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92 of 104 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Much better than the previous spotlight reviews credit it for., October 25, 2005
Update: 1/23/06
Some comments edited due to this writing being included in the spotlight reviews section.
-end update-
Event Horizon.
First of all this isn't a perfect film. It is, however very good and worthy of purchase.
Many other reviewers have savaged the film for being too slasher, too weak or open to intrepretation. I would offer many of them were expecting general science fiction not a bloodbath in space. The gore is what makes them take a step a back. The gore serves the story very well. Hell isn't a primrose path.
Many other reviewers have covered the plot in detail. So I'll avoid being redundant in that aspect.
What makes the movie good is that its a taunt piece of space horror. You hit the ground running almost immediately. Pacing and storyline are well done (amazing some people don't get the story details - made perfect sense to me). The set design and visuals are simply sublime. There is good character development. Sam Neill plays Dr. Weir to creepy perfection. The Event Horizon calling to him in his dreams by using his deceased wife is disturbing.
Lawerence Fishborne as Miller delivers a good performance with edge.
The other actors hold the story up well too.
One of the other elements that makes the movie enjoyable is that it doesn't lay it all out for you. Sure, we see the hell the Event Horizon crew endured in limited blips. The movie lets your imagination run wild just how bad things got. I kept wondering to myself - ok its bad, but just *HOW* bad is it? Not until almost 3/4 of the way through do we get some answers as to the fate of the original crew.
The ending also is open to intrepretation - makes you think. The short latin message recieved also built the story nicely too. "Liberate Tutame Ix Inferis..."
In the end analysis, this movie is a combination of science fiction and horror. Its a uneasy marriage, as the combination isn't done very often (vs. regular sci-fi). To that end, many of the people who wanted to see science fiction got the unpleasant surprise that this was more of a hellraiser in space than a 'star trek.'
It also didn't help with cinematic audiences that the cliched "good guy saves the day and himself" doesn't fly here. Good guy does save the day, but gets dragged into hell with Wier. Not a pleasant end for Miller.
If you are a fan of both genres (scifi/horror) you'll enjoy this like I did. If you are more inclined towards sci-fi only this one probably isn't for you.
Falls just short of brilliant in my opinion. The bashers need to be honest with thier tastes instead of bashing for gore. Event Horizon isn't Star Wars. EH accomplishes what is sought to do quite effectively.
There are rumors of an extended edition with deleted scenes being re-edited in. Length is said to be over 2 hours. Lets get this out on the market!
Not recommended of course for the kiddies either.
****
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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cash cow and flogging a dead horse, April 11, 2006
This DVD is a bit of a rip of to be honest. Many times I've read online forums and read copious preview blurbs stating that there was going to be a directors cut of this movie, restoring 40 minutes of blah...blah....blah...Yawn.
You get 2 DVDs. The first disc is where you will find the ORIGINAL THEATRICAL VERSION. Yes you heard it right...THE ORIGINAL THEATRICAL VERSION. Gasp, how can this be, what about the deleted scenes....etc. Well, there are deleted scenes but they have not been put back into the movie, something which will be explained later on.
I already had bought the first DVD release and was looking forward to seeing deleted scenes put back into the movie. This release IS better though as you get a very nice looking anamorphic version and you get DTS which sounds sweet. But this still is the original.
The second disk contains a good making of documentary and some other supplemental behind the scenes stuff however the best part of this disk is the deleted scenes and after listening to the commentary it soon becomes apparent why there wont be a directors cut. Also the quality of these deleted scenes are terrible. The print is covered with pen markers and edit markers and looks like its been made by a first year film student.
You find out that a lot of the "CUT" stuff was actually from different versions of the movie that was used during screenings to help gauge reactions from the audience and could no way be re-integrated into the film.
Also, because this movie was made in the pre-DVD era the studio dumped a lot of the deleted stuff away as it was envisaged that none of this would ever see the light of day again. One example is the deleted crew torture sequence which was to be part of when weir was showing hell to fishburn. However this no longer exists on film and is only on poor quality video.
So, to sum it up what you have here is this.
1. A better looking and sounding version of the movie previously released (Nice DTS track!!!)
2. An interesting commentary
3. Some nice extras that put the rumours to bed about a directors cut.
If you dont have the movie already then I would recommend you getting this one as this is probably the best version you will see until paramount release it in HD.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"I told you she won't let me leave - she won't let anyone leave", May 25, 2006
This is a fascinating idea for a horror movie. Unlike Jason X (yes, you can laugh), this is a true horror film set in space. Set in the year 2047, the crew of the Lewis & Clark, along with Dr. Weir, set out to investigate the Event Horizon: a ship that disappeared for seven years somewhere in space and suddenly reappeared in the orbit of Neptune.
The Event Horizon (designed by Dr. Weir) provides the desolate and haunting setting for the movie. The darkness, the unknown and the inability to escape create a real sense of desperation aboard the ship. There is literally nowhere to run in space, which adds to these feelings of dread. The crew slowly begins uncovering the mystery of where the Event Horizon had been for the past seven years. During this phase of the movie, we are shown some horrifying images, conjured by the ship itself. These images play on the fears, memories and even the guilt of the crew members. There are some freakish occurances leading to the ultimate discovery of the truth about the ship and what actually happened to the original crew.
As for the horror genre, this movie represents something different. It's a good departure from the slasher movie or the "teens go on a road trip, break down and are terrorized by a madman" movie... The fact that it is set in space is rather unique and, I feel, works quite well. Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill give great performances. I recommend this movie to horror and sci-fi fans.
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