this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2023
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Lemmy World Rules
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Typical ghost/demon etc supernatural films and even a lot of sci-fi horror are snoozefests in comparison to Event Horizon because this film really puts it all together on a scale that makes it horrific. It plays with the supernatural angle and actually even explains it in such a way that puts it closer to reality, and then compounds that horror with the crushing isolation, unfamiliarity and unknowability of space.
I really wish there were more movies that got horror THIS RIGHT.
If you enjoyed the unsettling mix of supernatural and science fiction elements in Event Horizon, you might want to check out House on Haunted Hill (1999). While it's not set in space, it combines psychological horror with a bit of tech flair, employing a modern (for its time) setting full of gadgets that can manipulate reality. It's a fun ride if you're looking for a horror film that tries to blend different elements together.
I get your point and totally agree that direction isn't followed NEARLY often enough, but I personally find it to be open to interpretation whether what they encounter is truly "hell" in a biblical sense or just an alternate dimension that can be construed in such a way that anyone who's ever heard of the concept would define it as hell, and I prefer the latter at least in my own head.
If you look at it through the lens of it not really being Hell Original (tm) it becomes almost Lovecraftian, given that everyone who comes into contact with the dimension loses their minds and that the ship itself gains a kind of sentience having just passed through it, but the comparison to Hellraiser is definitely valid given all we see of it is just wanton violence amongst the ship's original crew, so for all we know it could be straight up Satan driving the boat.