Subject: Review: Event Horizon (1997)(

From: "Choo Eng Aun, Jack" <[email-masked]>
Date: 25 Jul 1998 16:43:32 GMT

EVENT HORIZON (1997)

Directed by Paul Anderson
Starring : 	Lawrence Fishburne
	 	Sam Neill
		Kathleen Quinlan
Running Time : 	1hr 50mins
Rating :	***1/2 out of **** (at your own risk!)

EVENT HORIZON is dreadful horror.=20

No, it is not a bad film, in fact it is so good in achieving its =
purpose, I actually wished for the film to end itself quickly. EVENT =
HORIZON is not your run-of-the-mill sci-fi film, I'm sure many who have =
watched this will agree with me. It is not even original in that sense, =
and it does borrow heavily from films like ALIEN, HELLRAISER and even =
BLADE RUNNER. The magic of this film lies in its unorthodox setting and =
methodical build-up that makes it wonderfully horrifying.

The story brings us to the year 2050, where space travel have since =
enormously progressed. The EVENT HORIZON is actually a ship built for a =
secret experimental purpose; it has the ability to fold time and space =
thus making it possible for travelling distances not reachable in a =
man's lifetime. The ship disappeared as soon as it went into operation =
but after 7 years, it reappeared again within the orbit of Neptune. A =
search and rescue team led by Miller (Fishburne) is given the task to =
check for survivors of the EVENT HORIZON. The designer of the ship, Dr. =
Weir (Neill) follows along to satisfy his curiosity on what actually =
happened to his otherwise technologically impressive ship.

EVENT HORIZON is a sci-fi horror film, much truer to the word than say, =
ALIEN would ever be. While in ALIEN, the crew has to cope with a =
ferocious creature while encased within tight spaces, in EVENT HORIZON, =
the forces which goes against the crew is undefined but yet so powerful =
and horrifying. The story unfolds itself slowly and the suspense buildup =
is superb, up till the point where I really felt like saying out loud =
`enough! I can't stand this anymore!'. There are more than enough jolts =
to send your adrenalin pumping overtime. The story in itself is not =
exactly something very exciting and also, the acting is only at most, =
average by most commercial standards. Even so, the essence of horror is =
carried out very well in this film, thanks to its well-paced =
storytelling, disturbing set designs and some really gory sequences =
(which incidentally, has been quite generously removed by our censorship =
board).=20

Director Paul Anderson (who did MORTAL KOMBAT) and his team of =
`atmosphere' creators have done well in keeping EVENT HORIZON within the =
bounds of the term `horror'. This picture did not do very well in the US =
box-office most probably for the dread-factor impact it has on most =
audiences; people will not see it again and not many would recommend =
their friend to watch this. Although on the face of it, EVENT HORIZON is =
mostly molded for mass-entertainment; many thrills, spills and suspense =
to keep audiences in focus. However, the offbeat horror element which it =
ultimately convey audiences is very disturbing. My friend and I could =
not say a word to each other for quite a while after going through the =
`experience' of EVENT HORIZON. I guess it was just the immense feeling =
of dread which the film had cast upon us.

Be forewarned, this film is not for the faint-hearted nor for pure =
entertainment. Be prepared to be disturbed if you should decide to watch =
this film! EVENT HORIZON is highly recommended=85=85but at your own =
risk! It has been a long time since good-horror embraced the big screen, =
and EVENT HORIZON is one.

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