An Event Picture – from Hell
It’s got the necessary psychotronic bait: great f/x, oceans of blood and gore, spaceships, monsters, cult actors Sam Neill and Larry Fishbourne – even a bit of nudity. But director Paul Anderson’s follow-up to his great job on Mortal Kombat is a gawdawful and simpleminded mess. The premise is okay, if derivative – sort of like Solaris crossed with Hellraiser. The old Haunted House in Space routine. But the story quickly becomes so muddled that you just don’t care.
Characters are always yelling things like “We’ve got to get out of here!” or “I want some answers – now!”, then going on with whatever the hell they were doing before (like wandering off to get killed). Do we really need “computer-ish” subtitles explaining that we’re in the future before the opening shot of a big spaceship in orbit around Neptune? Or Neill explaining to seasoned astronauts how hyperspace works? How about explaining why everybody hangs around to get killed when it’s already been explained where the danger lies and how to escape it? How about explaining how a guy survives exposure to the complete vacuum of space without freezing and exploding at the same time? How about explaining how this turd squeezed into theaters in the first place?