1997 cult classic Event Horizon popularized the idea of putting Hell in space, but obscure 1990 film The Dark Side the Moon did the same much earlier. Event Horizon was one of those odd instances in which a horror film is summarily dismissed upon release, but goes on to be rediscovered in the years afterward. The debut film of director Paul W.S. Anderson - helmer of most of the Resident Evil movies - Event Horizon was trashed by critics and majorly bombed at the box office, not even making its budget back in theaters.
Yet, Event Horizon now has a large cult following, with many horror fans captivated by the film's mostly untapped concept of transporting Hell to outer space. While it's unclear if the terrifying place Event Horizon's gravity drive took the ship's crew was actually Hell in the religious sense, it was certainly a dimension of unrelenting chaos, pain, and torture, seemingly for eternity. As the Event Horizon's designer, Dr.Weir (Sam Neill), puts it at one point, "Hell is only a word, the reality is much worse."
Famously, Event Horizon's original cut was much longer, and featured much more explicit gore. That's kind of crazy when one considers just how gory the theatrical cut already is. Sadly, that version is said to be lost, although Amazon is currently prepping an Event Horizon TV series. In the meantime, those looking for a further taste of Hell in space would be wise to check out an obscure 1990 film called The Dark Side of the Moon.
Directed by D.J. Webster and written by the brother team of Chad and Carey Hayes, The Dark Side of the Moon in many ways feels like a dry run for the plot that would become Event Horizon. To be clear, there's no evidence Event Horizon's makers copied Dark Side of the Moon, or even knew it existed. After all, it was a low-budget film released direct to video by Trimark Pictures. Still, the similarities are impossible not to notice.
At a point in the future, a satellite maintenance ship orbiting the Earth suddenly experiences a power failure that sends the ship adrift in the direction of the titular dark side of the moon. While drifting, they encounter an old NASA space shuttle called the Discovery, a strange occurrence since NASA has long since ceased operations. Upon boarding the shuttle, two maintenance crew members encounter corpses, and come to learn that the Discovery disappeared within the legendary Bermuda Triangle. It seems that this end of space is where vessels that vanish within the Triangle emerge.
Before long, The Dark Side of the Moon's maintenance crew finds themselves menaced by an evil being that it's heavily hinted is the Antichrist, looking to fulfill a biblical prophecy. This entity begins killing off the crew, and in some cases resurrecting them for its own Satanic purposes. It would appear that The Dark Side of the Moon might actually be Hell, or at least some version of it. While Event Horizon is certainly a better film, with better acting, much higher production values, and a better realization of the Hell in space concept, The Dark Side of the Moon flies by at 87 minutes, and is a worthy watch for anyone enamored with the ideas Event Horizon presents.
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