Event Horizon

But it fails to live up to that potential hands down.

The year is 2047. A rescue mission, the ship Lewis and Clerk, has been sent to the outreaches of the planet Neptune because seven years prior a deep space research vessel called Event Horizon disappeared without explanation or trace.

As the ship Lewis and Clerk approaches the last known coordinates of the Event Horizon the ship sensors pick up the Event Horizon. A scan of the ship show the temperature of the ship is cold. Very cold. There is no human life aboard.

But there are signs of life throughout the ship.

Life not human.

A great premise, yes. But what happens?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing beyond what is expected of the Hollywood movie machine.

"Event Horizon" has detailed space vessels and ships. The cosmos are magnificent. The premise is solid. The possibilities of the premise are certain.

Right?

Not quite.

Almost from the beginning "Event Horizon" is doomed.

For starters we can hear the deep rumble of the ships as they move through space.

Space is a vacuum. There is no sound.

It is this, among other things, that damages whatever credibility "Event Horizon" would otherwise have.

But never mind.

"Event Horizon", in concept, is certain genius. Superficially it is a space movie. But just below the surface it is gothic horror with a boogeyman you wouldn't expect. (You have to see it to understand.)

Therein is another problem that promises to sink this movie: Instead exploring the horror aspect, thereby transcending the science fiction or horror genre, and creating a new genre, "Event Horizon" falls back on the tried and true, the cliched, the predictable.

Films and movies like "Event Horizon" I lust after. They take the known, and through leapfrog moves, create new and original efforts that leave you oozing in your seat. (In literature it is called 'Speculative Fiction'.) "Event Horizon" should be that sort of cinematic effort.

But it isn't.

Allow me to offer up the plot at this point as way of explanation: No one knows what happpened to the Event Horizon. Well, no one except for a fellow named Dr. Weir (Sam Neill), who, it turns out, designed the ship's gravity drive.

So Weir is taken along on the rescue mission to figure out what has happened and what should be done.

What has happened is that the drive, when activated, has created a black hole in space, which allows the ship to pass through time and space. Then back.

Go To Page: 1 2