What's wrong with this film?

Rating: Null/10 (26 July 2000)

I wanted to like it. Part of the problem is that it was misrepresented. People were expecting an Alien-style Sci-Fi epic but got this gothic Barkeresque haunted-house-in-space arty piece instead. The design and visual effects are stunning (although the techno-gothic look of the Event Horizon's interiors gets to be a bit too much - exterior-wise, though, it's one my favourite SF ships ever).
It's got a great cast - Neill, Fishburne and Isaacs in particular stand out. Pertwee is maybe a bit too blunt and hard-edged, Quinlan's character doesn't gel and Richardson doesn't have anything to do. I suspect it's the material they have to work with that presents the problem - Neill is great doing the obsessed scientist bit, but not his deranged Pinhead-from-Hellraiser turn.
The editing/pacing is definitely wrong - the little bits of printout that establish the story at the beginning are initially useful, but get to be annoying and clumsy, especially when the important bits get re-told later in dialogue. They have a 20-hour countdown, which they keep referring to, cutting off chunks of the remaining time with gay abandon - one minute they're down to 17 hours, then 4, all without doing them anything or any time seeming to really have passed.
And lastly, there's the shocks. All signposted with blaring blasts of sound that tell you THIS BIT IS SCARY. Those bits aren't scary, and you soon get bored (and a little deaf).
Final analysis? Blame the director. There's the germ of a good film here, but not in the hands of Paul Anderson, responsible for four incredibly schlock-y films (the others being Shopping, Mortal Kombat and Soldier).