A criminally under rated horror masterpiece

Rating: 8/10 (24 May 2006)

Unfairly dismissed as a combination of Alien and Hellraiser, Event Horizon is one of those films that should be ranked among the classics of it's genre yet has somehow fallen by the wayside to be revered by movie geeks and horror aficionados but ultimately ignored by the mainstream. What's especially surprising is that this excellent film came from the directing skills of Paul W Anderson who was also responsible for such tragic misfires as Resident Evil and Alien Versus Predator and shows that there is more to Hollywood's Generic Director For Hire than first imagined.
Set in the year 2047 the story concerns the sudden reappearance of a prototype spaceship (the Event Horizon of the title) which vanished on it's maiden voyage seven years previously. A salvage ship called The Lewis And Clark is sent out to investigate and brings along Dr William Weir (Sam Neil), a physics expert originally responsible for the ship's creation. They dock with the Horizon but find no signs of life and as they set about making repairs, the crew begin to experience hallucinations and sense that they are not alone...
So far so very familiar but this is far, far more than a rip off disguising itself as a 'homage.' For one thing there is no predatory alien hunter on the loose and instead the horror is far more psychological. Not that there isn't a fair amount of violence and gore but the gradual sense of unease that builds up to it is crafted more on the crew's growing sense of anxiety and paranoia. Plus, there is no definitive explanation given for what they are experiencing. Just what are these Ghosts from their pasts doing on this ship? And what exists on the other side of the black hole? Another dimension where mankind was never meant to go or as the movie itself suggests but doesn't confirm, the very depths of hell itself? Couple this with the excellent set design - the ship is modelled on the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris - and the pulse-pounding moments in the latter half when the chaos sets in and you have one tremendously enjoyable horror film. Best watched alone at night with all the lights off where you can properly get swept up in it's claustrophobic atmosphere, you'll never need eyes to see again.