EVENT HORIZON
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1997 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *
There is a typically cheesy moment in EVENT HORIZON when the scientist on board explains how he cheated the law of physics and designed a craft to effectively go faster than the speed of light. Taking a nude pinup from the crew's quarters, he folds it together and pokes a hole from one side to the other to illustrate how the craft was able to jump across the time-space continuum via an artificial black hole.
Ignore the trailers and the handsome special effects of EVENT HORIZON, for it is not a science fiction movie. This is an expensive horror film that is pure schlock. It does have a glossy sci-fi wrapper, a la ALIEN, but the quality of the underlying production is a pure B movie exercise in terror.
The year is 2047. Seven years earlier in the greatest space disaster ever a ship called the Event Horizon was lost while on a mission to explore deep space. The ship has suddenly reappeared, so the U.S.A.C. Lewis and Clark is sent to find out what happened and whether anyone survived.
The movie has a talented, but completely wasted cast. The scientist, Dr. William Wier, is played almost like a zombie by Sam Neill. The head of the Lewis and Clark, Captain Joe Miller, is played by Laurence Fishburne in a fit of anger. Why the captain has such a bad attitude is never explained. Perhaps Fishburne was mad at his agent for signing him for this hopeless film. Other members of the crew include Joely Richardson as Starck and Kathleen Quinlan as Peters.
First-time writer Philip Eisner's fatuous script includes a stream of inane lines including retreads ("Smoke 'em if you got 'em"), overly cute ones ("You know the rules people. Someone drops the ball, we get the call."), and the brutally obvious ("What are you telling me? This ship is alive?").
Director Paul Anderson, who last blessed the cinematic world with MORTAL COMBAT, stages EVENT HORIZON with nary a subtle moment. His style of overdirecting can best be seen when the rescue crew finds the derelict ship. Way out in space, it has the name "Event Horizon" in lights so bright that it would do any Broadway musical proud. The crew, which makes some pretty foolish moves later, at least does not miss this floating billboard.
Once inside the EVENT HORIZON, the horror show gets into full gear, right down the obligatory child endangerment scenes. The audience gets to witness massive amounts of blood and nauseating special effects. People's bodies explode from within, and in the film's piece de resistance, characters rip out their own eye balls. "Where we're going, we won't need eyes to see," an eyeless Dr. Wier assures the captain.
This slickly produced bad movie has superlative special effects. Objects, especially liquids, float in space with a eerie realism. Still, the net effect of all of the gore in this disturbing film is apt to leave many movie goers wanting to head for a shower. Some pictures, ALIEN and ALIENS being the best examples, can make an apocalyptic vision fascinating. EVENT HORIZON, on the other hand, is merely disgusting and watching it is about as much fun as staring at car accidents along the highway.
EVENT HORIZON runs just 1:35 but feels like it will never end. The movie is rated R for frequent profanity, massive violence and gratuitous nudity. The show would be acceptable for mature teenagers, but I do not recommend it to anyone. I give it * for the wasted special effects and the talented cast.
**** = A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = Totally and painfully unbearable picture.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: August 18, 1997
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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