Hello, everyone! August 23rd is a quiet day for horror and sci-fi home media releases, but that doesn’t mean that this week’s offerings aren’t pretty darn great all the same. Scream Factory has put together a killer Collector’s Edition 4K release for Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers and Kino Lorber has put together reissues of their Blu-ray box sets for seasons one and two of The Outer Limits, which genre fans will definitely want to pick up.
Cheers!
Dog Soldiers: 4K Collector’s Edition
A group of soldiers dispatched to the Scottish Highlands on special training maneuvers face their biggest fears after they run into Captain Ryan – the only survivor of a Special Ops team that was literally torn to pieces. Ryan refuses to disclose his mission even though whoever attacked his men might be hungry for seconds. Help arrives in the form of a...
Cheers!
Dog Soldiers: 4K Collector’s Edition
A group of soldiers dispatched to the Scottish Highlands on special training maneuvers face their biggest fears after they run into Captain Ryan – the only survivor of a Special Ops team that was literally torn to pieces. Ryan refuses to disclose his mission even though whoever attacked his men might be hungry for seconds. Help arrives in the form of a...
- 8/23/2022
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Padraig Cotter Jun 20, 2017
Just what's in the never-to-be-seen director's cut of Event Horizon? We take a look at what we know...
Big spoilers lie ahead for Event Horizon
See related Broken episode 3 review Broken episode 2 review Broken episode 1 review
Paul W S Anderson wouldn’t be considered one of the all-time great auteurs. He’s a director heavily inspired by the genre output of John Carpenter, James Cameron, George Miller, Walter Hill and many others, but while those directors often infuse their work with recurring themes or subtext, Anderson is often just about B-movie thrills. His work is filled with exciting action and pretty visuals, but when the characters start talking it’s usually just to motivate the next setpiece.
That said, there’s something kind of pure about how ruthlessly he strips his movies to the bone. Take Resident Evil: Retribution, for example, the fifth entry in the movie franchise. It’s got arguably the best setpieces, the most creative production design and an assortment of pretty people firing machine guns, but it’s virtually plot-free and calling the characters one note would suggest they had a note to start with. If you surrender to his cinematic sensory overloads you’ll (usually) have a good time; if you stop and question anything that happens, you probably won’t.
Even filmmakers with a less than stellar reputation usually have one movie even their distracters will give them a pass for. Michael Bay has The Rock, Jan De Bont has Speed and Paul has Event Horizon, his nightmarish sci-fi horror movie. Like most of his output the plot is relatively straight forward; an experiential spaceship returns from a black hole after disappearing seven years earlier, and a rescue team are sent to investigate.
Hell literally breaks loose.
It’s not a perfect movie and has telltale signs of re-editing - more on this in a moment – but it remains a disturbing, visceral chiller loaded with a suffocating atmosphere of dread. It’s the rare big budget horror flick that actually gets under the skin and has a quality cast to boot, including Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill and Hello to Jason Isaacs. Despite being considered Anderson’s best work it was a bomb back in 1997, making back less than half its budget and receiving mediocre reviews.
While it didn’t bother the accounting department of Paramount on release, the cult of Event Horizon steadily grew over the years, and it started doing tidy business on DVD. Soon stories of the troubled post-production grew among the fanbase, including the near-legendary screening of a hastily edited rough cut that had executives running for the door. Due to the movie’s tight production schedule, Anderson was only left with four weeks to assemble the first cut, instead of the usual ten. This resulted in an edit that ran just over two hours, but the lack of time to finesse it resulted in slack pacing, unfinished effects sequences and a terrible sound edit.
Then there was the gore. Oh yes, the gore.
While Paramount had looked in on the production early on, they mostly left Anderson to his own devices during the shoot in England, so they weren’t expecting the high level of viscera he unleashed. This rough cut was loaded with stomach churning scenes and imagery, which apparently caused some of the test audience to faint. Needless to say, Paramount were not happy with their young director, demanding a sweeping re-edit to dial back the nastiness and the runtime be cut to around ninety minutes. While Anderson knew Event Horizon needed tightening, he felt the released version was too short and could have benefited from more character building scenes and reinserting some of the gore.
Sadly he probably won’t get the chance to release a director’s cut, since the film came out prior to the rise in special edition DVDs. The unused footage was packaged off to a Transylvanian salt mine for storage, so when he came looking for the footage it was in such poor shape it was no longer usable. Anderson himself has recently reaffirmed this, seemingly dashing any hope of the lost footage re-emerging from a black hole, like the titular ship itself.
So what hit the editing room floor? To start with, there were a few more scenes centred on the supporting characters and examining their fears. We learned Cooper’s biggest fear is losing someone he cares about, which is why he’s so upset when his chum Justin nearly kills himself. There was a backstory for DJ’s (Jason Isaacs) body scar, which was the result of childhood operations, and he would have revealed his big fear is being dissected alive; sadly, that one doesn’t work out well for him. There was also an extension of the scene where Peters hallucinates her son with horrible wounds on his legs, where she would have also seen maggots crawling all over them.
Justin featured prominently in a deleted jump scare too, where the crew are gathered around his cryo-pod after his suicide attempt. While the others discuss what happened, Sam Neill’s Dr Weir briefly hallucinated Justin turning into his late wife, who stares at him despite her notable lack of eyes. The flashback to her suicide was also bloodier and more harrowing, but it’s reduced to quick flashes in the final cut.
The special edition DVD managed to find a couple of deleted moments, including a briefing scene establishing the re-emergence of the Event Horizon. There was a disconcerting moment where Captain Miller initially explores the ship and finds a strange object floating around. He snatches it out of the air to finds it’s a tooth with bits of gum still attached.
The creepiest deletion comes from the finale, during the scene where a cryo-tank fills with blood and unleashes a torrent towards Joely Richardson’s Starck. A brief extension has Dr Weir – who has now gone full-blown demonic - crawling down the ladder like a spider, smiling at the fleeing crew members. It doesn’t add much, but the sight of a naked, blood-soaked Sam Neill is one that lingers in the mind. Neill’s body make-up in the finale was also quite elaborate and detailed, but in the final edit he’s mostly only seen in tight close-ups on his face.
The scene that haunts the nightmares of anyone who’s seen Event Horizon is the video revealing the fate of the original crew, who literally tear each other to pieces. The crew log is edited in quick cuts showcasing all manners of mutilation, with one chap pulling his own guts out through his mouth. Despite only running for twenty seconds a lot more footage was shot, which would have earned an Nc-17 without breaking a sweat.
Effects supervisor Dave Bonneywell has described his time shooting the sequence and some of the gruesome details that didn’t make it. Deleted shots include a female crew member who had her mouth held open by clamps, while a crazed guy performs amateur dentistry by drilling screws into her teeth. Another unlucky chap has his legs smashed apart by steel bars and crawls away leaving parts of them behind, while another crew member had her breasts torn off. The scene also included more cannibalism and sex, with adult performers being hired to simulate the errr, intensity of the scene. The director realised most of it probably wouldn't be used, but he filmed it regardless.
While it’s sad a director's cut likely won't happen, Event Horizon remains a solid big budget horror film with some memorable sequences, and its reputation is only likely to grow in the years ahead. Maybe hope isn’t entirely lost though. While chatting with the San Diego Reader about Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Anderson mentioned Event Horizon’s producer Lloyd Levin recovered an old VHS tape that possibly contained his original cut. Despite this the two men haven’t been in the same place at the same time to have a look, so neither of them know what’s on the tape.
Mr Levin, if you ever read this, maybe break out the old video machine and have a quick peek.
Just what's in the never-to-be-seen director's cut of Event Horizon? We take a look at what we know...
Big spoilers lie ahead for Event Horizon
See related Broken episode 3 review Broken episode 2 review Broken episode 1 review
Paul W S Anderson wouldn’t be considered one of the all-time great auteurs. He’s a director heavily inspired by the genre output of John Carpenter, James Cameron, George Miller, Walter Hill and many others, but while those directors often infuse their work with recurring themes or subtext, Anderson is often just about B-movie thrills. His work is filled with exciting action and pretty visuals, but when the characters start talking it’s usually just to motivate the next setpiece.
That said, there’s something kind of pure about how ruthlessly he strips his movies to the bone. Take Resident Evil: Retribution, for example, the fifth entry in the movie franchise. It’s got arguably the best setpieces, the most creative production design and an assortment of pretty people firing machine guns, but it’s virtually plot-free and calling the characters one note would suggest they had a note to start with. If you surrender to his cinematic sensory overloads you’ll (usually) have a good time; if you stop and question anything that happens, you probably won’t.
Even filmmakers with a less than stellar reputation usually have one movie even their distracters will give them a pass for. Michael Bay has The Rock, Jan De Bont has Speed and Paul has Event Horizon, his nightmarish sci-fi horror movie. Like most of his output the plot is relatively straight forward; an experiential spaceship returns from a black hole after disappearing seven years earlier, and a rescue team are sent to investigate.
Hell literally breaks loose.
It’s not a perfect movie and has telltale signs of re-editing - more on this in a moment – but it remains a disturbing, visceral chiller loaded with a suffocating atmosphere of dread. It’s the rare big budget horror flick that actually gets under the skin and has a quality cast to boot, including Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill and Hello to Jason Isaacs. Despite being considered Anderson’s best work it was a bomb back in 1997, making back less than half its budget and receiving mediocre reviews.
While it didn’t bother the accounting department of Paramount on release, the cult of Event Horizon steadily grew over the years, and it started doing tidy business on DVD. Soon stories of the troubled post-production grew among the fanbase, including the near-legendary screening of a hastily edited rough cut that had executives running for the door. Due to the movie’s tight production schedule, Anderson was only left with four weeks to assemble the first cut, instead of the usual ten. This resulted in an edit that ran just over two hours, but the lack of time to finesse it resulted in slack pacing, unfinished effects sequences and a terrible sound edit.
Then there was the gore. Oh yes, the gore.
While Paramount had looked in on the production early on, they mostly left Anderson to his own devices during the shoot in England, so they weren’t expecting the high level of viscera he unleashed. This rough cut was loaded with stomach churning scenes and imagery, which apparently caused some of the test audience to faint. Needless to say, Paramount were not happy with their young director, demanding a sweeping re-edit to dial back the nastiness and the runtime be cut to around ninety minutes. While Anderson knew Event Horizon needed tightening, he felt the released version was too short and could have benefited from more character building scenes and reinserting some of the gore.
Sadly he probably won’t get the chance to release a director’s cut, since the film came out prior to the rise in special edition DVDs. The unused footage was packaged off to a Transylvanian salt mine for storage, so when he came looking for the footage it was in such poor shape it was no longer usable. Anderson himself has recently reaffirmed this, seemingly dashing any hope of the lost footage re-emerging from a black hole, like the titular ship itself.
So what hit the editing room floor? To start with, there were a few more scenes centred on the supporting characters and examining their fears. We learned Cooper’s biggest fear is losing someone he cares about, which is why he’s so upset when his chum Justin nearly kills himself. There was a backstory for DJ’s (Jason Isaacs) body scar, which was the result of childhood operations, and he would have revealed his big fear is being dissected alive; sadly, that one doesn’t work out well for him. There was also an extension of the scene where Peters hallucinates her son with horrible wounds on his legs, where she would have also seen maggots crawling all over them.
Justin featured prominently in a deleted jump scare too, where the crew are gathered around his cryo-pod after his suicide attempt. While the others discuss what happened, Sam Neill’s Dr Weir briefly hallucinated Justin turning into his late wife, who stares at him despite her notable lack of eyes. The flashback to her suicide was also bloodier and more harrowing, but it’s reduced to quick flashes in the final cut.
The special edition DVD managed to find a couple of deleted moments, including a briefing scene establishing the re-emergence of the Event Horizon. There was a disconcerting moment where Captain Miller initially explores the ship and finds a strange object floating around. He snatches it out of the air to finds it’s a tooth with bits of gum still attached.
The creepiest deletion comes from the finale, during the scene where a cryo-tank fills with blood and unleashes a torrent towards Joely Richardson’s Starck. A brief extension has Dr Weir – who has now gone full-blown demonic - crawling down the ladder like a spider, smiling at the fleeing crew members. It doesn’t add much, but the sight of a naked, blood-soaked Sam Neill is one that lingers in the mind. Neill’s body make-up in the finale was also quite elaborate and detailed, but in the final edit he’s mostly only seen in tight close-ups on his face.
The scene that haunts the nightmares of anyone who’s seen Event Horizon is the video revealing the fate of the original crew, who literally tear each other to pieces. The crew log is edited in quick cuts showcasing all manners of mutilation, with one chap pulling his own guts out through his mouth. Despite only running for twenty seconds a lot more footage was shot, which would have earned an Nc-17 without breaking a sweat.
Effects supervisor Dave Bonneywell has described his time shooting the sequence and some of the gruesome details that didn’t make it. Deleted shots include a female crew member who had her mouth held open by clamps, while a crazed guy performs amateur dentistry by drilling screws into her teeth. Another unlucky chap has his legs smashed apart by steel bars and crawls away leaving parts of them behind, while another crew member had her breasts torn off. The scene also included more cannibalism and sex, with adult performers being hired to simulate the errr, intensity of the scene. The director realised most of it probably wouldn't be used, but he filmed it regardless.
While it’s sad a director's cut likely won't happen, Event Horizon remains a solid big budget horror film with some memorable sequences, and its reputation is only likely to grow in the years ahead. Maybe hope isn’t entirely lost though. While chatting with the San Diego Reader about Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Anderson mentioned Event Horizon’s producer Lloyd Levin recovered an old VHS tape that possibly contained his original cut. Despite this the two men haven’t been in the same place at the same time to have a look, so neither of them know what’s on the tape.
Mr Levin, if you ever read this, maybe break out the old video machine and have a quick peek.
- 6/15/2017
- Den of Geek
Another Scream Factory release, another controversy. Scream Factory’s Collector’s Edition release of Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers has been plagued with issues since it was announced. Delays, a lack of source material from which to scan a new transfer. After a year of waiting, some of us assumed that we’d never actually see this release come to fruition. On June 23rd, the wait was finally over, but some people were less than satisfied. Do they have a valid complaint, or is it more anti-Scream Factory hipster nonsense?
The Movie:
First, let’s talk about the movie, then we’ll get into the controversy. Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers is one of the last great Werewolf movies. It shouldn’t be hard to do, considering the criminal lack of solid werewolf movies on the market, but sadly, the few that do get made are generally average, or worse.
The Movie:
First, let’s talk about the movie, then we’ll get into the controversy. Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers is one of the last great Werewolf movies. It shouldn’t be hard to do, considering the criminal lack of solid werewolf movies on the market, but sadly, the few that do get made are generally average, or worse.
- 7/8/2015
- by Shawn Savage
- The Liberal Dead
In addition to getting their Blu-ray horror and sci-fi fix from Shout! Factory's booth #4118 at this year's Comic-Con, fans can also experience exciting future Scream Factory title announcements at the "Inside Look" panel taking place Friday, July 10th at 7:30pm in Room 24Abc:
Press Release: "Now a mainstay at San Diego Comic-Con International, Shout! Factory returns to the convention in 2015 with a dynamic line-up sure to delight pop culture enthusiasts of all ages. Shout! Factory is a leading multi-platform entertainment company, and its Comic-Con offerings, which span its popular Shout! Factory, Shout! Kids and Scream Factory™ brands, are sure to please devoted fans of popular home entertainment properties, collectors and pop culture enthusiasts alike. This year, Shout! Factory unveils an exciting panel event, new home entertainment products, Comic-Con exclusives and engaging booth activities. Fans and attendees are invited to join in on the excitement at the Shout! Factory...
Press Release: "Now a mainstay at San Diego Comic-Con International, Shout! Factory returns to the convention in 2015 with a dynamic line-up sure to delight pop culture enthusiasts of all ages. Shout! Factory is a leading multi-platform entertainment company, and its Comic-Con offerings, which span its popular Shout! Factory, Shout! Kids and Scream Factory™ brands, are sure to please devoted fans of popular home entertainment properties, collectors and pop culture enthusiasts alike. This year, Shout! Factory unveils an exciting panel event, new home entertainment products, Comic-Con exclusives and engaging booth activities. Fans and attendees are invited to join in on the excitement at the Shout! Factory...
- 6/24/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Another big week of DVD and Blu-ray releases for genre fans out there as we’ve got several cult classics coming to Blu-ray and more than a dozen indie films headed home on DVD as well on June 23rd. Scream Factory is showing Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers some love on Tuesday with their Collector’s Edition Combo set and Kino Lorber is also giving a high-def overhaul to both Needful Things and The Island of Dr. Moreau too. The provocative horror fantasy Horsehead is also arriving on both Blu and DVD and for any longtime Ryan Gosling fans out there, you’ll undoubtedly want to snag a copy of Young Hercules: The Complete Series which is coming to DVD for the first time ever this week.
Dog Soldiers Collector’s Edition (Scream Factory, Blu/DVD Combo)
A group of soldiers dispatched to the Scottish Highlands on...
Dog Soldiers Collector’s Edition (Scream Factory, Blu/DVD Combo)
A group of soldiers dispatched to the Scottish Highlands on...
- 6/23/2015
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Director Neil Marshall and VFX Supervisor Bob Keen discuss creating werewolves in our exclusive bonus features video excerpt from Scream Factory's Dog Soldiers Collector's Edition Blu-ray / DVD.
Scream Factory's Dog Soldiers Collector's Edition Blu-ray / DVD hits shelves tomorrow:
Synopsis: "A group of soldiers dispatched to the Scottish Highlands on special training maneuvers face their biggest fears after they run into Captain Ryan – the only survivor of a Special Ops team that was literally torn to pieces. Ryan refuses to disclose his mission even though whoever attacked his men might be hungry for seconds. Help arrives in the form of local girl who shelters them in a deserted farmhouse deep in the forest…but when they realize that they are surrounded by a pack of blood-lusting werewolves, it's apparent their nightmare has just begun!
From Neil Marshall, the director of The Decent, Doomsday, Centurion and episodes of Game Of Thrones, comes...
Scream Factory's Dog Soldiers Collector's Edition Blu-ray / DVD hits shelves tomorrow:
Synopsis: "A group of soldiers dispatched to the Scottish Highlands on special training maneuvers face their biggest fears after they run into Captain Ryan – the only survivor of a Special Ops team that was literally torn to pieces. Ryan refuses to disclose his mission even though whoever attacked his men might be hungry for seconds. Help arrives in the form of local girl who shelters them in a deserted farmhouse deep in the forest…but when they realize that they are surrounded by a pack of blood-lusting werewolves, it's apparent their nightmare has just begun!
From Neil Marshall, the director of The Decent, Doomsday, Centurion and episodes of Game Of Thrones, comes...
- 6/22/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Nearly 13 years ago, a British Army unit discovered what lives in the shadows in Neil Marshall's feature film directorial debut, Dog Soldiers, and this summer Scream Factory is revisiting what that doomed group encountered with their Dog Soldiers Collector’s Edition Blu-ray / DVD. First announced in 2013, the anticipated release has been pushed back more than once to ensure it's the best possible final version. At long last, the beloved werewolf film will come out on June 23rd and it will be well worth the wait, as the newly revealed special features are enough to make horror hounds drool and howl at the moon with pleasure.
Press Release -- "Six Men. Full Moon. No Chance. The terrifying thriller Dog Soldiers gets the Scream Factory treatment with a Collector’s Edition Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack available June 23rd, 2015. Fans who order their copy from ShoutFactory.com will receive an exclusive Dog Soldiers poster,...
Press Release -- "Six Men. Full Moon. No Chance. The terrifying thriller Dog Soldiers gets the Scream Factory treatment with a Collector’s Edition Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack available June 23rd, 2015. Fans who order their copy from ShoutFactory.com will receive an exclusive Dog Soldiers poster,...
- 5/6/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.