Hell in Space! EVENT HORIZON Midnights This Weekend at The Tivoli

“Rescue the crew, salvage what’s left of the ship. The crew is dead, doctor. Your ship killed them!”

EVENT HORIZON (1997) plays this weekend (August 26th and 27th) at The Tivoli at midnight as part of their Reel Late at the Tivoli midnight series. 

EVENT HORIZON is almost 20 years old but it’s midnight movie cult status is fairly new. I saw it when it was new and thought it was good, but over the years a lot of younger movie geeks, to whom  EVENT HORIZON as apparently struck a chord, have approached me wanting to talk about it, and now here we are presenting at midnight at The Tivoli. Good.

EVENT HORIZON was made in 1997 and is a somewhat conventional science-fiction horror film that reflects upon earlier sci-fi efforts such as 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY and ALIEN, yet owes as much to the some of the gorier horror films of the ‘80s, especially the Hellraiser series.

The Event Horizon is a spaceship with the capabilities to “travel faster than the speed of light.” In the year 2040, the ship hasn’t been heard from in seven years later, so a rescue mission aboard the U.S.S. Lewis and Clark is charged with bringing the crew and the entire ship of the Event Horizon back. Captain Miller (Laurence Fishburne) is in charge of the operation. A British scientist, Dr. Weir (Sam Neill), haunted by the memories of his deceased wife, Claire, which are planted inside his deepest thoughts must join Miller and his crew for he was the one that designed the spaceship, Event Horizon. The rest of the cast consists of Peters (Kathleen Quinlin), and Justin (Jack Noseworthy), a rookie technician. Also, a psychologist, a pilot, and a wisecracking rescue technician round out the remaining characters. EVENT HORIZON is never predictable, the special effects are very good, and the film has a surreal, imaginative atmosphere that generates a breathtaking albeit claustrophobic fear. It really is ‘Hell in Space’

EVENT HORIZON was directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, who’s given us films in the MORTAL COMBAT, RESIDENT EVIL, and ALIEN VS PREDATOR series. Anderson has been accused of being a hack, but he delivers films with medium budgets and large scale special effects in a decent, workman-like manner. EVENT HORIZON is his best film – it’ wickedly scary, gory as hell, and does a good job showing what’s it like when people are forced to relive their own nightmares. It lacks logic and sense so if you’re looking for comprehension, look elsewhere. EVENT HORIZON was not a success upon its initial release and it may not have taken sci-fi-horror films to any new horizon, but it obviously stuck in the minds of filmgoers who caught up with at some point on DVD and I’m glad it’s showing midnights this weekend.

Don’t miss EVENT HORIZON when it screens midnights this weekend at The Tivoli

The Tivoli’s located at 6350 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO. Admission is a mere $8!

The Tivoli’s website can be found HERE

http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/st.louis/tivolitheatre.htm

Here’s the midnight for the next several weeks:

September 2 – 3 –   PRINCESS MONONOKE

September 9-10 –   THE BIG LEBOWSKI

September 16-17 –  PSYCHO

Reel Late at the Tivoli takes place every Friday and Saturday night and We Are Movie Geeks own Tom Stockman (that’s me!) is there with custom trivia questions about the films and always has DVDs, posters, and other cool stuff to give away. Ticket prices are $8. We hope to see everyone late at night in the coming weeks.