In 1997, director Paul W.S. Anderson gave us Event Horizon. Though it wasn’t a hit in its day, the film has lived on to gain cult status, with people, over time, discovering the director’s bonkers space-set horror film that is quite literally a trip to hell. Now, after all these years, we finally know what happened to the original crew aboard that ship on their doomed mission thanks to the official, long-awaited prequel.
IDW Publishing recently launched Event Horizon: Dark Descent, a new miniseries from writer Christian Ward and artist Tristian Jones, serving as an official prequel to the movie. As issue #2 is on stands now, we here at Fango proudly present an exclusive first look at issue #3, which you can check out below, as well as some insight into the prequel from Ward. And, right off the bat, fans should know just how legit this prequel is, as both Paramount and the filmmakers were involved.
“After pitching my idea of where to go with the story – and some of the big, big swings I was going to take – to IDW and getting the thumbs up there, it was then presented not just to Paramount but also the filmmakers, in particular Phillip Eisner, the screenwriter of the original movie,” Ward revealed. “It was very important to me that he approved of what we were doing with his world and I'm thrilled to say he was very excited.”
The book centers on Captain Kilpack and the first crew of the Event Horizon who must resist all manner of demonic forces including the literal King of Hell, the one they call Paimon. Without getting deep into spoilers, Ward and Jones go hard, crafting a story that feels cut right from the same cloth as the movie, which was featured in the pages of FANGORIA #164.
“I really wanted this comic to change how fans saw the movie. I didn't want to do anything with the story that would contradict the film, I only wanted to make it even richer,” Ward said. “I'm also a big Clive Barker fan, so there's a little of his weirdness in here and since Event Horizon is often lovingly referred to as ‘Hellraiser in Space.' I wanted to give the story its Pinhead in Paimon.”
And Paimon is indeed worthy of comparison to Pinhead. He’s also very befitting the pages of a comic as he is, in the best of ways, very comic booky in that over-the-top, absurd way that would cost untold millions to bring to life on screen. Fortunately, comics don’t have to contend with visual effects budgets.
“Despite wanting this comic to feel cinematic, hence wanting Tristan Jones as our artist, I wanted to be unashamedly a comic book and nothing screams comic book than a big bad guy,” Ward said. He then told me how he arrived at Paimon in the first place.
“He was born from returning to the film for inspiration and I was suddenly struck by how so much of the film looked medieval, specifically the Gravity Drive chamber and the crucifix window of the cockpit and so when I began working on the book I researched medieval depictions of Hell and starting to deep dives into demonology. It wasn't long before I looked into Paimon. He was of course perfect since he's often referred to as the King of Hell and the more I read the more I realised he was perfect for our story, though to say anymore would give too much away.”
“I'm very conscious that a big part of the film's success is its mystery, so I'm keen not to over-explain too much,” Ward added. “After all, a key component of comics horror is humans being dwarfed by that, that they cannot comprehend. All I'll say is that he makes his presence felt in many ways and is pure, pure evil.”
Though Ward didn’t have any outside cinematic influences, he did cite the Star Wars series Andor as an inspiration. “It was far more important to me that the story felt like Event Horizon than matching up exactly perfectly with the film,” Ward explained. “One thing I always loved about the movie was its international crew, so that was something really leaned into. This is almost like a cosmic horror Star Trek. Bloodierly going where no crew has gone before.”
Much like the movie itself, the book isn’t afraid to get bloody. Expect more of that as the series rolls on. “I'll say this… we're doing the blood orgy!” Ward teased with enthusiasm. As for any future plans beyond the prequel, the writer remained cagey but he did make it clear that there is a larger story at play here. “I can’t say too much at this point but when I pitched this series this was only one part of a much much bigger story,” Ward concluded.
The first two issues of Event Horizon: Dark Descent are out now. For more, get the lowdown on the new Alien and Predator universe that is forming.
