EVENT HORIZON
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 4.0 Alternative Scale: ** out of ****
United States, 1997 U.S. Release Date: 8/15/97 (wide) Running Length: 1:37 MPAA Classification: R (Violence, gore, profanity, brief nudity) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson,=20 Richard T. Jones, Jack Noseworthy, Jason Isaacs, Sean Pertwee Director: Paul Anderson Producers: Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, and Jeremy Bolt=20 Screenplay: Philip Eisner Cinematography: Adrian Biddle Music: Michael Kamen U.S. Distributor: Paramount Pictures
I went into EVENT HORIZON expecting an ALIEN clone. However,=20 although this film has successfully recaptured some of the look and=20 claustrophobic feel of Ridley Scott's science fiction classic, that's=20 where the similarity ends. Because, while ALIEN was tautly paced and=20 deftly scripted, EVENT HORIZON is a mess. This is one of the most=20 chaotic movies that I have seen since 1996's nearly-incomprehensible=20 MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE. Half of what's going on is never explained, and=20 what is explained, doesn't make much sense. And that's just the=20 beginning of the problems encountered in director Paul Anderson's=20 (MORTAL KOMBAT) poorly executed endeavor=85
August is traditionally the month when studios dump their least- attractive summer prospects into the market, so EVENT HORIZON has plenty=20 of company. This is the kind of motion picture that would be killed in=20 a direct competition against a LOST WORLD or CONTACT, but stands a=20 chance against such second-rate opponents as SPAWN and MIMIC. And,=20 because the film is extremely light on intelligent dialogue and heavy on=20 gore-laden action and superficial shocks, it should play well in a=20 dubbed version overseas, so the producers have a chance to make back=20 their money.=20
EVENT HORIZON takes us to the year 2047 and onto the deep space=20 rescue craft LEWIS & CLARK as it departs from Earth orbit on a two-month=20 journey to Neptune. On board are the usual suspects, a group of outer=20 space military veterans: Captain Miller (Laurence Fishburne) and=20 crewmembers Starck (Joely Richardson), Peters (Kathleen Quinlan), Cooper=20 (Richard T. Jones), Justin (Jack Noseworthy), D.J. (Jason Isaacs), and=20 Smith (Sean Pertwee). There's also the mysterious and elusive Dr.=20 William Weir (Sam Neill), who's the only one aware of what's truly going=20 on.
The primary mission of the LEWIS & CLARK is to go into a low orbit=20 around Neptune and make contact with the deep space research vessel=20 EVENT HORIZON, which was initially thought destroyed seven years ago. =20 The would-be rescuers are to search for survivors and salvage anything=20 that's reclaimable, but no one is prepared for the horror that lurks=20 deep within the dark corridors of the dead ship. The crew of the EVENT=20 HORIZON may have had their innards splattered over the bulkheads, but=20 something aboard the ship is very much alive.
Sadly, despite what seems to be a promising premise (a haunted=20 house in space), EVENT HORIZON misfires badly. Those who thought the=20 minor technical slip-ups in CONTACT were egregious will be floored by=20 the slipshod "science" embraced by this film, where "miniature black=20 holes" are created with little effort and ships are sucked through=20 singularities without even the slightest bit of gravity distortion. =20 When it comes to labeling EVENT HORIZON as a science fiction film, put=20 the emphasis heavily on the "fiction" portion of the term.
For movies like this to work, we have to develop a rooting interest=20 in at least one member of the crew, otherwise the film becomes a=20 pointless exercise in watching men and women get cut down one-by-one. =20 ALIEN was effective because we cared about Sigourney Weaver's Ripley. =20 Here, however, none of the characters are remotely sympathetic or=20 interesting. They're a bunch of familiar types thrown onto the screen,=20 most of whom have neither past nor future. We are given some background=20 information about a few of these individuals (one lost a wife, another=20 has a son she left back on Earth, and another made a tragic command=20 decision that cost a life), but it's hardly enough to flesh them out. =20 Even a solid actor like Laurence Fishburne (Ike Turner in WHAT'S LOVE=20 GOT TO DO WITH IT?) can't rescue such a poorly-developed character. The=20 likes of Joely Richardson (the live-action 101 DALMATIANS), Kathleen=20 Quinlan (BREAKDOWN), and Sean Pertwee (the son of the third DR. WHO, Jon=20 Pertwee) blend into the background. Sam Neill manages to develop the=20 semblance of a personality, but that's because he's given a little more=20 to work with than the others. The most memorable performance belongs to=20 Richard T. Jones (THE TRIGGER EFFECT), whose eccentric Cooper provides=20 most of the comic relief.
There are a few means by which it's possible to relieve the tedium=20 of sitting through a screening of EVENT HORIZON. The first is to=20 identify rip-offs of other horror and dark science fiction films (most=20 notably THE EXORCIST, THE SHINING, and the ALIEN series). The second is=20 to count the number of times that the film uses a nightmare sequence to=20 "shock" us (with a plot device as overused as this one, even once would=20 seem to be too much). Another possibility would be to start a betting=20 pool for which of the cardboard cut-out characters will die first.=20 (Note: blood gushing out of certain orifices does not count as "dead"=20 unless the heart stops pumping.) The bottom line is that EVENT HORIZON=20 isn't particularly effective as a horror, adventure, or science fiction=20 film, and, to enjoy it, you're going to have to resort to something more=20 creative than sitting passively in your seat and absorbing the=20 atmospheric confusion that transpires on screen. =20
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
"A film is a petrified fountain of thought." - Jean Cocteau
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