"Solaris" meets "Hellraiser"

Rating: 1/10 (20 December 2005)

Despite a talented cast, great production design and some awesome special effect scenes (the opening shot of the space station in Earth orbit made my vertigo kick in!), this is a very disappointing film.
Taken as a straightforward horror movie, it delivers some unsettling shocks to begin with but quickly moves into "guessing who's gonna die next" territory. Yawn. One character transforms into something resembling a "Hellraiser" Cenobite and the ending smacks of the "Alien" series of films.
As a sci-fi film, it could have been so much more complex and involving, but the lazy "All Black Holes lead to Hell" premise slams the door on a more imaginative explanation of the original Event Horizon crew's bizarre behaviour and messy deaths. Less emphasis on gore and simple shock tactics might have swayed me more in the film's favour, but ultimately the screenplay cops out of asking questions. Instead the viewer has to strap in for a derivative "thrill" ride. I watched the film until the end - hoping that it would get better - but I reckon that most of the budget went on the wonderful production design and the wages for the talented cast.
I'd be interested to see a Director's Cut (if Paul Anderson ever releases one) but it would have to be a lot more like "Solaris" or the first of the "Hellraiser" films for me to recommend it.