Event Horizon (1997)
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With a budget of an estimated $70-million, the film opened to over two-thousand screens with a measly $9-million at the box office, and eventually $26-million overall. I first saw this film at the dollar theaters while out with friends after having to choose between Good Burger and this. Knowing I couldn't sit through a Nickelodeon movie I decided to give this a shot, thinking it would be no good after a friend told me how bad it was. To my surprise I absolutely loved this flick. I later found out my lame friend didn't like it because it was "too gross". Rest assured I gave him five across the eyes the next time I saw him.
Despite how gory the film was its said that a reported 20-minutes of violent and gory footage was cut out -- mostly scenes from the "hell sequences" that involved the crew in an orgy of painful sexual pleasure, ultimately leading to their deaths. Sadly, a lot of the footage is supposedly lost or destroyed, but during the documentary on the SE you can catch various scenes. For you gore fiends I'd recommend going frame-by-frame during the hell sequences; you might be surprised by what you see.
If you haven't seen this flick yet, here's the gist of it: a rescue team are sent on a mission to scout a ship called the “Event Horizon” that was thought to have vanished. The ship was essentially created as a means to travel to one point of the universe to the other via a man-made black hole. Now the team has to board the ship and attempt to uncover the reason behind the crew's disappearance. Instead, what they discover is Hell itself or so it would seem.
It's said that the original draft involved tentacled aliens instead of the whole haunted space-ship idea, but that was quickly abandoned by Anderson, and from the sounds of it, it was a good thing. I have to admit that this flick gets pretty creepy at times, mostly due in part of the eerie atmosphere and seclusion that our characters face throughout the movie. Even some of the gore may turn the heads of horror aficionados. Although, we'd all hope to see a full uncut version of this movie, it'll probably never happen. Regardless, what we have here is still an excellent piece of horror cinema.
With its excellent mix of scares, violence, and gore, this is definitely one of my favorite films. Highly recommended, and be sure to go frame-by-frame during the hell sequences!