Alien meets Solaris with a touch of Lovecraft

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2019)

Every once in a while I watch a film that has been so poorly received by critics that I am genuinely astounded as to how so many professional critics can have came to such a spectacularly different conclusion as I have. Event Horizon is very much one of those films.
The plot concerns the crew of an interstellar recovery vessel led by Captain Miller (Laurence Fishburne) who are en route to salvage the eponymous ship, which has reappeared after a 7 year absence. The ship's designer (Dr. Billy Weir played by Same Neil) gives the crew a very hand-wavy explanation of how the ship uses a gravity drive which generates a black hole to enable it to traverse far greater distances than any existing technology allows - a concept that is implausible if not impossible. Unfortunately it seems as though the Event Horizon's crew died in a very bloody and violent fashion.
In terms of genre, the film very much fits within the sci-fi horror niche. In particular it appears to derive a great deal of influence from Alien (to the extent that both ships resemble the Nostromo). However a number of characters experience hallucinations and this as well as the theme of humans trying to interact with something they cannot fully understand also reminded me of Solaris. And when a film contains a quote along the lines of 'You break all the laws of physics and you seriously think there wouldn't be a price?' it's hard not to think of the cosmic horror of H.P. Lovecraft in which science, technology, and even reason, prove futile in the face of vast and uncaring universe.
Despite the fast pace and frequent use of special effects characterisation is not ignored. Much of the horror is drawn from characters being presented with traumatic images from their pasts. Likewise, there are several scenes where the characters clearly show concern for and emotional attachment towards each other. However given that two of the rescue ship's crew are female, I was relieved the makers of the film didn't try to force a romance subplot. It was also a relief to see characters acting in a fashion that allowed them to show fear whilst still coping with the situation in a rational manner - as opposed to the traditional two extremes of the horror genre; hysterical idiots or fearless ubermensch. In particular, Laurence Fishburne provided a suitable commanding presence as a strong leader who clearly cared about his crew, while Joely Richardson came across as an effective second in command.
While Event Horizon is never quite able to reach the greatness of Alien (which I consider best in class for sci-fi horror) it did manage to sustain my attention through a combination of suspense, horror, and mystery. There were no glaring plot holes, I couldn't name a bad actor, and the special effects all hold up to viewing in 2019. I have no idea why the critics hated this film so much, for sure there may be an element of snobbery towards genre fare, but many of the same critics have given positive reviews to other genre films such as those from the Alien or The Terminator series. While the opinions of others won't stop me enjoying a film, it is a bit of a shape to think that many people will be turned off watching Event Horizon by its poor critical reputation. So for those who are evenly remotely interested in it, I would enthusiastically urge you to seek it and judge it for yourself.