Event Horizon (film)
- This article is on the film Event Horizon. For the physics term, see event horizon.
| Event Horizon | |
|---|---|
| File:Eventhorizonpic.jpg Event Horizon DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Paul W. S. Anderson |
| Written by | Philip Eisner Andrew Kevin Walker (uncredited) |
| Produced by | Jeremy Bolt Lawrence Gordon Lloyd Levin |
| Starring | Laurence Fishburne Sam Neill Kathleen Quinlan Joely Richardson |
| Cinematography | Adrian Biddle |
| Music by | Michael Kamen |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release dates | August 15th, 1997 (U.S.) |
Running time | 95 min. |
| Language | English |
Event Horizon is a 1997 science fiction/horror film. It was directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, written by Philip Eisner (with an uncredited rewrite by Andrew Kevin Walker), and stars Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, and Joely Richardson.
Plot summary
Template:Spoiler In the year 2047, a rescue crew (on board the ship Lewis and Clark) investigates the miraculous re-appearance of the spaceship (the Event Horizon) that was supposedly destroyed in a disaster seven years earlier. As they embark on this mission, they are informed by the ship's designer of the true story behind this "accident." It had in fact not exploded, as was reported, but had been a top secret ship designed to travel faster than the speed of light. It had a gravity drive on board which created an artificial wormhole that folded spacetime thus creating a temporary gateway to any other point in the universe, instantaneously. To test the new gravity drive, the ship was sent to a designated jump-point with the goal of reaching Proxima Centauri (the next closest star to our Sun) and had then vanished. When they board the ship, they discover the truth about its disappearance and come to realize that it had brought back something absolutely horrifying from where it had been for those last seven years.
It turns out that the ship did indeed succeed in opening a gateway in space-time by using the gravity drive. However, when it made the jump, it passed outside the known universe and into another dimension; a "dimension of pure chaos, pure evil." This dimension is seen as analogous to the Judeo-Christian Hell. On inspection, the ship's log shows the original crew engaging the gravity drive and moments later, committing an orgy of torture, cannibalism, rape, and depravity. The captain of the original crew, who has by now torn out his own eyes, leaves an initially misinterpreted warning in Latin which, at first glance, appears to be Liberate mae ("Save me"). A clearer translation later reveals it to be Liberate tutemae ex inferis ("Save yourself from Hell").
In 2047, faint signals from the lost Event Horizon were picked up on Earth, the ship having ended up on a low orbit around the planet Neptune. The rescue crew is assembled for a 2 month (56 day journey in sleep stasis) trip into deep space.
When they reach Neptune’s high turbulent atmosphere, the Lewis & Clark's detectors find no trace of human life onboard the floating Event Horizon, instead it mysteriously seems abandoned with strange life readings everywhere at the same time. Assuming that the life scan is malfunctioning, they decide to try to find the crew by going onboard. At the time the crew board the ship, there is zero gravity and sub-zero temperatures. After docking, Justin (Jack Noseworthy), the engineer, reaches the gravity drive (the heart of the Event Horizon). The gravity drive begins to activate, as if sensing his presence; he sees a black liquid mirror in the gravity drive, and curious, touches it. Suddenly, he is sucked into the mirror and a large shockwave flows throughout the ship, causing damage to the Lewis & Clark. Cooper (Richard T. Jones) finally manages to pull Justin out of the liquid, but he is catatonic. With the Lewis & Clark heavily damaged, Captain Miller (Laurence Fishburne) has no choice but to lead the entire crew into the Event Horizon itself. Although they successfully reactivate life support; heat, artificial gravity, etc., the crew is now in danger themselves as they only have 20 hours worth of usable oxygen onboard the Event Horizon.
Once onboard the Event Horizon, the rescuers almost immediately begin to experience macabre visions exposing their inner demons and personal guilt. Captain Miller (Fishburne) sees images of the comrade he was forced to leave behind in a fire; another person sees images of her son, whose legs are covered in sores. Dr. William Weir (Sam Neill), the man who designed the ship, sees images of his deceased wife Claire who committed suicide, something which makes him feel intensely guilty (there is some indication that Weir's constant absence in their home due to his work contributed to her decision to cut her wrists and kill herself). She urges him to "join us" so he can be reunited with her. Upon exploring more of the ship, they find the bloody remains of some of the previous crew and a disturbing video that reveals their fates. It eventually becomes clear that wherever the ship has been, it has brought back a presence with it which is methodically trying to drive these new arrivals insane by using their own personal torments against them. The aim of this appears to be to compel them to re-engage the gravity drive and "go back" to the chaos dimension.
When Miller tells Weir that he plans to destroy the ship, the evil presence onboard delves into Weir's mind and manages to turn him completely and utterly demented. The ship cruelly forces Weir to re-live Claire's horrific suicide, which finally drives him over the edge. He, like the deceased captain before him, rips his eyes out and proudly announces "where we're going, you won't need eyes to see". Enlisting his aid, the ship uses Weir to destroy the Lewis & Clark and then brutally kill any of the rescue party who try to stop him from activating the gravity drive.
Weir eventually dies by being sucked out into space by a ruptured window as he is trying to convince Miller and his surviving comrades that it is pointless to resist. However, before this happens, he manages to engage the ship's gravity drive and a 10-minute countdown commences. Miller makes an attempt to set off the explosives which will separate the front of the ship from the gravity drive section at the rear. He manages to arm the explosives, but is forced to rush to the gateway room after almost being roasted by the former comrade who burned to death under his command. The doors of the room close just in time, but as he turns, he sees the burned man standing in front of him once again. This time, Miller manages to overcome his demons and the flaming figure dissipates, revealing Weir, who has been brought back by the ship:
"When she crossed over, she was just a ship, but when she came back, she was alive"
"The ship brought me back. I told you she won't let me leave. She won't let anyone leave".
Completely possessed by the evil presence on board, Weir gleefully informs Miller that it is now "time to go back". He explains to Miller that he should expect to have a thoroughly unpleasant time because "Hell is only a word. The reality is much, much worse." He then goes on to show Miller what awaits him in Hell. Images of the former crew being brutally tortured and all manners of violence being inflicted on their helpless, writhing forms fill Miller's mind. "Do you see?!!" asks Weir thinking that he has won, "Yes... I see." says Miller, revealing in his hands the detonator for the explosives. Weir cries out too late as the ship explodes and separates in two, with the half carrying them plunging toward Neptune. Moments later, the gravity drive is activated and Weir and Miller go back to Hell. Starck and Cooper, together with comatose Justin, being in the remaining front half of the ship, survive their ordeal, but are haunted right up to the end. When the rescue team arrives to help them, one of the crew (Richardson) sees the face of Weir as the soldier lifts up his mask. As Starck snaps out of this delirium, it is revealed that they have been rescued. As the scene pans out, the doors of the ship slowly slide themselves closed, leaving the viewer wondering whether the evil onboard the Event Horizon was ever truly destroyed. Template:Endspoiler
Cast
- Laurence Fishburne – Capt. Miller
- Sam Neill – Dr. William Weir
- Kathleen Quinlan – Peters (Med Tech)
- Joely Richardson – Lt. Starck (Executive Officer)
- Richard T. Jones – Cooper (Rescue Tech)
- Jack Noseworthy – Justin (Engineering)
- Jason Isaacs – D.J. (Trauma)
- Sean Pertwee – Smith (pilot)
- Peter Marinker – Capt. John Kilpack
- Holley Chant – Claire (Weir's wife)
- Barclay Wright – Denny (Peters' son)
- Noah Huntley – Burning man/Edward Corrick
- Robert Jezek – Rescue 1 technician
Trivia
- The first draft of Philip Eisner's screenplay dates back to 1992.
- The film was novelized by Steven McDonald.
- Fans of the film have wanted a true "director's cut" for years, but Anderson revealed on the 2006 special edition DVD release that the film was made before the DVD phenomenon went into full swing, and as such the studio had little interest in keeping unused footage. Deleted scenes were offered in the supplemental features, but they were taken from poor-quality video tape, which Anderson states is the only form that they now exist in.
- Anderson claims that his initial cut of the film, before the visual effects had been completed, ran about 130 minutes in length. The film was even more graphic in this incarnation, and both test audiences and the studio were unnerved by the gore. Paramount ordered Anderson to cut the film by 30 minutes and delete some of the violence. The filmmakers have stated that they wish they had left a little more of the violence intact.
- In the popular sci-fi/horror first-person shooter computer game F.E.A.R., there are numerous magazines that can be found in almost every map. One of these magazines focuses on The Event Horizon exclusively, where it says on the cover (in big letters) "EVENT HORIZON FOUND".
Soundtrack
The score of the film was written and performed by Orbital and Michael Kamen. The end credit theme was the song "Funky Shit" by The Prodigy. The movie has been extensively sampled by many bands, notably on Zao's 1999 album, Liberate Te Ex Inferis, (a phrase which is similar to one that occurs in the dialog of Event Horizon). Several samples also appear in the song "The Technogoat" from The Codex Necro album by Anaal Nathrakh as well as on The Ichneumon Method album by The Axis of Perdition, the song "Fun with Knives" (from the album of the same name) by Velvet Acid Christ and on the song "Age of Suffering" by Norwegian Death Metal band Bloodthorn from the album Under the Reign of Terror. Popular trance producer John Graham under the alias Space Manoeuvres created the track "Stage One" which took samples from the theatrical trailer of the film.