Event Horizon : Le Vaisseau de l'au-delà

A doctor who designed the ship and a crew of rescuers are sent to pick up the crew from the space vessel Event Horizon, off the orbit of Neptune. What the rescuers don't know, however, is that the ship is powered by a black hole and is capable of opening portals to other planets or maybe even dimensions. What might have come through?

It seems appropriate I chose to watch this after "Snow White", the OTHER 1997 Sam Neill horror film (but he's more like the Neill from "In the Mouth of Madness" here than the Neill from "Snow White"). Never a bad time to catch two connected movies back to back.

I can't help but compare this film to other Paul Anderson films such as "Resident Evil" or "Mortal Kombat". There is a distinct look he is good at with technology and particularly the costumes. While I doubt Anderson designed the costumes, you get a sense he likes characters with jumpsuits. If I had to guess who directed this film without knowing, Anderson would be my first guess based on his scenery alone.

Paul Anderson also loves the techno-industrial music in his films (Orbital, The Prodigy, KMFDM) -- he's like a more lighthearted David Fincher in this way. I grew up on industrial music, so this really works for me. But also, I see metal or more specifically industrial crucial to good horror -- to really make the point, see Charlie Clouser's contributions to "Saw II". The whole violence and alienation vibe that is given off by industrial is very appropriate to horror.

The film in general is very likable. Sam Neill is an amazing actor, Laurence Fishbourne (after being Cowboy Curtis but before being Morpheus) is wonderful. And there's a sense of gore that is more hinted at than shown (most of the gore scenes are very quick, leaving an impression on your mind for you to create your own imagery). Many horror space movies are just really stupid (do I need to mention "Leprechaun in Space"?) or follow the same paths, but this one really stands out as unique. It needed both the horror and space aspects to work.

I could compare this to "Doom" (the game or the movie) with the portal to Hell in space... but I won't. Or how about comparing it to "Solaris" (George Clooney's only bad film) with the images of dead friends coming back to life? This is vastly superior, by far. Really, I can't stress enough how awful "Solaris" is.

The inclusion of the tesseract is really great. I don't think they used the word "tesseract", but they used the idea. I grew up with "A Wrinkle in Time" and another book about tesseracts (or, more precisely, wormholes since "tesseract" just illustrates extra dimensions and not so much how to travel through them) and this always gets me pumped. If such things are really possible, the future will be awesome.

Well, anyway, if you're looking for a horror film that's unlike all others you've seen -- but good -- this is a wise choice. Sam Neill cannot steer you wrong, and the elements needed for a good movie are in place here. It's not like the "Citizen Kane" of horror, but maybe the "Jurassic Park" of horror. Check it out.

Edge of your seat from start to finish. Excellent cast and score. I heard about this from multiple friends and it definitely didn't disappoint.

Event Horizon is a horror sci-fi goldmine. Sam Neil and Laurence Fishburne bring the heat in this one. The cold, calculating, tough captain vs the conniving doctor of evil. The supporting cast is excellent as well. Jason Issacs is always a treat and Joely Richardson was an impecable addition.

The atmosphere in this one is everything. They pulled no punches in creating some believable space ship tech. I can't imagine how hard hitting this was in the 90s. Makes me wanna give "Alien" another go just out of horror sci-fi nostalgia.

All in all this is a real piece of 90s gold. It holds up well even today. You really can't miss with a solid sci-fi scare. None of us have been in space so it's easy to let the imagination run wild. Event Horizon is sure to cover any and every fear within the final frontier. Give this one a launch!

This film was a lot better than what most people gave it credit for. The cinematography was excellent, and the lighting gave the film a very eerie feel to it. Certainly better than the average sci-fi film. Not only did the film mix two mediums almost perfectly (sci-fi and horror), it completed the union almost flawlessly. Not a perfect movie, but then again, Sam Neill was amazing in this film. Virtually all of the technical aspects in the film were top-notch. While it didn't advance the film industry overall, it did make an impact in the sci-fi genre.

EVENT HORIZON is a pretty good sci-fi/horror movie which you'll either love or hate. It's a very dark and depressing movie which completely justifies the 'terror' in the tag-line. Perhaps the continuing terror is why some people probably dislike it.

As far as I know, most horror movies lack a decent story or decent acting or character development. That's why I'm not into horror movies that much. But Event Horizon has an interesting story that is an ideal and most of all original environment for a horror movie. Even though character development is limited, as the film progresses you'll get to know most of the characters better. Especially Sam Neill's (Dr. Weir) and Laurence Fishburn's (Cpt. Miller) characters.

The acting was done very well by most of the cast, most notable Laurence Fishburn and Sam Neill who did a good job. The sets on the other hand are brilliant and creepy at the same time. I would not feel comfortable walking around in any of those rooms, especially the engineering room featuring the Gravity Drive (sphere with 3 magnetic rings within a room filled with deadly spikes on the walls and ceiling). This adds more tension than there already is to the movie which makes the experience only better and worthwhile.

The special effects in this movie are quite a treat. Ranging from an external view of the gigantic Event Horizon around Neptune to Dr. Weir and his 'HANDywork' with his eyes.

In my opinion, this is a good but underrated sci-fi horror movie with lots of freaky moments that will keep your heart racing. If you like the depressing endless terror, you'll like this movie quite a bit. If you rather have happy endings and laughs, you'll probably dislike it.

For the best experience, watch this movie in a dark room at night or even past midnight with the volume turned up a bit over the normal setting.

Rated 7/10 on IMDb, but I personally would give it a 7.5/10.

This movie doesn't get nearly enough credit. If not for the studio trying to water this movie down, we might be talking about it with the likes of Hellraiser and Alien.

I first saw this in the theater in 97 and it has only gotten better with time. Great sci-fi movie with traditional horror elements. The thunderstorms and fog add to the ambience.

Sam Neil and Laurence Fishburne give fantastic performances that are not reflected in the box office earnings.

I wish we could see the original version that had test audiences fainting but apparently the film has been destroyed due to improper storage.

Highly recommend.