Don't overlook Even Horizon. There are better films in the genre, but there are also much, much worse.

Rating: Null/10 (25 July 2001)

The main criticisms levelled at Event Horizon have been lack of focus and fresh ideas.
I agree that Horizon is derivate in many of its elements, but then it is a rare film in this genre that presents something entirely new. You will find echoes of Alien, 2001, even The Shining plus more in Event Horizon. But I think that it offers enough that is new or at least a new spin to make it worth a look.
As for focus I was struck by how honed Horizon was in what it was getting at. (Watch out, here comes a little spoiler!) Having each character stalked by a darkness from their own minds made real, allowed a wider scope of unexpected jolts to be sprung on the audience than if there was just your run-of-the-mill toothy monster.
Horizon's jerky pacing is its main shortcoming. It tends to throw shocks at you throughout instead of building solidly to a knockout climax. The conclusion when it comes feels as if its trying to get your wandering attention back onto the screen and so to some will feel overblown as a consequence.
Laurence Fishburne leads a strong cast as captain of the rescue ship sent to find survivors aboard the Event Horizon which has mysteriously re-appeared after vanishing years before. Watching him in action is always a pleasure, especially as you can observe traits he was to bring to The Matrix as Morpheus. Sam Neil is able to summon up a charismatic performance too, in a vein far removed from his usual taciturn screen presence.
Because little good sci-fi gets made I believe the sci-fi audience is an overly critical one. Even with the mini renaissance of sci-fi at the moment with Matrix 2/3, X-Men 2/3 and Final Fantasy etc, there is still a shortage of quality non-Trek material. Don't overlook Even Horizon. There are better films in the genre, but there are also much, much worse.