It’s no secret that Event Horizon is one of the most underrated and beloved sci-fi horror movies of all time. Released in 1997, it had the potential to be remembered with the same fervor as fan-favorite horrors like Hellraiser and Alien (although it is very much its own thing), with Sam Neil and Laurence Fishburne giving stellar performances throughout—though nearly everyone resents how it was watered down by the studio to be marketed as more palatable by mainstream audiences after test audiences claimed it was too gory (you know the scene we’re talking about). Even after all that, though, what wasn’t left on the original cutting room floor was both terrifying and thoughtful, blood-soaked and ambitious.
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So how do you give new life to a beloved cult classic while still honoring the original film and everything that drew audiences in about the potential of the story in the first place? Make them “cry and recoil in equal measure.” Or at least that is what Christian Ward said when he sat down with Screenrant to discuss Event Horizon: Dark Descent, the comic prequel to the original movie.
How A Comic Can Truly Pull Off The Story Event Horizon Was Never Allowed To Tell
It’s no secret that the test audience’s reaction to a very specific scene is what was responsible for the watering down of the original Event Horizon. So how does Christian Ward plan to not fall prey to the same pitfall with Dark Descent? “I approached this as a comic and fully embraced that comics have different rules, and their success lies in different parameters than a movie. Being a purely visual medium I knew we HAD to see Hell. We had to see the horrors that besieged the original crew in (thanks to Tristan Jones and Pip Martin) all their insane beautifully gory detail,” he said when asked about how he hopes to match the terror that was left unseen in the original film. “The great thing about cosmic horror is that it’s so primarily rooted in humanity’s lack of understanding. The fear comes from being dwarfed by terrors outside of our comprehension, meaning that I’m able to retain the feeling of mystery that the film dealt with so well. We might see what’s happening but we still don’t really understand it. We perceive the story through the eyes of our characters who have no idea what’s happening to them. “
So what is “that scene” that we keep talking about? Obviously, it’s the infamous blood orgy. The original scene is now considered lost to time, but that doesn’t mean that Ward isn’t going to bring the vision back in his own way. “My goal was that I wanted to write a story that would change how one might view the film. As far as where this all came from, it’s wholly original, but obviously inspired from watching the film. I avoided researching early drafts as I wanted to feel like it’s my story to tell. That said, the one element of fan service that is in the series is the infamous ‘blood orgy’ sequence that was cut from the film. You’ll have to pick up Issue #4 to see how we’re using that, though.”
When a true fan picks up the mantle of a beloved original, there is usually hope for what they create and the idea that it will honor what made it so special in the first place. What are your thoughts about a comic revival of Event Horizon? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to check out the ComicBook Forum to see what other fans are saying.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
