Since its release in 1997, Paul W.S. Anderson's Event Horizon has gained a cult following, becoming a classic in the horror sci-fi genre. The film, starring Sam Neill, Laurence Fishburne, and Joely Richardson, follows the rescue mission of the starship, the Event Horizon, when it reappears seven years after mysteriously vanishing. Utter insanity ensues as we learn that the ship has disappeared into an interdimensional hell-portal and come back sentient, able to possess, haunt, and even kill the unlucky crew sent to rescue it.
Now, nearly 30 years later, Event Horizon will be getting an all-new prequel comic series through IDW's new horror imprint IDW Dark. Titled Event Horizon: Dark Descent, the five-part comic series will be written by Christian Ward with art by Tristan Jones and color by Pip Martin.
Here's what we know about Dark Descent's plot according to IGN:
"Embracing the hard-R rating of the shocking movie, EVENT HORIZON: DARK DESCENT #1 (of 5 issues) will lightspeed jump into comic shops this August. Taking place before the events of the film and completely accessible to new readers, this is the unbelievable story of the final fate of the original Event Horizon crew. What really happened to Captain Kilpack and the first crew as their ship journeyed across a nightmarish realm of torments beyond imagining? Abandon all hope as demonic forces - led by Paimon, the eyeless King of Hell - unleash agony and pure evil upon the crew in a gripping story."
If you're familiar with any of the lore behind the movie, you know it was influenced by Hellraiser and even had Clive Barker on set to consult. However, in my opinion, while you get an overall vibe of Barker's influence, those aspects of the movie weren't fully explored. They were left more to glimpses, like the brief scene where we see the Event Horizon's videolog depicting the crew torturing each other.
Unfortunately, this may have been due to the film's troubled production, with director Paul W.S. Anderson having to cut much of the footage to bring the rating down from NC-17 to R. There have been rumors over the last few decades that a director's cut with all the footage intact exists somewhere, but that's never been confirmed.
With what we've learned about the prequel series, it looks like we might finally get to see Anderson's original ideas for the movie fleshed out in this new medium, and we could not be more excited. It'll be interesting to see what Ward does with Anderson's world and how he expands the characters and the lore. The fans have waited long enough for an in-depth look into what actually happened to the captain and crew of the Event Horizon.
Event Horizon: Dark Descent #1 will be out on Aug. 20!