When it comes to space horror, the original Alien remains the undisputed king of the genre. However, a painfully underappreciated gem appeared in the ‘90s: one that perfectly balanced Lovecraftian terrors, intense sci-fi sequences, and unrelenting gore spectacles. Event Horizon is a great watch for any Alien fan, and we’re here to see why it’s still one of the scariest sci-fi films ever made.
Alien’s tagline is almost as iconic as the film itself. “In space, no one can hear you scream” — that line is great on its own. Event Horizon, however, proposes a much more terrifying thought: what if, in the immense vastness of deep space, there is someone there hearing our screams? That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how traumatically bizarre this film gets.
Unlike the utilitarian design of the Nostromo in Alien, the Event Horizon was designed almost like a cathedral. Every room in the spaceship looks positively evil, almost as if it’s haunted by an ancient malevolent entity. And let’s not forget the iconic Gravity Drive room, with its rotating spiked core that’s as far removed from anything sci-fi as anyone has ever seen.
Event Horizon rationalizes the existence of “Hell” in a spectacularly sci-fi way. The idea that faster-than-light travel could lead to the discovery of a dimension of pure chaos that corrupts the very soul is as Lovecraftian as it gets. And then, there’s Sam Neill’s Dr. Weir.
The nineties were an odd time for Sam Neill. He went from sci-fi classics like Jurassic Park to shockingly traumatizing flicks like In the Mouth of Madness and Event Horizon. Here, he plays Dr. William Weir, one of the movie’s most sympathetic characters—until he becomes a legendary villain by the third act.
Paul W.S. Anderson would go all out on the practical effects for Event Horizon. The movie’s gore feels disgustingly real—mostly because it didn’t rely on the wonders of ‘90s CGI to achieve its violent visuals. From miniatures to top-notch makeup, Event Horizon feels “real” in its brutality, even if the cosmic horror aspects are far removed from the mundane.
While Alien emphasized the idea of survival against an unstoppable foe, Event Horizon taps into the primordial fears of the unknown. True to its Lovecraftian influences, there’s no stopping or even a chance to face off against the evil forces at work in the Event Horizon—there’s only the unavoidable truth that the universe is hostile towards all living things, and there’s nothing we can do about it.
Critics didn’t love Event Horizon. Maybe it was the tonal whiplash of going full sci-fi into Hellraiser territory, or maybe it was due to the many cuts Anderson had to make to meet Paramount’s requests.
Still, the negative press is one of the reasons why Event Horizon flies under the radar of many horror fans. Still, this is one of those films that has to be seen to be believed, and one of the rare horror classics that only gets better with age.
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