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Also discussed this episode: Tower of London (1939), The Strange Door (1951), The Black Castle (1952), Wakewood (2010), The Quiet Ones (2014), The Houses October Built (2014), Grave Encounters (2011)
I love this movie and yet I agree with everything you both said about it. It's like being in love with a decent looking girl who is just the worst person ever on the inside.
ReplyDeleteAgreed with everything you guys said about the movie. Surprised you didn't mention what I felt like was the clear inspiration for it- Solaris. Always felt like this movie was created by an idiot who watched Solaris and said to himself "This movie doesn't have enough kick ass explosions and violence".
ReplyDeleteI had a feeling where opinions would go on this one. I really enjoyed Heath being on the couch and thought where the conversation went was really interesting. I was also brought up a Catholic and fear was a big part of my upbringing so I know exactly where Heath is coming from.
ReplyDeleteStrangely the part of the film I remember the most as scary was when Sam Neil is just standing in front of the mirror with the cut throat razor. That just felt really intense when I first saw it
I also enjoyed the bit of friendly micky taking. I will shut up about videos now. I do proudly own the video of Event Horizon though ;)
Great podcast Guys.
Damn dudes...this podcast made me squirm as much as Event Horizon made Holland squirm! :)
ReplyDeleteHeath, before you pay Bromley, you should see if your medical insurance will cover it...You may only be responsible for a copay.
Good job guys. Saw it in the theater, but am going to watch again...I think some guy on FB mentioned it is on Netflix.
As always, enjoyed the heck out of the podcast.
ReplyDeleteI was starting college when Event Horizon came out. I knew it wasn't perfect at the time, but I so love the idea of a haunted house movie in space that I saw it two or three times. Even remember trying to talk some friends out of seeing Mimic just to go see it again. Neither movie is great - but can't believe I once tried to talk people out of seeing a Guillermo del Toro movie for a Paul W.S. Anderson movie.
My parents were very private and non-demanding with their faith - but yeah, I had a lot of extended family that used to tell me that the world would end in the year 2000 and stuff like that. While I don't believe in a heaven or hell, it's still an easy way to push my buttons.
I think Anderson doesn't "aspire" to make more well rounded movies like Event Horizon because Event Horizon was taken away from him...and he's being ragged on for what the studio did with it. The missing footage makes it clear there was something better there. Unfortunately, there isn't enough of that to make a director's cut.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: do you have to believe in Hell to find The Exorcist scary?
BTW, the reason you can't find Mark of the Vampire in the Universal catalog is because it's MGM. That set also includes Mad Love, Devil Doll (also Tod Browning), Mask of Fu Manchu and the Bogart horror movie. Great stuff.
Nice discussion guys. Im far from being religious, but I find religious concepts interesting.
ReplyDeleteIn trying to fill in the blanks of Heath's response to the concept of Hell in this movie, is it possibly due to Hell being an abstract concept that this movie makes literal but still keeps ambiguous. (does that sentence even make sense?). in religion teachings Hell is like the ultimate "fear in your mind", as in whatever you fear the most is what Hell is…for eternity. So it is inherently an effective and very scary concept. This movie keeps the personal Hell concept in play and also maintains the ambiguity of what Hell "really" is. This isn't the album cover/Bill&Ted version. So in the end its (sort of) bringing Hell into the "real world" while keeping all of its mythical/theological strength.
This movie would have been very different and I believe would have not had the specific impact Heath is talking about if the spaceship came back and was populated with little red demons and the climax was literally The Devil.
It also suggests a direct line to Hell being opened.
DeleteMy understanding is that in most religions, right after you die your fate is determined and your sins (which we all have) are weighed against how you lived the rest of your life. If you're Catholic it's especially important since you have Purgatory.
With the Event Horizon having gone to Hell and come back it's now dolling out a direct sentence that only cares about your sins and treats them all the same.
This takes away completely the protection from eternal damnation that belief is supposed give you - and might be why it bothers Heath so much?
Maybe so, Kathy. I'm still trying to figure it out myself, but I think you're onto something. It's still too deep for me to pull it out and examine it, though I'm trying. I think what disturbs me the most about the movie's idea of hell is not in any particular image or ideology (because it doesn't really have one, and even if it did, why should I subscribe to a filmmaker's vision of it?) but the idea that there is incredible suffering just beyond reality that exists and that we would never be able to escape. I KNOW that there aren't supernatural killers like Freddy or Jason, I KNOW that vampires aren't really waiting in dark alleys, and I KNOW that the chances of hillbilly mutants hunting me in the woods are very slim. But nobody KNOWS what happens to our consciousness after we die. It's the ultimate fear of the unknown. A lot of cultures and religions teach of a hell and motivate people to lead good lives based on fear. This movie taps into that for me. I certainly choose to live a different life as an adult and raise my own family to be compassionate and to think independently, but this movie brings up old, illogical fears that were put there so early on and for so long that they'll always be rattling around in there somewhere.
Delete"...and I KNOW that the chances of hillbilly mutants hunting me in the woods are very slim"
DeleteNever lived down South have you, Son.. ;-)
I'm in Alabama, m'aam, so I guess I AM that hillbilly.
Delete*reaches for banjo*
I'm not a fan of Event Horizon, but what I like about the concept of hell as a real place--in any sci-fi setting--is that proof of its existence empowers the very elemental, primal dread and fear that science aims to dispel. Science is based on the idea that the universe is knowable and understandable, and that we have the means to master it. Introducing the idea of hell effectively mocks our scientific knowhow, it mocks the spirit of exploration, and it exposes us to be what we fear ourselves to be: helpless, small, insignificant and foolish. It humiliates us and robs us of our hope. That can be exquisitely terrifying. I spent 18 years in Catholic school and although I didn't retain much, hell imagery still really, really gets to me.
DeleteBill hicks does a really good joke about Chritianity where the punchline is Believe or Die. This would not be funny if it was not kinda true. I am not mocking as I was brought up similar to Heath and it leaves you with these thoughts that are hard to shake about fear and hell and damnation. Anyone who has read Revelations knows what im talking about.
ReplyDeleteThis was my favourite podcast. Ive listened twice already. Heath on Patricks couch having his mind opened. Freud would be proud
Hi Guys,
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion. I wanted to add why I think Event Horizon is loved among Sci-Fi Horror Fandom. The reason being is that it is one of the few films which makes use of Lovecraftian themes such as "Cosmic Horror". Fandom loves these types of stories and concepts but they rarely make the big screen though quite common in print.
The most important point of the film was only briefly touched upon in your discussion and only by the lone dissenter among you: Hell is only used to describe this dimension and it is never implicitly stated that it is Hell actual. Hell is only used since it is the only way our human minds can understand what this dimension actually is. This is a classic "cosmic horror" trope much used in writing but rarely used in film. Hell which is a supernatural concept is only used to describe a natural concept since the characters have no other way of describing it within their limited means. Carpenter's Prince of Darkness also uses this theme as you have other wise noted. It is in my opinion a bad film with pulpy charms. Interestingly Aliens Vs Predator clearly also uses strong Lovcraftian themes which makes sense since the original Alien also used such themes in an much more effective manner. Maybe thats why he was picked to direct the film. The director must read lots of interesting things.
It's a warning against technological advancement, like slasher films are anti-sex. Not to trust it so much in our hopeful pursuit of the progression of human existence. Hell is presented as a barrier to that hubris.
ReplyDelete