In the not too distant future, next Sunday AD, Earth launches a ship called Event Horizon to test out a new engine that could revolutionize space travel. However, it disappears and is considered lost for seven years... until it suddenly returns. A rescue mission is launched in a ship named The Lewis and Clark (worst ship name ever), headed up by Captain Miller (Lawrence Fishburn) and a scientist named Dr. Weir (Sam Neill), who designed the Event Horizon. When they find the ship, they quickly discover that the crew came to a mysterious and grisly end. It seems that the ship has been through Hell and back (literally) and will take the crew of the Lewis and Clarke with it if they are not careful.
When this movie came out, it got a lot of shit, and so I never bothered to watch it. The director, Paul W.S. Anderson, the talentless bizarro version acclaimed director Paul Anderson (director of Magnolia, who usually goes by Paul Thomas Anderson, presumably not to be confused with his shitty counterpart) went on to direct the god-awful Resident Evil movies, which pretty much sealed the fate of me ever watching Event Horizon... until now. Goddamn you, Netflix, for bringing this up in the horror category!
Truth be told, this movie isn't really that bad. Sure, it has some laugh-out-loud moments that aren't supposed to be funny, like Sam Neill's scream of horror that sounds so forced it had to have been the first take... right?
There's also a moment when Sam Neill's character shows up with his eyes sewn shut. When Captain Miller asks, "What the hell did you do to your eyes?" Dr. Weir replies, "Eyes? Where we're going, we don't need eyes." It mirrors Doc Brown's "Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads" line from Back to the Future so much it's absurd, and moments like that have a tendency to undermine the terror that is supposed to be happening onscreen.
Which is the crux of my problem with Paul W.S. Anderson - he knows how to make really cool music videos... until they become 90 minute movies. I will say, though, that this movie is definitely an admirably original attempt at sci-fi horror. The concept is cool, and there are genuinely tense scenes, but in the end it's just schlock... but at least it's entertaining schlock. You could do a lot worse than Event Horizon... such as Resident Evil movies. Or Mad Monster Party.
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