Event Horizon (1997)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A rescue crew must investigate a spaceship that vanished years ago and has mysteriously reappeared in orbit.
The story
In 2047, a distress signal is received from the Event Horizon, a spaceship that disappeared during its maiden voyage to Proxima Centauri seven years earlier. The ship has mysteriously reappeared in Neptune's orbit, prompting US Aerospace Command to dispatch the rescue vessel Lewis and Clark to investigate. The crew, including Captain Miller and the ship's designer Dr. Weir, board the derelict vessel to search for survivors and determine what happened after its experimental gravity drive, designed for faster-than-light travel by folding space-time, was activated. Upon boarding, they find signs of a massacre and must confront the mysteries of the ship's voyage.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2047, the rescue vessel Lewis and Clark investigates the Event Horizon, a ship that vanished seven years ago and reappeared near Neptune. The crew, including Captain Miller and Dr. Weir, find a scene of massacre. The ship's gravity drive, which folds space-time, is revealed to have opened a gateway to 'Hell,' bringing something back with it. The crew experiences terrifying hallucinations of their deepest fears. After a member is lost to a portal and others are killed by a corrupted Dr. Weir, Miller and a few survivors must fight through the ship's malevolent influence. Miller eventually sacrifices himself to destroy the ship's core, while the remaining survivors are left in stasis. Seventy-two days later, a rescue team finds them, and the survivors are awakened from their nightmares.
- First release year
- 1997
- Runtime (minutes)
- 96
- Production countries
- United States; United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Paul Anderson
- Writers
- Philip Eisner · writer
- Cast and characters
- Laurence Fishburne · Captain S. J. Miller; Sam Neill · Dr. William G. "Billy" Weir; Kathleen Quinlan · Peters; Joely Richardson · Lieutenant M. L. Starck; Richard T. Jones · T. F. Cooper; Jack Noseworthy · F. M. Justin; Jason Isaacs · D.J.; Sean Pertwee · W. F. "Smitty" Smith
- Genres
- science fiction; horror
- Themes
- fear
- Tone and mood
- dark; visceral
- Premise and plot tags
- space exploration; supernatural horror; survival
- Content notes
- graphic content
- Reception
- Critical reception was generally unfavourable, with reviewers frequently calling it superficial and derivative. It was a box-office bomb, but it later found a cult following on home video and has since been reappraised as a notable horror film.
- Production trivia
- The original 130-minute cut was reduced to 96 minutes due to concerns over its graphic content.; A comic-book prequel series, Dark Descent, began publication in 2025.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…