Paul WS Anderson's 1997 "Hellraiser in space that's better than the actual Hellraiser in space" according to Red Letter Media.
Look, I get that isn't saying much. This isn't a "good" movie.
But I still enjoy it, regardless, so NC.
For those that are fans of the effects and hellish shit in the film, Good Bad Flicks has a pretty good rundown.
There are little glimpses of a much better movie in there, but they are balanced out by some awful acting / writing / editing / everything.

I remember my brothers talking about it and being freaked out by it when it showed on TV one night. It played again a few nights later and I stayed up to watch it. I found it really disturbing and hopeless.
The og freaky horror flick. Not crap.


Edit: Actually, that RLM review nailed it with "schlocky... but there are people who saw it when they were younger and it stuck with them"

Not crap, but barely. Terrific atmosphere and intrigue at the start, dissipates to derivative schlock by the halfway point at the latest (it's been a long time since I've seen it).

Bluegum LaBloat wrote: Thu Oct 03, 2024 11:09 pm Not crap, but barely. Terrific atmosphere and intrigue at the start, dissipates to derivative schlock by the halfway point at the latest (it's been a long time since I've seen it).

This

Fond memories but I’d not watch again because I’m sure it wouldn’t hold up. Most of RLM’s criticism is spot on. There’s a great film in there spoiled by late 90s movie tropes.

On the horizon of Not crap.

I was a freshman in College, the dorms had a channel that alternated 4 movies every 3 hours over the course of a week. I think I saw it 10 times that year.

I could probably sit down and watch this any time it's available while also never really needing to see it again. NC

Paul WS Anderson's best film, which I contend is the very faintest of faint praise.

Gramsci wrote: There’s a great film in there spoiled by late 90s movie tropes.

Hell appears to be an achingly edgy NiN video.

Love what this film could be, absolutely have to look away from the screen multiple times during any viewing, regularly fantasise about rewriting it, or reassembling the original cut.

Maddeningly close to being a great 2000AD film, but every time the picture starts to come to nightmarish life it loses its nerve. The ship is perfect as a machine that was inimical to its inhabitants by design long before it plunged into the abyss, but the existential threat seems to be aiming for the "David Cronenberg reminds you that your body might have ideas of its own" vibe but lands on "what if a goregrind video had a budget?" instead.

The cast overall give the script much more commitment than it deserves. Big Sam's reading of the line "What makes you think I'll miss?" is a fucking delight to me every time.

It is a very silly film. Enjoyable crap.

My two favourite bits-
Sam Neil strutting around, top off guts all sucked up into his ribcage, pretending he doesn't have a belly.
The ADRd 'YOU LET ME BURN!!!' in the climax.

I should note that there is a massive influence from Warhammer 40,000 in this film. The black hole drive seems to act exactly as a Warp Drive in 40K, by throwing the ship into a hellish dimension beyond the veil of the material universe. At the time a lot of 40K nerds saw it as the “first 40K movie”. The similarities are really glaring. The pushing the ship into another dimension, the need for a “Mandeville Point” for entry/exit and the need to a have “Gellar Field” (hilarious naming from Games Workshop) to protect the crew from the daemons and insanity of the “warp”. The Event Horizon clearly needed a Gellar Field.