes Anderson) tries to create tension, but at first, the "creepy" goings on aren't, well, creepy. There's no sense of danger, and it's surprising that the actors (specifically Kathleen Quinlan in one scene) seem as spooked as they are. Therefore, the film has to rely on atmosphere to generate tension. While I'm not saying that the "Event Horizon" isn't a creepy place from the get-go (it is), it's just not creepy enough.
This shouldn't be construed to mean that the first hour of the film is boring. While it may not get the hairs on the back of your neck to stand up, it's always interesting. The ship is just begging to be explored, and the question of what happened to the ship (and its crew) is always one everyone's mind.
Acting is stronger here than it usually is for this kind of a movie. Laurence Fishburne has a commanding presence as the rescue ship's captain. This was a thinly written character, but Fishburne makes a character out of him. Sam Neill is wasted for the first half, but he becomes a lot better when he has something to do. Joely Richardson doesn't get to do much in terms of character, but she doesn't blow it. Jason Issacs, one of my favorite actors waiting for their big break, creates a dark, but amiable person as DJ. Richard T. Jones (who provides some comic relief), Jack Noseworthy and Sean Pertwee round out the cast with solid, if unmemorable, performances.
Director Paul W.S. Anderson has a lot of control over his material, but he makes some blunders as well. His sense of atmosphere needs fine tuning, but even in a movie like this, he has great control of his actors. He can't always create tension, but he always has the audience's interest. This is a solid offering from the man who would later bring us the Resident Evil movies.
The special effects vary as well. Granted, this movie was made over a decade ago, but even then some of them could have been better worked out. The explosions look nice, the gore doesn't look fake, and the big effects shots (like of the whole ship) are very real and meticulously detailed. However, the little things don't fare as well. For example, the objects that fly across the room in zero gravity are obviously computer generated, and the computers look as if they were made before "Alien" (in production time, not the setting).
I know I've been rather vague, and for that I apologize. But I'd still recommend "Event Horizon." It's not perfect, but it's not a very bad way to waste a good hour and a half.