Granted, Paul W.S. Anderson isn't the most acclaimed director in town, nor is he renowned for ever having made a movie of actual worth, but out of all his pictures, Event Horizon remains the most interesting. Unfortunately, what could have been great ends up feeling totally and utterly pointless because the director doesn't seem to know what, exactly, he's making a movie about. A shame, since the plot, which hones in on the crew of a space vessel who investigate the reappearance of another vessel, long vanished, is an inherently interesting one. What lets Anderson's movie down is that, minute by minute, it all becomes terribly incoherent as layers of religious iconography are randomly thrown into the mix - it doesn't help that Event Horizon is also edited to such a frenzied place that it eventually becomes impossible to actually see what's happening. It all ends up feeling rather like you've been whacked over the head halfway through watching a film, desperately trying to piece together the story beats whilst suffering a concussion. Credits rolling, Event Horizon ultimately feels like a big waste of time.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
