EVENT HORIZON (1997)
Starring Lawrence Fishburne and Sam Neill
A sort of "2001" meets "Hellraiser," "Event Horizon" is actually the name of a future spaceship that gets lost somewhere near Jupiter. When a team led by Fishburne head out to see what happened after the ship is located years after being lost, they discover that a device aboard the vessel, originally built to create a black hole, has managed to open a doorway to hell.
Everyone on board the Event Horizon was killed when the gateway was opened and an orgy of bloodshed ensued. All the carnage is depicted on a video monitor in the ship and flashes by the viewer in milliseconds. If you watch them in slow-motion on your VCR you'll witness some of the sickest scenes ever set to film—way gorier than anything that turned up in the "Hellraiser" series. Neill plays a scientist who gets enamored by the evil the ship has unleashed and does his darndest to kill everyone.
It's a pretty cool film, with high production values, genuine chills, good acting and state-of-the-art make-up and special effects. The cast is absolutely top notch. Neill is chilling as the scientist who is enamored with the evil force that has been unleashed. Fishburne is, well, Fishburne. Can't go wrong with him in a movie. He also lightens up the overly serious tone the film would otherwise have without him.
The story plods along a little too slowly, however, ranking this film under the first three "Hellraiser" films—from which it borrows heavily. Of course, it isn't as good as the first two "Alien" films either, but it's certainly worth a rental. Decent, disturbing stuff, although Anderson has his detractors. He went on to direct the disappointing "Resident Evil."