This movie is still a banger some 25 years later. It's scary. It's fun. It's evil. It's AWESOME!
Event Horizon is one of the scariest films ever made and it still makes a big impact some 25 years later after its theatrical release. Paul W.S. Anderson became the talk of the town after his huge success with his adaptation of Mortal Kombat did wonders both financially and critically. A couple of years later, his foray into the horror genre was permanently chiseled into stone with Event Horizon. This film follows a rag-tag group of people on a rescue vessel in space that was tasked with a top-secret mission to investigate and rescue any survivors of the iconic spaceship - the Event Horizon that mysteriously disappeared for seven years, but has now reappeared as if nothing happened. Once the crew arrives, they get much more than what they bargained for turning their lives into a literal living hellscape.
The film was so horrifying that it went through multiple re-cuts, and many test screenings, where audiences deemed it too scary that had studio execs crying for a PG-13 cut of the film. Anderson was never going to allow for that, but the result was a difficult-to-market movie that while being scary-as-hell and a truly haunting story with great performances, failed at the box office until it arrived on home video where it took off for the stars and became an ultra-popular cult-hit. Presently, while still a horror favorite amongst genre fans, people are still clamoring and salivating for that director's cut of the film, similar to Zack Snyder's Justice League.
The theatrical cut of Event Horizon is about 90 minutes long, but there is a 130-minute cut of the film that includes much more character development, better story arcs, and a longer and more graphic blood orgy sequence. Perhaps the movie would have faired better if these elements were restored, but for now, Event Horizon still stands the test of time with its horror and one-of-a-kind story that takes its cues from the likes of Aliens and The Exorcist. With that all-star cast led by Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill, along with Jason Isaacs, Sean Pertwee, Richard T. Jones, Kathleen Quinlan, Jack Noseworthy, and Joely Richardson - the movie runs at a fast and terrifying pace, although midway through, it is bogged down somewhat by hallucinogenic flashes of terror with each character, until it's revealed exactly where the spaceship has been and what it has brought back.
Still, there are buckets of blood, gore, and jump scares to satisfy even the most veteran of horror fans here, and with its clever story-telling, Event Horizon succeeds in the long run and even left everything open-ended for a sequel. Michael Kamen provided an excellent and haunting score that was somehow mixed with the EDM duo Orbital, which makes for a strange concoction of atmosphere during the scary sequences. The only explanation for this was that the early 1990s demanded every movie have some sort of techno, hard rock beat to it. Still, Event Horizon never feels cheesy, nor desperate to scare. It simply exists to be a well-thought-out horror movie that tried to do something original but was so heavily edited down from its extreme content that this theatrical cut is the only thing horror fans have to relish and bathe in its spooky scent, which by the way, is a fantastic feat for just how scary it really is.
For a glimpse of the previous review of the film, Click Here, and as it says at the end, "They'll defend this movie until their dying day", this cinema aficionado will do the same.
Vital Disc Stats: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Event Horizon summons its way to 4K + Blu-ray + Digital Copy via Paramount. The two discs are housed inside a fantastic steel book with a clear plastic case. There is a cardboard backing that shows the info of the components of the disc. The artwork on the steel book itself features a closeup of an eyeball with Sam Neill gouging out his own eyes along with the ship's demonic force. The backside of the steel book features the same eyeball, but without the actor. The clear, plastic slipcase has a smattering of demonic orgy hands that resemble zombie arms for some reason that when placed over the eyeball, look like they are clamoring for Sam Neill. The reverse side has the actual ship itself. Inside is a Digital code for the film - finally.
Event Horizon comes to play with a brand new 2160p UHD 4K transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR enhancements, making this Steelbook the best this movie has looked thus far. The 2008 Blu-ray version certainly had its issues way back when Blu-ray was still finding its footing. And in 2021, Scream Factory added this movie to their ever-impressive list of Collector's Editions with a brand new 1080p HD transfer. Paramount has now upgraded that image to 4K. The results are stunning and the definitive way to watch this movie.
With the Dolby Vision and HDR components now in action, this bleak movie looks more dynamic than ever. The vast blackness of space has richer and deeper black leaves with some truly gorgeous stars in the background. Those eerie bluish and silver lighting from the ship and the hallways look impressive with many nuanced shades. The ghastly scene that's tinted in green now has varying shades of green with those deeper black electronic mechanisms in the background. The contrasting colors of blues and greens whether it be the walls of the ship or blue water look excellent. Red now looks richer as well with all the splatters of blood which can fluctuate from bright red blood droplets to darker purple blood, all of which looks amazing. The demonic orgy scene now reveals better decaying colors in people's skin and red blood bursting at every scene. The orange and yellow fire in the final moments of the film are brighter and allow for a crisper-looking image.
The detail with the better color palette stands out nicely, especially during the darker sequences in dark hallways or corridors. Closeups reveal fantastic practical makeup effects of gory wounds, scars, and guts blown all over the place. The CGI elements look detailed, or as detailed as they can be given this film is a few decades old already. Individual hairs, facial pores, wrinkles, and other makeup effects look impressive. The lower-lit scenes allow for better textures in the sets, props, and wardrobe now. Black levels are always inky and deep without any murky shadows. And the skin tones are now as natural as they come. There are no issues with banding, aliasing, or video noise, making this the ultimate way to see this movie.
There is no new audio option here. A Dolby Atmos track would have been nice, but the same Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track is here instead from the 2008 release, which is a good-sounding audio mix. Not quite sure why the new DTS-HD 5.1 mix was NOT imported over since it was a tiny bit more boisterous, but nonetheless, this Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track gets the job done. There's not much of a difference between the two soundscapes other than the DTS-HD track adding a little more power in certain scenes.
Click HERE to read the 2008's Audio Review.
There are no new bonus features here and all extras are solely on the Blu-ray Disc and NOT the 4K Disc. All extras are from the 2008 release of the film and NOT the Scream Factory version since Scream Factory owns all the rights to their own interviews and bonus features, so it would be wise to keep the Collector's Edition from last year still. That being said, there are over 115 minutes of material here for those who wish to sift through how they made the movie. Sadly, no extended demonic orgy scene yet again.
Event Horizon is still one of the scariest and most thrilling horror movies on the planet and continues to be a source of good discussion amongst horror fans. Paramount's new 4K video with HDR and Dolby Vision looks amazing. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio mix sounds good as well, but it would have been nice to have an upgraded Dolby Atmos option. The bonus features from the 2008 Blu-0ray are imported over as well, but no new extras are here. The artwork for the steel book looks amazing as well. This comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
