Event Horizon
Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
Written by Phillip Eisner (Rewrites by Anderson and Andrew Kevin Walker)
We all know this one. Despite its critical drubbing and box-office failure, I have always loved this film. I saw it in the cinema at the tender age of ten (our local was very lax back then) and it left me sleepless for nearly six weeks.
The setup is fantastic – a deep space rescue vessel is sent out to investigate the Event Horizon, an exploratory spaceship that has returned after being missing for seven years. What seems to a routine operation turns into a nightmare, as the rescue crew (ably played by an impressive cast that includes Sam Neill, Laurence Fishburne, and Kathleen Quinlan) are plagued by hallucinations and deep dark secrets are unravelled. Most unsettling of all is the Event Horizon’s engineer, Dr. Weir, who seems unable to want to leave the ship.
And who can blame him, as
Event Horizon has some of the finest set design and cinematography ever. A macabre work of techno-Gothic, Anderson had his designers model the ship on old Catholic cathedrals, particularly the Notre Dame. Every corridor, every pillar, every room and every doorway looks innocent enough to pass as utilitarian. But, with the appropriate lighting (by the late, great Adrian Biddle), it’s enough to give Dante Alighieri pause.
It’s appropriate that Anderson would Catholicism as his inspiration as the running theme here is guilt. Whatever the Event Horizon brought back from wherever it was, it doesn’t commit any major atrocities on the crew. Instead it operates on each of the characters’ pasts and their traumas. Constantly, it taunts and reminds each of them what they have done – bringing every one of them closer to insanity.
That’s not to say that
Event Horizon is a cerebral only affair. It more than delivers on the scares. Anderson clearly studied the guidebook on horror and delivers a nerve-wracking experience. The use of guttural and creaking soundscapes, coupled with the long shots and low camera angles creates an atmosphere choking with dread. Better still, is Anderson’s refusal to go for the immediate scare, preferring to drive the viewer into a state of anxiety before unleashing the cat out of the bag.
Praise goes to Anderson’s sense of pacing. He knows just when to showcase a new set or reveal another character attribute to keep the audience engaged. Right up until the final twenty minutes,
Event Horizon is a finely tuned fright machine.
It’s a shame about that as it could have easily avoided. In the initial cut, the film ran for two hours and ten minutes. Anderson had hoped to shave it down to an hour and fifty minutes after getting some feedback from the Paramount Studios. Only, Paramount freaked out when they saw the workprint. Anderson’s goal of creating the ultimate adult horror may have been too successful as the studio balked at the truly distressing scenes of rape and torture (including some towards children). Anderson was unable to demand final cut as he waived it in favour of extra shooting time that cut into the editing schedule (the film’s release had already been deadlocked).
Despite making some edits, the film had disastrous test screenings. Test audiences had the same reaction as Paramount and some even walked out in protest. Paramount forced more edits before they approved it for release. Thinking his ordeal was over, Anderson had yet to deal with the MPAA. The MPAA rated the film NC-17, forcing Anderson to re-edit the film with the release date looming. When all was said and done, the film had shrunk to 95 minutes.
Sadly,
Event Horizon was a colossal failure on release. Reviews were vitriolic and it only made $25 million worldwide on a budget of $60 million (not including Prints & Advertising costs). As a result, Paramount decided not to waste money on preserving the deleted scenes and this alternative cut will probably remain a mystery (although, one of the film’s producers claims to have found a master-tape of this workprint).
One wonders where Anderson would be today had
Event Horizon been successful. I like the guy and his work a lot but I must be honest, his films have never really stood out enough to remain in memory (well, maybe
Death Race). But,
Event Horizon saw Anderson mostly left to his own devices. He demonstrated real skill behind the camera and put a lot of thought into his decisions. Also, what would it have done to the horror genre? With the exception of
Silent Hill,
Event Horizon is perhaps the only big-budget pure horror film out there (others like
I Am Legend and
Prometheus have utilised motifs from action-adventures). If the film was a hit, horror may have finally broken into the mainstream blockbuster status. Imagine the possibilities! Hell,
Jason X might have got a proper budget.
Unfortunately,
Event Horizon was a bomb and Anderson’s career suffered a great deal. His next effort was
Soldier, which suffered from constant rewrites, reshoots and re-edits by Morgan Creek and Warner Bros. It, too, was a major critical and financial failure (one of the biggest bombs of all time, methinks).
But, for one brief moment, Anderson’s star shined brightly. He created a horror film that was as beautiful looking as it was terrifying. Hollywood’s black hole swallowed him up, but at least we got one glimpse of his talent before he disappeared beyond the event horizon.