Event Horizon <18>
UK Release
Review by C.J HILL
This is a good year if you want plenty of sci-fi on your multiplex. >From the comedies Mars Attacks and Men In Black, to Luc Besson's powerful The Fifth Element, and to this, sci-fi/horror that is Event Horizon. (More is on the way with Contact and Alien:Ressurection being released later this year.)
The story is thus: In 2040 an explorer ship called The Event Horizon tests out a newly invented gravity drive. A device that enables a craft to travel anywhere in the universe, instantaneously. This is achieved by creating a gateway, infact, a black hole, between the craft and it's required destination. In this case, from near Neptune to Proxima Prime.
However, when the Event Horizon attempts this, it dissappears, without trace, leaving two searches for it fruitless.
Seven years later, it reappears, transmitting a distress signal and this is where the film starts.
A search and rescue ship is sent out to investigate. The team is led by Laurence Fishburne, and joining them is Sam Neill who plays the scientist that invented the gravity drive.
As the team search the Event Horizon, they find no trace of the crew but plenty of blood lying around. Not a good sign...
To make matters worse, as they search the ship, they find themselves being subjected to a series of illusions based on their own individual inner secrets and worse, some very bloody events start to occur as they slowly piece together the events that transpired on the ship seven years ago.
It soon becomes apparent that, wherever the ship went, it bought something back with it. Something very, very evil...
The first thing you'll notice in this film is it's incredible visual effects. They really are eye popping, with some great models to boot.
The acting is quite good, with some occasional witty moments. Sam Neill does a good job as the scientist that increasingly becomes more and more disturbed as the search continues, but a tip of the hat goes to Laurence Fishburne who leads the team, in a cool, calm, take no nonense manner. It is his acting skills that help hold this film together.
The idea behind Event Horizon is certainly a good one. It starts off incredibly well, but the middle section becomes quite confused and sometimes muddled, leaving the viewer unsure on just what the reasons are behind some of the bloody and bizarre events that occur.
However, the closing 20 minutes of the film more than make up for this, producing one the most nail biting (or in my case, straw of my drink biting!) climaxes i've recently witnessed.
Overall, Event Horizon is a smart film indeed. It's very enjoyable and has some amazing visuals. But be warned, the horror scenes, despite being very brief are very, very, gory. Not for the squemish!
8/10 - Hellraiser in space!
Take it easy, but Take it!
C.J Hill
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