Event Horizon A Spooky Horror Thriller With Some Flaws

Rating: 6/10 (16 June 2009)

Event Horizon is a spooky horror thriller with some flaws from director Paul W.S. Anderson whose admirable in making this movie about a rescue crew investigates a spaceship that disappeared into a black hole and has now returned with someone or something on board lurking in the shadows waiting for it's chance to strike. The movie is suspenseful, with some gruesome deaths, and solid performances by the cast. But there are some flaws that weigh the film down. I'll get back to that. The cast for the most part are good in their roles including Laurence Fishburne as the hero, Sam Neill in a rare hero/villain role, Joely Richarson, and Kathleen Quinlan. Jason Isaacs, Richard T. Jones, Sean Pertwee, and Jack Noseworthy are effective as the supporting characters but some of them lack development because their roles are cut short. The special effects are impressive and the film does offer enough suspense but the ending wasn't the greatest. If they had changed the ending somehow it would've been a little better. There was some suspense but there could have been more and there weren't any real scares except for a couple of them. The movie does leave a lot of questions unanswered except for a few brief explanations from Neill's character about how the drive works and where it could have taken the other crew. I would have given it a higher rating if there was a clearer explanation to what exactly happened. The deaths however were well executed and brutal. The brief glimpses of people being tortured in grotesque ways were graphic and realistic. Neill's character was right when he says, "hell is just a word the reality is much much worse." Well his character was definitely right which doesn't mean good news for Laurence Fishburne and his rescue team who have responded to Event Horizon's distress beacon. Despite some flaws Event Horizon is still a decent horror thriller with enough gruesome deaths, suspense, and good performances by the cast that's sure to please most fans of the genre.