Event Horizon (1997) is a true science fiction masterpiece. The film takes an original approach to many staples of the genre and boasts a tremendous cast (Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson, & Jason Isaacs) that helps elevate the drama of the film beyond the cookie-cutter gestures of the average blockbuster. But, like Species (1995) before it, Event Horizon only found its target audience when it was released onto the home video market. Over the course of twenty years Event Horizon went from having a relatively small group of devotees to becoming one of the essential films of the science fiction canon produced in the nineties.
It’s ironic that the most influential and innovative films of the genre made in the nineties, such as Species, Even Horizon and Bodysnatchers (1993), should bomb at the box office yet thrive on home video. The science fiction film has, at least since the seventies, struggled to be evaluated and appreciated appropriately by audiences. A film like Event Horizon is far more meaningful and interesting than the sci-fi blockbusters of its day such as Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) or Jurassic Park: The Lost World (1997) which have remained far more popular and better known.
One of the reasons that Event Horizon struggled to find an immediate foot hold in popular culture is due to the fact that critics first saw the film with the legacy of its troubled post-production process in mind. Critics and general audiences went into the film expecting something that had been compromised and would therefore be of lesser quality. This is the worst thing that can happen to a film yet it is a phenomenon that has been repeated countless times. It is true that Event Horizon was cut by some thirty minutes and is indeed compromised, but what remains is truly brilliant and highly affecting cinema.
Event Horizon is essentially a carefully mixed concoction that borrows from three primary and wholly unique sources: Alien (1979), Solaris (1972) and Hellraiser (1987). Elements of these three masterpieces are mixed and arranged to create a work that is highly original in its own right. Event Horizon doesn’t play the game of intertextuality for elitism’s sake nor does it over indulge in its aesthetic pedigree. Event Horizon is the kind of post-modern epic that Quentin Tarantino always promises but has failed to deliver every time except for once. Event Horizon is, on an aesthetic level, so well executed that one can chart the growing correlation between the science fiction film and the horror film that had taken place over the course of the thirty years preceding the release of Event Horizon.
There was a confluence of talent that made Event Horizon a singular anomaly. Director Paul W. S. Anderson has yet to repeat the artistic success of Event Horizon while screenwriter Philip Eisner has been working in television and academia. Perhaps Anderson and Eisner brought out the best in each other’s art, or maybe they each had one great feature film in them. Needless to say, the likes of Event Horizon have never been repeated by either filmmaker.
