Event Horizon

It starts as a smart and atmospherically charged film, but it gradually becomes poorly staged horror without a hint of sense or logic. Laurence Fishburne is flawless as the captain, and the other crew members are also decent. The futuristic-looking sets will please every fan of dark sci-fi, but the closer the film gets to the end, the more you shake your head. There is literally no twist, blood pours like crazy – and completely unnecessarily – and all the carefully built atmosphere of mystery vanishes. Skip half an hour, replace it with a meaningful ending and maybe a bit of unpolopathically explained philosophy and it would be a very decent addition to the scifi genre. Like this, it's just a controversial bloodbath. (08/05/2005)

The stormy atmosphere of Neptune and a space ship spewed from the depths of hell didn’t give me a moment of rest for the whole 92 minutes. Anderson can do it if he wants (the faultless dizzy beginning) and if it weren’t for the slightly over the top ending I would easily give it 5*. But now I can only remember the perfect build up of atmosphere in the first two thirds, the superb acting performances of Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill, the very decent effects and the idea which, if it had been developed right could have satisfied my dark side. (09/12/2009)

A rather unbalanced picture with huge potential, a horror clone of Solaris. It starts out boringly, then becomes a great movie with a chilling atmosphere which rather curiously becomes a B-grade sci-fi full of plotholes, illogical behavior of characters etc. On the other hand, someday I would like to see the director’s cut, since Anderson subsequently distanced himself from this version. A shame that he has been stringing us along about how great it will be, but nothing has come from it (the question is whether a 45-minute longer version ever existed). For the time being, Event Horizon is an average movie that remains, however, the best thing that Paul has ever made. Which is sad. (22/03/2005)

Great sci-fi horror and also a brutal spectacle for something form the late 90s. The atmosphere does let down by the end, but never to the point that would affect the overall impression. The premise (a spaceship returns after being lost in the cosmos, bringing something with it) is awesome and I don’t think it could have been developed better. Hands down, Paul Anderson’s best work, even if students of physics would not agree. (30/05/2008)

I have a bit of a weak spot for this film. It's great to see that Anderson is a very fine filmmaker, and the first act, for example, can easily be put among the of best sci-fi horror, even though, the lack of fear is not exactly appropriate. Fear radiates from the stuffy atmosphere, and even though the film gradually shifts to pure action, the unpleasant feeling in the pit of the stomach persists. Other major strengths are the special effects hand in hand with the gloomy setting of the huge (abandoned?) ship, the director's feeling for the right amount of violence and, of course, the actors. I've known for a long time that Lawrence Fishburne is awesome, but Sam Neill was so much better here and his villain, with Pavel Soukup's excellent dubbing, was truly unforgettable and terrifying. If they made more quality B-movies like this, I wouldn’t be mad. 80% (30/05/2012)