Event Horizon (film)
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''Event Horizon'' is a 1997 science fiction horror film directed by
Paul W. S. Anderson Paul William Scott Anderson (born 4 March 1965) is an English filmmaker who regularly works in science fiction films and video game adaptations. Anderson made his feature film debut with the British independent film '' Shopping'' (1994), a ...
and written by Philip Eisner. It stars
Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...
,
Sam Neill Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. Neill's near-50 year career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one o ...
,
Kathleen Quinlan Kathleen Denise Quinlan Abbott (born November 19, 1954) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her Golden Globe-nominated performance in the 1977 film of the novel '' I Never Promised You a Rose Garden,'' and her Golden ...
and
Joely Richardson Joely Kim Richardson (born 9 January 1965) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Julia McNamara in the FX drama series ''Nip/Tuck'' (2003–10) and Katherine Parr in the Showtime series ''The Tudors'' (2010). She has also appeared ...
. Set in 2047, it follows a crew of astronauts sent on a rescue mission after a missing spaceship, the ''Event Horizon'', spontaneously appears in orbit around
Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...
, only to discover that a sinister force has come back with it. The film had a troubled production, with filming and editing rushed by
Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
when it became clear that ''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...
'' would not meet its projected release. The original 130-minute cut of the film was heavily edited by the studio's demand, to Anderson's consternation. On release, the film was a commercial and critical failure, grossing $42 million on a $60 million production budget. However, it began to sell well on
home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...
; its initial DVD release sold so well that Paramount contacted Anderson to begin working on a restoration of the deleted footage, but it had been either lost or destroyed. In the years since, the film has slowly built a
cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
and is referenced in other works of popular culture.


Plot

In 2047, a distress signal is received from the ''Event Horizon'', a
starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 188 ...
that disappeared during its maiden voyage to
Proxima Centauri Proxima Centauri is a small, low-mass star located away from the Sun in the southern constellation of Centaurus. Its Latin name means the 'nearest tarof Centaurus'. It was discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes and is the nearest-kno ...
seven years earlier. The ship mysteriously reappears in a
decaying orbit Orbital decay is a gradual decrease of the distance between two orbiting bodies at their closest approach (the periapsis) over many orbital periods. These orbiting bodies can be a planet and its satellite, a star and any object orbiting it, or ...
around
Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...
, and the rescue vessel ''Lewis and Clark'' is dispatched to investigate. Its crew—Capt. Miller, second-in-command Lt. Starck, pilot Smith, medical technician Peters, engineer Ensign Justin, doctor D.J., and rescue technician Cooper—is joined by Dr. William Weir, the ''Event Horizon''s designer. He briefs them on the ship's experimental gravity drive with a simple visualization of how it folds space-time. The distress signal consists of a series of screams and howls but D.J. believes he hears the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
phrase ("Save me"). Upon boarding the ''Event Horizon'' the crew finds evidence of a massacre. As they search for survivors, the ship's gravity drive activates and briefly pulls Justin into a portal while also causing a shock wave that damages the ''Lewis and Clark''. The crew are all forced to board the ''Event Horizon'' while Justin emerges in a
catatonic state Catatonia is a complex neuropsychiatric behavioral syndrome that is characterized by abnormal movements, immobility, abnormal behaviors, and withdrawal. The onset of catatonia can be acute or subtle and symptoms can wax, wane, or change during ...
. He attempts
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
by decompression, but is saved by Miller, forcing the crew to place Justin in stasis. The crew begins having hallucinations corresponding to their fears and regrets. Miller sees a subordinate he was forced to abandon to his death; Peters sees her son with his legs covered in bloody lesions; Weir sees an eyeless vision of his late wife urging him to join her. They discover a video log of the ''Event Horizon''s crew fornicating and mutilating each other shortly after first engaging the gravity drive. The log ends with a shot of the ''Event Horizon''s captain, holding his own eyes gouged from their sockets and speaking the Latin phrase from the earlier distress call. D.J. translates the phrase as ("Save from
hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
"). Weir explains that the ship's drive opened a gateway to a hellish dimension outside the known universe, and that the ''Event Horizon'' has attained
sentience Sentience is the capacity to experience feelings and sensations. The word was first coined by philosophers in the 1630s for the concept of an ability to feel, derived from Latin '':wikt:sentientem, sentientem'' (a feeling), to distinguish it fro ...
. Miller decides to destroy it and orders an evacuation while Peters is lured to her death by a hallucination of her son. Weir, who has gouged out his own eyes and is possessed by the evil presence, destroys the ''Lewis and Clark'' and kills Smith. Weir then kills D.J. by vivisecting him and corners Starck on the
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
. Miller confronts Weir, who overpowers him and initiates a 10-minute countdown to activate the gravity drive return to the other dimension. Cooper uses his space suit's oxygen supply to propel himself back to the ship and appears at the bridge window. Weir shoots at him, shattering the window causing Weir to be sucked into space by the decompression. Miller, Starck and Cooper survive and manage to seal off the ship's bridge. With their own ship destroyed, Miller plans to split the ''Event Horizon'' in two with explosives and use its forward section as a lifeboat. He is attacked by hallucinations which turn out to be the resurrected Dr. Weir. Miller fights him off and detonates the explosives, sacrificing himself. The gravity drive activates, pulling the ship's stern section into a black hole. Starck and Cooper enter stasis beside a comatose Justin and wait to be rescued. Seventy-two days later, the wreckage of the ''Event Horizon'' is boarded by a rescue party who discover the survivors in stasis. Starck sees Weir posing as one of the rescuers and screams in terror, but wakes up and realizes that it was a nightmare. Cooper and the rescue team try to calm the terrified Starck as the doors close.


Cast

*
Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...
as Captain S.J. Miller, commanding officer of the ''Lewis and Clark''. *
Sam Neill Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. Neill's near-50 year career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one o ...
as Dr. William G. "Billy" Weir, designer of the ''Event Horizon''. *
Kathleen Quinlan Kathleen Denise Quinlan Abbott (born November 19, 1954) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her Golden Globe-nominated performance in the 1977 film of the novel '' I Never Promised You a Rose Garden,'' and her Golden ...
as Peters, medical technician of the ''Lewis and Clark''. *
Joely Richardson Joely Kim Richardson (born 9 January 1965) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Julia McNamara in the FX drama series ''Nip/Tuck'' (2003–10) and Katherine Parr in the Showtime series ''The Tudors'' (2010). She has also appeared ...
as Lieutenant M.L. Starck, communications and executive officer of the ''Lewis and Clark''. *
Richard T. Jones Richard Timothy Jones (born January 16, 1972) is an American actor. He has worked extensively in both film and television productions since the early 1990s. His television roles include '' Ally McBeal'' (1997), '' Judging Amy'' (1998–2005), '' ...
as T.F. Cooper, rescue technician of the ''Lewis and Clark''. *
Jack Noseworthy Jack Evan Noseworthy Jr. (born December 21, 1964) is an American actor known for his roles in ''Event Horizon'', '' U-571'', '' Barb Wire'' and ''Killing Kennedy''. Early life Noseworthy earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Boston Cons ...
as Ensign F.M. Justin, chief engineer of the ''Lewis and Clark''. *
Jason Isaacs Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is an English actor. Isaac's film roles include Col. Tavington in '' The Patriot'' (2000), Michael D. Steele in '' Black Hawk Down'' (2001), Lucius Malfoy in the ''Harry Potter'' film series (2002–2011), C ...
as D.J., medical doctor of the ''Lewis and Clark''. *
Sean Pertwee Sean Carl Roland Pertwee''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' (born 4 June 1964) is an English actor, narrator and producer with an extensive career since the 1980s in television and cinema productions. He is known ...
as W.F. "Smitty" Smith, pilot of the ''Lewis and Clark''. * as Captain John Kilpack, commanding officer of the ''Event Horizon''. * Holley Chant as Claire Weir, Dr. Weir's wife. * Barclay Wright as Denny Peters, Peters' son. *
Noah Huntley Noah Cornelius Marmaduke Huntley (born 7 September 1974) is an English actor and model. He has appeared in films such as '' 28 Days Later'' (2002), '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (2005), ''Snow White and the ...
as Edmund Corrick, Miller's former shipmate from the ''Goliath''. *
Robert Jezek Robert Jezek (born 6 April 1955) is a Canadian stage, film and television actor based in the United Kingdom. Career In 1989, Jezek appeared as Sergeant Zbrigniev in the ''Doctor Who'' television serial ''Battlefield''. He is known for playi ...
as Rescue Technician, rescues the survivors of the ''Lewis and Clark''.


Production


Development

After ''
Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...
'' (1995) was a commercial success in the United States, English director
Paul W. S. Anderson Paul William Scott Anderson (born 4 March 1965) is an English filmmaker who regularly works in science fiction films and video game adaptations. Anderson made his feature film debut with the British independent film '' Shopping'' (1994), a ...
was inundated with screenplay offers, as well as the opportunity to direct the ''Mortal Kombat'' sequel '' Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'' (1997) and the upcoming ''
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
'' (2000). He turned down the offers in favor of making an R-rated horror film, wanting to shift away from making another
PG-13 The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion pictures ...
film.
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
sent him Philip Eisner's original script for ''Event Horizon'', which they had been trying to develop with producers Lawrence Gordon and
Lloyd Levin Lloyd A. Levin (born 1958) is an American film producer. Biography Early life Levin is a native of Paramus, New Jersey, where he attended Paramus High School and graduated in 1976. Producing career He was once the president of Lawrence Gordon P ...
. According to Eisner, he first pitched its concept to Gordon as a "haunted house story in space", which the producer thought had potential: "Luckily", said Eisner, "he liked the idea enough to trust me to do it." Anderson's initial reaction to the script, which involved the cruiseship ''Event Horizon'' experiencing a series of hauntings by "tentacular" aliens, it having crossed the threshold of their planet or "dimension", was that it bore striking resemblance to ''
Alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
'' (1979). Producer and longtime collaborator
Jeremy Bolt Jeremy Bolt (born 1965) is a British film producer. After co-founding Impact Pictures with Paul W. S. Anderson in 1992, Bolt has produced the majority of Anderson's films. He is most well-known for producing the ''Resident Evil'' series and '' D ...
felt it was a "terrific concept" but was "very dense" in terms of length and the storyline was "a bit lost." Anderson didn't want to direct a mimicry of ''Alien'', so he gave the script a major rewrite, picturing a "classic haunted house movie." He incorporated significant influences of moderately successful horror films such as
Robert Wise Robert Earl Wise (September 10, 1914 – September 14, 2005) was an American film director, producer, and editor. He won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for his musical films ''West Side Story'' (1961) and ''The Sound of ...
's '' The Haunting'' (1963) and
Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
's '' The Shining'' (1980), because they created suspense from the unknown—the evil presence was hidden from the viewer—and their endings induced ambiguities of perception in the audience. He said he was also interested in the concept of
Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
, and of "the ship itself being possessed rather than going 'Oh, it's an alien consciousness that is doing this,'" and added these to the script. Anderson also said that the science fiction film ''
Solaris Solaris may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film * ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem ** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg ** ''Solaris'' (1972 film), directed by ...
'' (1972) was inspiration for ''Event Horizon''. Screenwriter Philip Eisner acknowledged that ''
Warhammer 40,000 ''Warhammer 40,000'' is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987, ...
'' influenced the story. In the setting of ''Warhammer 40,000'', spaceships travel the galaxy by passing through "the Warp"—a parallel dimension where faster-than-light travel is possible, conceptually similar to "
hyperspace In science fiction, hyperspace (also known as nulspace, subspace, overspace, jumpspace and similar terms) is a concept relating to higher dimensions as well as parallel universes and a faster-than-light (FTL) method of interstellar travel. ...
" in ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
''—but which is also inhabited by evil spirits that can infiltrate the ship and possess the crew if said ship isn't properly shielded. Fans consider ''Event Horizon'' to be an unofficial prequel to ''Warhammer 40,000'', when humankind discovers the Warp and learns of its dangers the hard way.


Filming and effects

Filming took place in
Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...
. Anderson modeled the ''Event Horizon'' ship after
Notre Dame Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...
using an architectural cam program. Effects supervisors
Richard Yuricich Richard Yuricich (born December 1942) is a special visual effects artist. He is the brother of Matthew Yuricich, also a special effects artist. Yuricich is of Croatian descent. He has been nominated for an Academy Award three times. Oscar Nomin ...
and
Neil Corbould Neil Corbould (; born 24 December 1962) is a British special effects supervisor best known for his work on major blockbuster films such as ''Gladiator'', ''Saving Private Ryan'', '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' and '' Black Hawk Down''. He is ...
kept most visuals
in-camera ''In camera'' (; Latin: "in a chamber"). is a legal term that means ''in private''. The same meaning is sometimes expressed in the English equivalent: ''in chambers''. Generally, ''in-camera'' describes court cases, parts of it, or process wh ...
, and moving sets were constructed for the gyrosphere gravity drive and the revolving tunnel. For scenes depicting zero gravity, the actors were hung upside down in harnesses and spun around. The original script had more zero gravity scenes, but budget constraints had the filmmakers introduce magnetic boots. Because the majority of scenes were filmed in a studio on gothic-inspired sets, Anderson felt the cast experienced a kind of "cabin fever" that better served their performances.


Editing

As Anderson explained, directors usually have a standard 10-week editing period to produce a film's first cut, as guaranteed by the
Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...
. However, due to the short production schedule, the rapidly approaching release date, and the fact that principal photography had not finished, Anderson agreed to a six-week editing period, and promised to deliver the film by August 1997, as Paramount wanted a hit film before '' Titanic's'' planned September release date. When the main unit wrapped, Anderson was supposed to start editing the film, but he had two weeks of shooting left with the
second unit Second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming stag ...
, shortening post-production to just four weeks, during which only a rough cut could be assembled. He noted that at two hours and 10 minutes, it was overly long, with weak direction and acting that could have used another editing pass; unfinished special effects; and a poor sound mix.The Making of Event Horizon In
test screening A test screening is a preview screening of a movie or television show before its general release to gauge audience reaction. Preview audiences are selected from a cross-section of the population and are usually asked to complete a questionnaire or ...
s, the cut was poorly received. There were complaints about the extreme gore, and Anderson and producer
Jeremy Bolt Jeremy Bolt (born 1965) is a British film producer. After co-founding Impact Pictures with Paul W. S. Anderson in 1992, Bolt has produced the majority of Anderson's films. He is most well-known for producing the ''Resident Evil'' series and '' D ...
claim that some members of the test audience fainted. Paramount executives, who had stopped watching the
dailies In filmmaking, dailies are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. The term comes from when movies were all shot on film because usually at the end of each day, the footage was developed, synced to sound, and pri ...
before any of the gore was shot, and were seeing the complete film for the first time along with the audience, were similarly shocked by how gruesome it was, and demanded a shorter runtime with less gore. Anderson agreed that while his first cut was too long, Paramount forced him to make one that was instead too short, and that the film would benefit by the restoration of around 10 minutes of footage, including some of the deleted gore.


Lost footage

When the initial
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
release was a surprise hit, the studio and Anderson became interested in assembling a
director's cut A director's cut is an edited version of a film (or video game, television episode, music video, or commercial) that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit in contrast to the theatrical release. "Cut" explicitly refers to the ...
, but found that the excised footage had not been carefully stored and much of it had gone missing. The director's cut was abandoned and instead a special-edition two-DVD set was released, featuring one deleted scene, two extended scenes, and a few shots of deleted material in the included
making-of In cinema, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a type of documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the EPK (electronic press kit) vid ...
featurette. The footage is of "
video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
" quality. Known deleted scenes include a meeting scene between Weir and people in charge of the mission in which they discuss ''Event Horizon'', some dialogue of which remained present in the theatrical trailer; more backstory for Cooper and Justin, including a stronger explanation for Justin entering the black hole; a deleted backstory of the relationship between Starck and Miller; additional scenes explaining what the gateway to hell/black hole is; Miller finding a tooth floating in ''Event Horizon''; a longer version of the scene where Peters hallucinates that her son's mangled legs are covered in maggots; a scene where Weir hallucinates that Justin turns into his wife Claire; a bloodier version of Weir's wife Claire's suicide; a longer version of the scene where Miller finds D.J.'s vivisected body with his guts on the table; and a longer version of the "Visions From Hell" scene during Miller's final fight with Weir, with more shots of ''Event Horizon'''s crew being tortured. The "bloody orgy" video was also longer. As Anderson was sometimes too busy filming other scenes, second-unit director Vadim Jean filmed some parts of it. Real-life amputees were used for special effects scenes where ''Event Horizon'' crew members were mutilated, and
pornographic film Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include eroticall ...
actors were hired to make the sex and rape scenes more realistic and graphic. The film's final ending was a combination of two unused alternate endings. One did not have a jump scare at the end when the last two survivors are found by another rescue crew and Starck hallucinates that she sees Weir, although there was a similar version of the scene included in this ending where she hears screams of the ''Event Horizon'' crew and screams before Cooper wakes her. This was the film's original ending in the shooting script. The second ending had Miller fighting with the burned man from his visions at the core instead of with Weir, but this was changed due to the negative test screening. In an ''Event Horizon'' Q&A in 2011, Anderson was asked when extra footage would be made available. "Never," he said, explaining that much of it was gone forever. However, in a 2012 interview, he announced that producer
Lloyd Levin Lloyd A. Levin (born 1958) is an American film producer. Biography Early life Levin is a native of Paramus, New Jersey, where he attended Paramus High School and graduated in 1976. Producing career He was once the president of Lawrence Gordon P ...
had found a VHS tape with his original rough cut. He said that after finishing '' Resident Evil: Retribution'', he planned to watch the recovered footage for the first time since assembling the film. In a January 2017 interview, he reiterated that a director's cut would never be released, as the footage no longer existed. Asked about the VHS tape, he said neither he nor Levin had seen it yet, as Levin had moved to Spain; however, he was still excited about watching it at some point.


Music

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born in ...
was hired to compose the film's score. Director
Paul W. S. Anderson Paul William Scott Anderson (born 4 March 1965) is an English filmmaker who regularly works in science fiction films and video game adaptations. Anderson made his feature film debut with the British independent film '' Shopping'' (1994), a ...
, a fan of hybrid genre music, invited the electronic dance music duo Orbital to collaborate with Kamen and to provide synthesized sounds for the film's unsettling atmosphere. A soundtrack album was released which combined various cues from the score into four tracks of approximately ten minutes.


Reception


Box office

''Event Horizon'' was released on August 15, 1997 and was a box office failure, grossing only $26,616,590 against a $60 million production budget in the United States. Internationally it grossed nearly $16 million, for a worldwide total of $42 million.


Critical response

On review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, ''Event Horizon'' holds an approval rating of 31% based on 86 reviews and an average rating of 5/10. Its consensus reads, "Despite a strong opening that promises sci-fi thrills, ''Event Horizon'' quickly devolves into an exercise of style over substance whose flashy effects and gratuitous gore fail to mask its overreliance on horror clichés." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film holds a weighted average score of 35 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "D+" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave the film two out of four stars, commending its atmosphere and noting the opening portion as particularly well crafted; however, he felt it never managed to become the intense, thought-provoking experience it wanted to be. ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' critic
Stephen Hunter Stephen Hunter (born March 25, 1946, Kansas City, Missouri) is an American novelist, essayist, and film critic. Life and career Hunter was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. His father was Charles Francis Hunter, ...
called the film "pointlessly loud", with more devotion to style rather than scares and a more satisfying explanation of its supernatural experiences. In a lukewarm review, ''
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' magazine wrote: "That the film never fulfils its promise is down to its over reliance on horror vagaries in a precision-built sci-fi milieu, ultimately leaving too many unanswered queries. A sharper script and a more credible solution could have turned this impressive hokum into a force to be reckoned with". Ebert and some other critics noted the influence of Tarkovsky's ''
Solaris Solaris may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film * ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem ** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg ** ''Solaris'' (1972 film), directed by ...
'' on ''Event Horizon''. The film had some early supporters. ''
Total Film ''Total Film'' is a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly and a summer issue is added every year since issue 91, 2004, which is published between July and August issue) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched i ...
'' gave it 3 out of 5, stating: "Excellent special effects and an ''
Alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
''-esque feel make this supernatural horror film ( The Shining'' in space,' as most critics have called it, pretty accurately) well worth a look." ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' gave it a B−, stating, "Just when you've written off this deep-space nightmare as a late-summer melange of ''Alien'', ''Fantastic Voyage'', ''The Shining'', and a dozen more forgettable otherworldly thrillers, it unleashes some of the most unsettling horror imagery in years", whereas '' Time Out'' magazine mentioned that "despite its shortcomings, this is never dull. The movie avoids ''Alien'' space monster clichés brilliantly and the soundtrack contains more of the 'Boo!' effects than I've heard since ''Halloween''." In the years since its release, the film has built a
cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
and has been referenced in other works of popular culture. During its 25th anniversary release, Anderson said, "It's finally got the reaction now that I was hoping it would get 25 years ago."


TV series

In August 2019, a television series based on the film was reported to be in development by
Paramount Television The original incarnation of Paramount Television was the name of the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, that was responsible for the production of Viacom television programs, until it changed its name ...
and
Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...
. Horror filmmaker
Adam Wingard Adam Wingard ( ; born December 3, 1982) is an American filmmaker. He has served as a director, producer, screenwriter, editor, cinematographer, actor, and composer on numerous projects. Following an early career as a member of the mumblecore ...
is set to executive produce and possibly direct it. Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin, who produced the original film, are also involved.


See also

*
1997 in film The year 1997 in film involved many significant films, including ''Titanic'', ''The Full Monty'', '' Gattaca'', ''Donnie Brasco'', '' Good Will Hunting'', ''L.A. Confidential'', '' The Fifth Element'', '' Nil by Mouth'', '' The Spanish Prisoner'' ...
*
List of incomplete or partially lost films A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
List of films featuring space stations There is a body of films that feature space stations. Science fiction films have featured both real-life space stations such as the International Space Station and ''Mir'' as well as fictional ones such as the Death Star and the Satellite of Love. ...
*
List of science fiction horror films This is a list of science fiction horror films. 0-9 *''4D Man'' (1959) *'' 9'' (2009) *'' 9'' (2019) A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O *''The Omega Man'' (1971) *'' Outland'' (1981) *''Outpost'': **'' Outpost'' (2008) ...


References


External links

* * *
Script of the movie on Scripts.com
{{Paul W. S. Anderson 1997 films 1997 horror films 1990s science fiction horror films 1990s supernatural horror films 1990s psychological horror films British science fiction horror films American science fiction horror films 1990s English-language films Films scored by Michael Kamen Films scored by Orbital (band) Films about astronauts Films directed by Paul W. S. Anderson Films set in 2047 Films set in the future Films set on spacecraft Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films about wormholes Neptune in film Films about parallel universes Fiction set around Proxima Centauri Paramount Pictures films 1990s American films 1990s British films