In Space, Everyone Hears You Scream - Event Horizon (1997)

The late 90s and early 00s were a different time, okay. We didn’t really have internet back then; no video content, social media was nothing more than a phone call or a text message (that you had to pay for), and there were definitely no opportunities to have opinions.

Plus, I was young, barely a teenager who had bed-times, a limited number of TV stations (even fewer in my own bedroom) and, not to mentions that whole lack of money thing.

In that world, horror (and similar content) was limited; sure, there were the covers of Fangoria that you might see in the newsagents, but I wouldn’t be allowed to go anywhere near them (plus, the music or comic-related content might be cooler.) When I wanted to borrow a VHS tape from Xtra-Vision, it would have to be something that everyone would and could watch. And even if any horror films were going to be shown somewhere that I could watch, was it on at a time I could get near it?

Putting it like that, it’s a wonder I turned out to be me at all.

All that said, though; things could get a little bit different at Halloween, a time when TV stations would make the point of showing some sort of horror content, and because it was mid-term, I might actually get the chance to watch. Such is my memory of watching Event Horizon, probably watched in my bed on a low)(ish) quality screen, complete with ad-breaks and an overwhelming idea that I probably would have been killed if my parents caught me watching something so dark and horrible.

And I remember loving it.

With that in mind, the film has been on my “really must watch this again and see how it stands up”-list for a while. I’ve seen a few other blogs and websites talking about it over the last few months, painting it as something of a “forgotten gem” that is under-appreciated, and I was convinced that I would think the same.

Reader, it has been watched again.

And oh boy, do I wonder just what the fuck I was thinking?

There’s something appealing about the idea of a space-ship going to Hell (or a hellish type of paradox) and I will continue to believe that, as a premise, it’ll suck me in.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t work particularly well and, in retrospect, I don’t know why I would think otherwise (go read my review of Pandorum here for some similar moans.) Similarly 2005’s Doom, while being lovably camp, improved by embracing that very fact, is still terrible. And for all the films in the Alien franchise, there are probably as many dodgy moments as there are good.

Some of the appeal for Event Horizon was, of course (and still remains) Sam Neill, the guy who was totally this heroic and confident relatable character in Jurassic Park. In that film, there’s something warm and paternal about him, and I know with a level of certainty that that is part of what stayed in my memory about this film in how it challenged, nay completely undermines, that delightful warmth that I had attributed to him. Sure, he starts the film as a somewhat depressed, lonely, middle-aged man (sorry, dude), but his final-form within this film of an overly camp demonic villain is a powerful contrast.

At least it was when I first saw it. I don’t know if I was simply watching this through an outlet that had edited some of the content to make the movie more approachable, but I seem to remember things being a lot more scary, a lot more violent, and even that bit more sexual. My memory of this film’s denouement was one of a naked crazy demonic Sam Neill, an that is not what I feel I got served in this viewing..

To the younger, and far more innocent me, the fashion in which this teased hero turned so dramatically into such an absolute monster was a very dramatic turn. Of course, I understand acting and narrative, maybe just a little bit more now, but I still recognise and admire my own approach to this type of storytelling with its left turn that challenges the reader/viewer to question their take . It’s an idea that I like playing with myself in challenging the reasons and hearts of my villains, and the failings and doubts of my heroes.

With the levels of horror and jump-scares in this film significantly missing from that I had thought I remembered, I was left to look at the actual narrative itself, wondering just why and how the film had so many two dimensional characters who are never given any chance to develop. The viewer isn’t even treated to truly visually impressive deaths for these characters; although the film teases some flashing imagery that suggests some form of longer edit, (one that the internet suggests that fans have been fighting for for some time), from a narrative point of view, I wonder why a few of them couldn’t have been combined into a single character.

Even our final girl, as played by Joely RIchardson, is nothing more than a final girl. Somewhat similarly, our heroic Captain Miller (Laurence Fishburne) is nothing more than an authority figure, one who isn’t truly allowed the time, space or narrative to even play with any sense of heroism. Given that I probably watched this after seeing Fishburne in The Matrix, again, I found it somewhat difficult not to see him as the exact same character, albeit one in a slightly different world that is that little bit more violent while trying be visually similar.

Again, though, this is perhaps one of my fake memories, because after watching, I realised that Event Horizon teases very very few visually interesting moments; our ships and our shots in space are actually quite well done, with the scenes and language used as both the Lewis Clarke and Event Horizon ships merge playing as somewhat sexual. But it is only a somewhat; while the likes of Alien at least remembers to continue in this facade, Event Horizon forgets, as if such imagery and language is just there for a hot second.

It is similar with the several attempts at violence and horror that the film tries, never fully embracing something that has held a suggestion of promise from earlier; we get lots of red fluid that one can only assume is meant to be blood, but such red never lingers to maintain any air of dread or disgust, for either the character or the viewer.

That said, there is something that I can see and feel in this film, something that left me wanting more, something that makes me wonder if the same narrative could be revisited or re-touched by a different creative team.

And then I think of Pandorum again and make a face.

But hey, at least I know that I know what type of narrative I really should be playing with next time I get some creative ideas.