This movie went to Hell and back, and left a piece of it inside me!

Rating: 8/10 (9 June 2014)

Event Horizon is one of those underrated science fiction movies with a legendary troubled production, but the finished product, despite some obvious flaws, still had a solid core that deserved to be seen. Nevertheless, it took an undeserved beating from critics, and the praises from admirers were drown out by cries of derision from detractors. But then it became a cult-phenomenon. Fans congregated on websites and learned that they were not alone in their admiration. Behind-the-scenes footage showed the intention of the filmmakers, deleted material, and sometimes a glimpse of what could have been.
'Hollow', 'boring', 'overly depending on special effects' and 'not scary' were some of the complaints heard on the initial release. Well, 'not scary' is something I didn't believe from the start. I have never been able to finish this movie without a light on (especially not after hearing that last transmission played by Weir). The idea that a ship returns with a presence that can turn even the most rational person into a ragingly aggressive, mutilating animal scares me beyond anything that I can imagine. Although I am not an overly religious person, the notion that something resembling 'Hell' could physically exist is more than I want to contemplate. The potential beast inside us and others as the ultimate scare, it is a pretty original gimmick that few horror movies actually employ. With such a solid-gold premise, EH is one of the scariest movies of all time to me. It sadly is not among the very BEST scary movies ever, but it occupies a special place for me.
Paul W. Anderson made a lot of not-too-memorable movies, but this 'Shining in space' guarantees him some cult-status (perhaps because he didn't write it?). The wise casting of not-too-familiar character actors makes it not completely obvious which characters are going to die. It also provides sturdy performances from Lawrence Fishburn as the plagued but determined captain, and from Sam Neill, whose surprising but believable turn towards evil in the second half is actually one of the movie's strongest assets. The ships' interior designs and props seemed a bit clunky and unrealistic to me at first, but the future isn't necessarily Star Trek perfect; EH shows us a state-of-the-art ship still very much limited by human imperfections. It is easy to see how ahead of its time this design was in the 90s, and another reason why the movie deserves a re-assessment. By giving the ship the look and feel of a church, the connection with Hell as a place where the sinners are to be judged is aptly made, showing that the makers tried to put in a subtext beyond the ordinary slasher movie. Cinematographer Adrian Biddle uses sweeping camera shots to capture the dark beauty, but knows to keep it steady during the action scenes. Usually, horror works best off-screen, but some of the shock effects, ranging from empty eye sockets to a horribly twisted sado-masochistic home video, are the stuff nightmares are made of, and deserve to be shown in full g(l)ory. The nerve-wrecking sound design makes these scenes perfectly timed, heart-pounding moments. But the biggest impact comes from the 'Visions from Hell', which show glimpses of some of the most gruesome images of mangling and torture ever committed to film outside of a snuff movie. Of course, I couldn't resist going through those scenes frame by frame. I really shouldn't have. I have a pretty good idea now of what Hell could look like.
EH has plenty of sick and twisted greatness, but it also has its flaws. Some of the (computer-generated) special effects look unfinished, thanks to a looming release date and an unfortunately rushed production. I feel less bothered by this over time; most great films reveal their technical flaws over time. I am more concerned with what seems missing from the film. Negative test screenings necessitated additional revisions and editing, leaving no time for fine-tuning the drama. Sadly, this has become the way movie blockbusters are made these days, and sometimes it shows: the first act of the movie adequately builds up tension and anticipation, the second act delivers quite well with all the unraveling and increasing terror, but the film regrettably rushes through its final act. The straightforward finale is mostly to blame, as many of the genre's conventions take over: the guilt- stricken hero making his final sacrifice, the bad guy returning for the final showdown, and a big explosion to wrap things up. Some opportunities for important character moments were missed. While some of the crew's torments take center stage, it would have helped greatly if the other characters were more involved in the story than is the case now. Still, with the exception of two people, all cast members get their moments in the spotlights. There are no redundant characters here that I wished to have killed off. Sean Pertwee has a few of the best moments as the character who instinctively knows they're in the wrong place; Joely Richardson and Jason Isaacs are the cool-headed voices of reason. Jack Noseworthy, however, feels like 'the early victim' who lacks development, and Richard T. Jones' comic relief feels a bit forced at times.
EH is nowadays praised as quite daring, and influential in both movies (torture-porn?) and games. Although it may not be a masterpiece, this movie has had its long-lasting effects on me. Art isn't necessary beautiful or in good taste, and if quality can be measured in how something moves us, then EH certainly has some. Every time I watch it, I cannot help being drawn to those scenes that truly disturb me, like a ship out of Hell that is beckoning me to surrender to Evil. Every time I have seen it, I lose at least an hour of sleep over it. God knows why we mortals keep putting ourselves through this kind of mental auto-mutilation. Damn this movie!! Can't wait to see it again