A rescue crew is tasked with investigating the mysterious reappearance of a spaceship that had been lost for seven years.A rescue crew is tasked with investigating the mysterious reappearance of a spaceship that had been lost for seven years.A rescue crew is tasked with investigating the mysterious reappearance of a spaceship that had been lost for seven years.
- Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPaul W.S. Anderson's initial cut of the film ran 130 minutes, and was so violent that both test audiences and the studio balked at the finished product. Paramount ordered him to cut the film by 30 minutes and tone down some of the violence. Anderson has said he didn't have enough time for a proper re-edit, and believes he cut out 10 minutes too much. Although it was announced in 2012 that producer Lloyd Levin had found a VHS tape that might contain a full version of the film, Anderson revealed in 2017 that neither he nor Levin had seen it yet, as they have both been too busy to be in the same country with a VHS player. Although he believes that the condition of the copy will be too poor to use, Anderson has stated that he is still excited to see what's on it.
- Goofs(at around 53 mins) When Justin is ejected into outer space, his veins immediately start to burst and bleed heavily. This isn't very likely to happen in the short time that he is exposed to the vacuum of space. Parts of the body will probably start to bulge due to the lack of atmospheric pressure, and there will probably be some subcutaneous bleeding from ruptured blood vessels, but the human skin is thought to be resilient enough to stay intact. Also, the blood that leaves his body remains liquid; in reality, it would boil and evaporate instantly due to the lack of pressure. Not everything about the scene is unrealistic: the fact that he remained conscious is probably correct (most adults would remain conscious for 10-20 seconds), as well as the fact that he does not freeze (although deep space is extremely cold, the lack of gas molecules makes it difficult for body heat to leave the body).
- Quotes
D.J.: I wasn't going to tell you this. I've been listening to the distress signal, and I, um, think I made a mistake in the translation.
[Plays the distress signal]
Miller: Go on.
D.J.: I thought it said "liberate me" - "save me." But it's not "me." It's "liberate tutemet" - "save yourself." And it gets worse.
[Plays the distress signal again]
D.J.: There - I think that says "ex inferis." "Save yourself... from Hell." Look, if what Doctor Weir tells us is true, this ship has been beyond the boundaries of our universe, of known scientific reality. Who knows where it's been, what it's seen... or what it's brought back with it?
Miller: From Hell? You don't believe in that kind of stuff, do you?
D.J.: Whoever sent that message, he sure believed in Hell.
- Crazy creditsThe opening credits are sucked into a black hole. The screen viewpoint pans upward, above, and over the regular Paramount mountain before the opening credits, which usually remains stationary and then fades out.
- Alternate versionsTwo versions were produced, the theatrical release and a "rough cut." Runtimes were, respectively, "1h 36m (96 min)" and "2h 10m (130 min) (rough cut)".
- SoundtracksFunky Shit
(main theme)
Written by Liam Howlett, Adam Horovitz (as Adam Horowitz), Adam Yauch, Mike D (as Michael Diamond), and Jimmy Smith (as James Smith)
Performed by The Prodigy
Excerpts from "Root Down" by Beastie Boys
Sample from "2-3 Break" by The B-Boys
Sample from "Theme from 'S.W.A.T.'" by Barry De Vorzon (as Barry Devorzan)
*** (out of 4)
Dark and sometimes disturbing mix of sci-fi and horror about the spaceship Event Horizon, which went missing shortly after its mission. Seven years later it reemerges so a rescue crew goes after it trying to figure out where it's been the entire time. I saw EVENT HORIZON when it was first released and really couldn't understand why it gained so many negative reviews. There's no question that the film contains some flaws but it's also a rather ambitious film that relies just as much on its story than just the special effects. I thought director Paul Anderson did a fantastic job early on really making the viewer feel uneasy. There's a brief line where a crew member talks about how far they are from safety and this scene perfectly builds up a rather dark tension because you realize that these people really are on their own with no one to help them. The entire atmosphere of the film is incredibly dark and while I'm not going to give anything away, what the story attempts to do with where the ship has gone was rather unique and I think that for the most part it works. Now, if you've ever heard of this film then you know about the various issues it ran into during the test screenings. There's been talk of a director's cut, which I think might help out many of the flaws. The story takes us to a rather dark direction but it just seems as if something is missing. There are a few questions that need to be answered and there are a few things that don't make much sense but perhaps these were forced to be left on the cutting room floor. If so, hopefully we can see the complete version at some point. Another thing that works here are the extremely strong performances with Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan and Joely Richardson delivering great work. The special effects are also another major plus including an incredibly beautiful opening sequence as well as the effects really making you feel as if you're in space the entire time. Some have been critical of some of the graphic and bloody violence but I thought it actually played well into the story and didn't take away from anything. As it stands, EVENT HORIZON is a rather brave but flawed film but hopefully a complete version will give us a better look at what it was really trying to do.
- Michael_Elliott
- Mar 11, 2013
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- The Stars My Destination
- Filming locations
- Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK(Studio, interiors: engine room)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $60,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $26,673,242
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $9,511,915
- Aug 17, 1997
- Gross worldwide
- $26,674,415
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1