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Directed by: Paul Anderson Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan I was initially intrigued by Event Horizon's concept of a haunted house movie in a sci-fi setting. Unfortunately the script fails to deliver on the promising concept, piling cliche onto cliche. It's possible the script could have been salvaged by a good director, but unfortunately Paul Anderson strives to make the film as generic as he possibly can, manufacturing predictable scares and creating a by-the-numbers "creepy" atmosphere. It's a shame, as the film had real potential to be an interesting synthesis of the sci-fi and horror genres, like Alien, but instead becomes a b-grade horror movie set in space, like Hellraiser 4. Not recommended. RATING: 1.5 PROS: good concept CONS: terrible execution ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119081/
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May 7, 2004 23:35
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 02:55 |
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Agreed on all counts. I had heard very good things about this movie (with some people going as far as saying it's the scariest movie they'd ever seen), but even though the first half hour or so was quite interesting, the plot soon dissolved into every horror cliche ever used. Utterly predictable. RATING: 2.0
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May 7, 2004 23:57
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I've always liked this film but I've never been able to work out why. Despite it's cliche's it did a good job of scaring me and I'm not easily scared, I guess it must just strike a nerve with me. Voted 4 (reluctantly because I shouldn't like it.)
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May 8, 2004 08:54
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This film left me wanting more. As Roger Ebert said, the movie contained a lot of foreboding and afterboding, but not much boding. It seemed that there was this greatly elaborate setup, which was quite awesome, and then it just deteriorated into a standard gore/explosions movie. The end of the movie involved a huge explosion. When the hell is Hollywood going to think of another way to end its movies? And another thing: the original sound we hear, of what "hell" is like, with unearthly screams and a demonic voice saying something in Latin, gave an impression of hell which was a lot more scary than the visual counterpart which showed a montage of screaming people covered in blood, shots which looked as though they had been cut straight from some schlocky mid-80s horror movie. Surely the makers of this movie could give us a more terrifying, profound image of hell if they have the imagination to make the rest of this movie so impressive. Voted 3.5.
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May 8, 2004 13:10
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This movie will be burned into my mind as a terrifying film that isn't scary, not because of the content, but because of my dog. I was watching this film alone, very late at night. I was sitting on the sofa, and my dog was sleeping on the back, as small dogs are wont to do. Near the middle, when the movie has you fairly creeped out, my dog licked my ear. I shat my pants and ran outside before I figured out what had happened. Imagine how embarassed I was when my neighbor, who was up for some unknown reason, asked me to explain why I ran from my house as if a demon had attempted anal entry. A couple years later, I watched this film again. I was again creeped out, up to the point where my dog had licked me. I broke into a fit of laughter, and it was reinforced by how stupid and cliche the movie became. The beginning definately is creepy, and pretty well done. The second half, however, is a pretty big letdown. 3.5
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May 9, 2004 03:52
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quote:Sakurazuka came out of the closet to say: Agreed, there's stuff about the movie that I wouldn't like in other movies, yet I like it here for some reason. Plus I think the plot is a very cool idea, as lame as that may sound.
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May 9, 2004 05:32
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I remember seeing this on VHS, halfway decent horror scifi. Years latter I found the DVD had some extra footage that FULLY gives this a Hard R rating. Id give it a 4.
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May 9, 2004 06:15
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I'm in complete disagreement here. This film was absolutely terrifying to me. I spent weeks shaking off the fear of interdimensional travel, I poo poo you not. When you think about this stuff in parts, yeah, it's crappy. But the sum of the parts is so much more than the whole and that's what this movie accomplishes that so few other movies do. If you're going to watch this film, watch it from start to finish, by yourself (so there are no interuptions).
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May 9, 2004 11:54
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Event Horizon is my favourite space horror movie of all time. 5.5/5
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May 9, 2004 14:05
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I saw this film when it was first released on Video in the UK (So I'm guessing it must be 1998) which made me 13 or 14 and I never, at any point found this movie scary or intimidating in anyway. Infact, me and a friend ripped this film for how bad it was for the next 2 years until the end of school (hell, it was more interesting than History). It's a nasty mix of terrible direction, ridiculous scripting and cliche'd acting, it's a late 90's version of a terrible 80's B Movie. And I agree about the ending in the earlier comment. Shame, because I like Sam Neill aswell. I just read a review on IMDb and I think this sums it up perfectly: quote:I want a refund on those 90 minutes I spent watching this.
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May 9, 2004 14:26
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I actually have respect for this film because it was one of the only horror movies to actually scare me. yea after watching it again, it's not as good, but what horror movie is? Given a well deserved 4.
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May 10, 2004 19:10
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At the time (when I was a young teen), this movie did a good job freaking me out. Mainly because I thought it was supposed to be a sci-fi movie, not a horror movie, and I simply wasn't prepared to see lots of bloody people from Hell. Not a bad movie, but not a great one, either. 3/5
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May 10, 2004 20:13
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Saw this film a long time ago when I was a little younger, so I'm a bit hazy. Otherwise, I remember being pretty freaked out, and enjoying it a lot. I'm thinking a re-watch is in order, but as for now: 4/5
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May 10, 2004 22:38
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Good setup, very poor delivery. Good directing and cinematography, terrible script. It was pretty interesting and very creepy and atmospheric up to a point, but then at one point toward the end, Sam Neill's character just basically sits there and tells you what the entire plot is. It's like "WTF is going on" and then suddenly it's "oh hay, that explains it", and then the movie doesn't end. It then becomes an "oh no, run away from the crazy guy" movie for another half an hour or so. If they stuck with the same track they were on up until that point, it would've been a great movie. But instead of following that track, they completely derailed the train. Also, I hated the ending. It would have been so much better if that vision the girl had after coming out of the sleep chamber wasn't a dream, and they really did end up in "Hell" with everyone else. 2/5 Bonk fucked around with this message at 23:35 on May 10, 2004 |
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May 10, 2004 23:32
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I agree with the poor delivery sentiments out there. This film was so ludicrous it made me laugh instead of be afraid. All it accomplsihed was to disgust me. 1.5
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May 15, 2004 17:05
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I thought it was a pretty average horror film. It was pretty predictable, but otherwise it was entertaining enough. 2.5/5 (average)
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May 15, 2004 17:36
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quote:Mason Dixon came out of the closet to say:
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May 18, 2004 00:51
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I gave it a 3/5 because while I despise PT Anderson and am not overly impressed with the movie, there is some genuinely creepy atmosphere in there, not least because of some excellent scenery. Sam Neill was awesome as well, but I'm not sure if that was because of his acting or because he is Sam Neill. There are lots of problems with the film, as has been stated, so I'll just state one. The obligatory "Hey look at me! I'm the funny black man! I'm going to be funny!" character was out of place.
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May 18, 2004 03:05
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Just watched it again tonight. The script was lacking and hokey in some areas, and I'm starting to really dislike there being a token black guy in pretty much every science fiction film being release (where he spouts ebonics-influenced one-liners). Laurence Fishburne put too much into this and suffers from the "Nooooooooooo!" syndrome. That aside, this provided some genuine scares. The lighting, set design (futuristic intermingled with gothic) and overall backstory were by far the most interesting aspects. And the visions of hell are more terrifying than I could imagine. 4/5
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Jun 30, 2004 10:06
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Fun fact: The makers of this movie used the Notre Dame cathedral as their main inspiration for the architecture of the Event Horizon. Some poor dialogue, some questionable characters, some slipshod execution. Seeing this movie is very frustrating because with actors of the caliber of Fishburne and Neill and the excellent concepts that went into the movie, this could've been a great, great film. Nevertheless it was one of the very few movies I've seen that actually, truly scared me, and managed to be quite engrossing and enjoyable in many places. A good movie, but what might have been...
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Jun 30, 2004 20:28
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Despite some one-dimensional characters and dialogue, and special effects of uneven quality, I enjoyed "Event Horizon". I watched it knowing nothing about it other than that it was supposed to be a scary sci-fi film, and for all the cliches that may have been there, it still left me with a satisfying sense of "ooh that's creepy" at the end. Granted, there wasn't anything earth-shakingly original in the storyline, but the details of the "ghost ship" idea were fleshed out nicely, and I really enjoyed watching things unfold, all except for one gratuitous "race against time and big explosions" scene near the end. But this sequence is relatively short, and I liked the twist at the movie's end. I really liked the film visually, too; some of the sets were really eyecatching, and bits where they were watching clips of the former crew's video were effectively atmospheric. One thing I found amusing is that while the discussions of black holes and space travels weren't all that integral to the plot, they actually threw some real science in there -- it's ironic seeing a B horror movie with more attention to science than most sci-fi films. 3.5 / 5
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Jul 7, 2004 12:48
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I too, went in expecting this movie to be a haunted house in space flick. But instead, I got Event Horizon. Its almost like the originally wanted to do that, but due to circumstances beyond their control had to muddle it down to a space horror film. Yes, its very terrifying and well executed. But I really think the "horror" aspect, with all its cheesiness did not carry over too well. I just really think it could have been so much more. I think Alien was the original "space horror", and Im kind of biased in that aspect, as this movie is not nearly as great. In fact its quite forgetable. Overall, Ill give it a 3.5 for maybe even a 4 for the first time that I saw it, but I really think it could have been so much more. Bleh, I guess thats what happens when you go in with too many expectations.
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Jul 19, 2004 09:32
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the ending was very disappointing. they could have at least shown us the place. rated 1.
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Aug 5, 2004 00:07
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Recently watched it after seeing it pumped to no end in a thread about Scary Movies, and was completely let down. Other than some spuratic violence and clever concepts it was a waste of 90 minutes, not even entertaining me, let alone scaring me. I believe I would have been far more impressed if they had concentrated on the actual interdimensional travel, or even on the entire "Hell" the ship had supposedly been to, but I lost interest with that woman chasing her crippled child and Fishburn being in a mad rush to blow the ship up. A 1.5, for a good concept.
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Aug 5, 2004 05:17
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quote:schmuckfeatures came out of the closet to say:
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Aug 6, 2004 02:07
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I loved this movie, it was scary as gently caress, well made, and just a fine movie overall. I give it a 4/5.5, for some crap here and there and the silly Deus Ex Machina.
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Jun 12, 2006 13:55
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"Oh my god, his eyes" "We won't need them where we're going" I love this movie, and every lovely part in it. Even the tolken black guys off comments make me laugh in this otherways otherworldly disturbing film. The part where : The tech guy is looking for the bomb and finds it, and just looks down with utter defeat makes me love this movie. 4/5.5
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Jun 14, 2006 18:27
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In some ways I totally agree with the comments about the film being clichéd and bland, but despite that it really did scare me. Some of the imagery, which others found disappointing, I found really effective. Guess I'm just easily affected by a creepy atmosphere and sudden gory moments. As a film, it could be a lot better, but as a horror, it works. 3.5
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Jun 19, 2006 12:55
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Great Story. This movie really bugged me out especially the images of Hell. I was alone in the dark smoking a blunt when i first viewed this film, and it made me vomit in my own mouth.. Ill give this sucka a 4.5
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Jun 20, 2006 09:00
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Like ReActor, I'd have to say that Event Horizon isn't the turkey it's regularly reported to be. Yes, it's corny and contrived, but on the other hand, there are some truly memorable visuals to consider (they don't "make" a movie, sure, but good visuals always leave an impression). The opening shot over Neptune, with the ship appearing in the distance, above the storm clouds, lent the film a creepy air from the word 'go', I felt. I've always considered Anderson to be a talented visual director - perhaps to the point of sacrificing narrative for a pretty shot. See AvP for a good example of this. 3.5/5
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Jun 20, 2006 22:41
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Standing8 posted:"Oh my god, his eyes" This exchange right here is why this movie is great. I have a thing about eyes being messed with these days, and I attribute this to watching this movie. Not so scary to watch anymore, but drat fun. I like it for similar reasons to why I like Robocop and other gorey, mindless action movies, even though this isn't an action film. 5/5
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Jun 21, 2006 08:05
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Cliche, cliche, cliche, cliche. I love the setting for the movie, and the plot, but the dialogue and the things they do and the camera angles and the sounds are all so unbelievably predictable. Scary moments in the movie couldn't have been more obvious if a guy stood up in front of the screen with a sign saying "SCARY STUFF COMIN' UP!" The characters are typically stupid, which would have been fine if they were stoned teenagers in a haunted house movie, but these are supposed to be grown soliders, scientists. Why is it that, instead of a graceful docking with the Event Horizon, they go full-speed into it and panic as their ship might not be able to handle it? I suppose it was supposed to kickstart the movie with suspense and foreshadowing that things might go wrong, but the only thing it foreshadowed was that the people running this ship don't know what they're doing. Footage found of what happened to the crew was very likely recorded by a kid with a camcorder and a group of people told to "look reall scary and scream and stuff". Someone tell me why serveillance footage of the ship was handled by a camcorder, and then edited, then put together to look like an over-the-top rendition of The Ring tape? Something else that really pissed me off, though kind of a minor thing, is that Fishburne's captain's chair or whatever on the Lewis and Clark is suspended in the air and due to this, he has to push a button to slowly rotate it. He even has to climb into the drat thing just to use it. When they decide to RAM THE EVENT HORIZON instead of just DOCK WITH IT, he's sitting there shaking back and forth and it looks completely stupid and makes you wonder what idiot built the chairs in this ship. The guy on fire was hilariously introduced with suddenly appearing (after queing the scary music and closeup on Fishburne's face as to warn the audience scary stuff comin' up) and yelling "YOU LET ME BURN! RAWWRR!" Sound effects are typical stock "fire" "shotgun" "donkey moan" and "door open and close" that are probably most familiar from the PC game Doom. The movie was violent, but they apparently cut twenty minutes of violent footage alone that wasn't included with the DVD. I think if that had been added it could have been a little better. Oh yeah, token black guy who breaks the "suspense" of the movie suddenly by yelling "AWWW HELL NAW WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO MEEEEEEEEE" The plot is simple. A ship built to go faster than light returns seven years later because it's been in Hell and they have to go find out what happened to the crew. Then bad poo poo happens. It's a great setting, I think, but man it's like they intentionally went and hosed it up as much as possible. RATING: 1.0 PROS: Violence was fun. Event Horizon was kind of spooky. CONS: It would take me less time to think of cliches that weren't used. There's no real suspense because the movie practically tells you something scary's about to happen. Every crew member is a loving moron. Store Brand Mayonnaise fucked around with this message at 19:49 on Jun 22, 2006 |
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Jun 22, 2006 19:47
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 02:55 |
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I like it, but as was previously stated, I can't really put my finger on why. The visuals left a good impression on me, as did the backstory as opposed to the actual plot. It could have been better, but lets face it, they could have made it a whole lot worse. Pros: Some good visuals, backstory, and it has some good moments Cons: The plot could have been done a whole lot better, plus some stuff really left me hanging ><
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Jun 23, 2006 05:11
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