Event Horizon - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Event Horizon



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
Paul W.S. Anderson is probably what I would call the junk food of the 3 main Andersons in Hollywood. I’m a huge Wes Anderson fan, 50/50 on Paul Thomas Anderson, but Paul W.S. Anderson is what I would consider my guilty pleasure director. He’s given us pure schlock in the form of the Resident Evil franchise, Death Race, Alien vs. Predator, and of course the awesome velveetra dripped event that was the 1995 Mortal Kombat. So yeah, not exactly known for high brow movie art. HOWEVER, he has two films that stand out as being actually good movies. The first being the criminally underrated Soldier with Kurt Russell, and the second being Event Horzon.

Event Horizon is the one movie that stands out in all his film making history as being the best as an actual movie, combining genuinely creepy horror and great sci-fi together for a very watchable film that has actually stood the test of time as a good sci-fi movie, and not just a guilty pleasure. I don’t know whether it was Milla Jovovich (who he married) that changed him so much, but it seems that everything pre Resident Evil was actually rather good, and then he went into straight popcorn flicks. Oro that he had a couple of genuinely creative hits and tapped out all of his potential. I don’t know, but either way I still love Event Horizon.

The Event Horizon was a deep space research vessel that simply vanished in 2040. 7 years later the crew of the Lewis and Clark stumble upon the vessel out in the middle of nowhere, adrift and with no power or crew on board from scans. Undergoing a salvage mission, the Lewis and Clark comes back with the designer of the Event Horizon, one Dr. William Weir (San Neill). When they get there Dr. Weir informs the crew that the Event Horizon was more than just a top research ship. It was an experimental craft that utilized a highly experimental faster than light drive that worked by opening an inter dimensional portal through space in order to jump instantly to nearly any part of the galaxy they wanted, only for it jump away and never be seen again till now.

However, it appears that the Event Horizon’s jump was a bit more traumatic than simply hopping through a portal. The crew’s bodies are found on board in various states of mutilation, and as Dr. Weir and Captain Miller (Laurence Fishbourne) find out, where they went during that jump may negate the benefits of FTL travel.

Event Horizon still is one of the creepiest sci-fi flicks of the 1990s, and it’s mainly due to the clever writing and direction of the flick. The ship itself has a sort of personality and persona that just seeps into every pore and fiber of the viewing experience. Not to mention the fact that it explores some classic sci-fi tropes about “what’s really out there?” and “how much do we really know with what we’re messing with?”. There was supposedly a director’s cut footage of the film out there somewhere that showed what happened to the crew when they went to the “hell” universe, but from what Paul Anderson has said over the years, that footage was never stored properly, nor was the idea of director’s cuts a big thing back in 1997, so the extra footage was basically just thrown out. Aw well.

Yes, this is genuinely a creepy film, and everybody does a great job throughout. Laurence Fishbourne is his normal great self, but Sam Nell really sells it as the madman once the ship gets it’s claws in him. However, use of silence and the ship’s “personality” is what makes the movie so special. It doesn’t rely on clunky dialog and cheap shots to get the horror across, but uses intimation and interpretation by the audience to decide whether or not the ship is truly evil, or whether it’s just their own terror taking over. A delicious fun film that probably is THE best Paul W.S. Anderson film from an objective point of view.




Rating:

Rated R for strong violence and gore, language and some nudity




4K Video: Video:

Now for the fun part. The new 4K master for Event Horizon looks really good considering the film has never exactly been a movie that screams glossy and shiny with amazing details. The movie was shot in low lighting, using a monochromatic color scheme with grays and greens, and has had some problematic releases over the years. The major problem was the original 2008 Blu-ray that looked rather good for a Blu-ray, but also had some stretching and warping in the aspect ratio. Something that fans griped about for YEARS (and of course the disc rot that plagued some of those early Blu releases which mine fell prey to as well). Then came the Shout Factory release which greatly improved upon the Blu-ray’s image quality and had the proper aspect ratio without scrunching or stretching. For some reason Paramount has bee adamant about not releasing combo packs in all but a few of their films, but they have included the old 2008 Blu-ray in this set presumably to have the extras since the 4K UHD disc has none. My only gripe with this is that I really feel that the Blu-ray should have come from the new 4K remaster that Paramount struck for this release as the old 2008 Blu is just rather mediocre in comparison.

All nitpicking aside, the image really does look great though. The clarity is sharper and shows a ton more shadow detail, and the image seems to have been cleaned up as well. Gone are most of the speckles and print grunge that plagued the 2008 Blu-ray and the lack of image stretching is VERY appreciated. The movie will never be 5/5 shiny perfection due to the way it was shot, but this 4K UHD transfer is definitely a hefty step forward, even over the Scream Factory special edition Blu-ray from a year or so ago.







Audio:

Unfortunately the disc has the same 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track from the Blu-ray (and the Scream Factory mix was the same thing with a DTS-HD MA wrapper) instead of new Atmos or DTS:X mix. This is mainly frustrating due to the fact that the original 5.1 mix is a little weak. The sound stage is a bit cramped, and the uppers sound a tad thin and tinny. However, there’s a goodly amount of bass thrown in (that shot with the ship coming up in the opening scene is awesome) and the dialog is well placed in the front of the room. The depth is a tad shallow though, and once again solidifies that this mix is just good enough, but not a GREAT mix. The movie is awesome, the new video is great, but the audio just “is what it is” if you know what I mean.










Extras:

• Audio commentary by director Paul W.S. Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt
• The Making of Event Horizon - Five featuurettes
• The Point of No Return - The filming of Event Horizon with director commentary
• Secrets with optional director commentary
• The Unseen Event Horizon - the unfilmed rescue scene, plus conceptual art
• Original trailer

Final Score: ​

After Scream Factory got the Blu-ray release I was sure that Paramount had washed their hands of this horror sci-fi classic, and am rather pleased that they went an struck a brand new 4K master for this release. It looks great and the new Steelbook is REALLY fitting for the movie (the outer sleeve with the hands really compliments the steelbook itself and acts as a protective layer). It DOES have the recycled 5.1 audio and extras, but as a big fan of the movie, I’d say it’s definitely worth the upgrade for the fixed video alone.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kahtleen Quinlan, Joey Richardson, Richard T. Jones, Jason Isaacs, Sean Pertwee
Directed By: Paul W.S. Anderson
Written By: Philip Eisner
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish
Studio: Paramount
Rated: R
Runtime: 96 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: August 9th, 2022

Recommendation: Great Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I don't think I have seen this or at least I can't remember it so will revisit it .

 

[Asere]

I am ashamed to say I have never seen this movie. I thought about it recently and here you are reviewing the film. I will now have to watch it soon. Thanks for the review.

 

[Michael Scott]

I am ashamed to say I have never seen this movie. I thought about it recently and here you are reviewing the film. I will now have to watch it soon. Thanks for the review.

Knowing your film tastes that actually shocks me lol

 

[Asere]

Knowing your film tastes that actually shocks me lol

LOL, you confirmed I must watch it with your comment. All this time I thought it was all sci fi.

 

[Michael Scott]

LOL, you confirmed I must watch it with your comment. All this time I thought it was all sci fi.

lol, it's very obviously sci-fi horror when you watch it. I think you'll dig it. the 4K is the way to go too. The stream up till this point has been unremarkable and the Blu-ray was stretched and warped (not the Scream Factory release though, that was the only good Blu-ray release of it)

 

[Grayson Dere]

Thanks for reviewing this new Event Horizon edition! I really enjoyed this film and have watched it a handful of times. I might have to get this one!

 

[NBPK402]

Thanks for the review... I will be getting this one.

 

[Asere]

Man it sold out completely on Amazon and at Best Buy.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I remember seeing this one in the theater. I need to give it another watch!