Event Horizon

A signal is picked up in orbit of Neptune from the Event Horizon, a starship with experimental engines that went missing several years previously. A salvage crew, as well as the ship's designer, are sent to investigate and retrieve the ship and crew, but on board the Event Horizon all is not as it seems...

This movie is very good at creating suspense and it does this in many ways, from the performances of the characters and the magnificent score right down to the lighting. And it does this as well as any horror film (aside from the obvious genre leading films like Psycho etc.) The film undoubtedly works as a sci-fi too, but this is psychological horror at it's most disturbing without lapsing into torture porn. The Event Horizon is a Gothic masterpiece, full of dark corners and eerie lighting effects. Performance-wise, overall this film is a showcase. Australia and Britain are represented brilliantly in Sam Neill, Jason Isaccs and Sean Pertwee. Neill in particular shines in what I believe is by far his deepest and most well acted role as Dr Weir, who despite his sinister portrayal comes across as a sympathetic character, struggling to cope with the death of his wife. The other stand out performances are from Kathleen Quinlan and the criminally underused Jack Noseworthy: the latter's performance in the airlock scene is simply breathtaking.

The only annoying thing about this film in terms of performance was that Laurence Fishburne and Joely Richardson, both established actors, could have and should have been a hell of a lot better in this movie. Fishburne is competent and does the job required of him but his role does not stand out in comparison to his cooleagues. Richardson is not in it enough, but neither was Noseworthy so thats no excuse. And the Cooper character was just there to play a black stereotype, saying "OOOO YEAH BABY!" at every opportunity. Without him this movie would be a definite 10/10.

I have seen this film a couple of times, and it still has the capacity to make me soil myself every time. For fans of sci fi and horror this is a must see. 9/10