Such great potential, squandered.

Rating: 5/10 (21 July 2016)

Event horizon is one of the most cult classic movies of all time. As much as it is a mediocrity, I can see why. There is about 30 minutes of film cut from the final, and while it is a noticeable removal, any mysterious backstory is enough to turn what would have been a slightly above average sci-fi into what is now an urban legend. This cut also made the film basically uncriticizable, as any perceived flaws can be blamed on the cut rather than innate problems with the film. So as to win the favor of the fans before pissing them off, lets start with the positives of the film.
For one thing the costume design is great, as well as the concept. The concept's strength is what makes the execution such a disappointment to me, for reasons I will get to later. The acting is usually strong, especially from Laurence Fishburne. The movie is very good at building suspense as well.
The biggest and most noticeable flaw is the development of the characters. The characters are as generic as can be, the only thing making them interesting are the personal traumas that are taken advantage of in their own hell. If the movie had gone more in depth on these personal traumas, and really made an effort in showing how personal and scary these traumas were to these characters- the movie could have been something great. Instead we get a bunch of tropes with some dark backstory mislabeled as character.
Horror isn't know for it's strong characters (although there are definite exceptions to this) but in a movie that gains its horror from building personal hell for these characters, the least that could do is make them people.