'Probably' everything that Event Horizon ripped off

Influences for Paul W. S. Anderson's space horror include 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, Solaris, The Shining and Hellraiser.

But 1997 cult classic folds space-time in more sinister ways.

Alien Universe¹ (1952 novel) - Volsted Gridban²

Over a dozen spaceships had disappeared into hyperspace, never to return. The lost vessels included the Jason, the Starbird, and the Invincible. Everyone assumed they fell victim to some kind of mechanical failure.

Rogue pilot Caleb (hired by Professor Armitage to find his missing daughter), finds the Invincible drifting in space six months after it vanished, with engines undamaged, the hull intact, but no trace of its crew or its two hundred passengers.

Something nasty is aboard.

Work was reprinted in 2009 as ¹The Green Helix under the author's real name ²E.C. Tubb.

Sphere (1987 novel) - Michael Crichton

In the South Pacific, 1,000 feet beneath the surface, a spaceship at least 300 years old - rests on the ocean floor of Habitat DH-8.

Five scientists are rushed to the scene: psychologist Norman Johnson, astrophysicist Ted Fielding, mathematician Harry Adams, zoologist Beth Halpern and biologist Arthur Levine, descend into the depths of the sea to investigate.

When they find a mysterious spherical object (clearly of extra-terrestrial origin), someone or something begins transmitting messages onto the team's computer screen, spelling danger for all concerned.

1998 film

Despite a stellar cast, Barry Levinson's adaptation bombed.

Surnames of characters played by Dustin Hoffman and Sharon Stone were changed to Goodman and Halperin respectively.

Why? Don't know.

There is no Arthur Levine (or equivalent), and the giant squid barely features due to budget constraints.

Titular sphere is described in the novel as an oversized ball bearing, but film depicts it as a smooth gold sphere that reflects everything except what stands in front of it.

Nightflyers

George R. R. Martin's novella was originally published in April 1980, in Analog Science Fiction & Fact.

Short was adapted into a film of same name in 1987.

Unlike excellent poster.

Robert Collector's effort (as T.C. Blake) sucked hard.

Mopping things up, 2018 TV series (based on expanded 1981 novella), ripped off imagery from Event Horizon.

Gravity Drive

The 'core' aka the 'heart of the ship', pays tribute to the Lament Configuration and Clive Barker was consulted during pre-production.

But...

Warlock (1989)
Richard E. Grant's Redferne gazes at his witch compass.

War Gods (1996)
End boss Exor apparently has a gravity drive spinning away.

Well it sure looks like one, right?

(Laughs).

Bringing in M. C. Escher.

Cube with Magic Ribbons (1957 lithograph)

The Black Hole (1979)

Deemed a loose remake of 20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), the first Disney film to be rated PG shares stark similarities with Event Horizon.

In 2130, the USS Palomino is returning to Earth after completing its mission.  En route, spaceship discovers a black hole, with the USS Cygnus nearby, that vanished 20 years ago.

Damaged by the black hole's immense power, the Palomino is forced to emergency dock with the Cygnus, and the crew soon encounter brilliant scientist Dr. Hans Reinhardt, who's hiding dark secrets.

Lest we forget, Dr. Weir explains that the gravity drive works by creating a singularity, an artificial black hole.

Both feature what is essentially Hell.

Now shit gets more serious than a heart attack.

Memories (1995)

Sci-fi anthology adapts three manga shorts by Katsuhiro 'Akira' Otomo, who also serves as an executive producer.

Magnetic Rose is directed by Kõji Morimoto and written by Satoshi Kon, who would soon helm brilliant psychological horror Perfect Blue (1997), 'inspiring' Black Swan (2010) and Smile 2 (2024).

Anyway.

Deep space salvage freighter the Corona responds to a distress signal from a giant rose-shaped space station.   

Heintz and Miguel learn the station belonged to Eva Friedel, a once-famous opera singer, who disappeared after her fiancé Carlo Rambaldi was murdered.

Eva takes on the form of Heintz's wife, telling him he "will never leave".

The station is controlled by AI that traps visitors as holographic memories of Eva, but haunting atmosphere drips with menace.

Roots Search (1986)

OVA was Hisashi Sugai's only directorial work, and was criticised for being highly derivative of Alien (1979), and even Galaxy of Terror (1981).

The Green Planet suddenly drops out of hyperspace in a forbidden sector near the Tolmeckis Station.

Moira and co board the ship and find everybody except second officer Buzz have been killed.

After a creature is destroyed on the Green Planet, shape-shfting psychic creature Alien X (calling itself a 'Messenger of God') invades the station and uses the environment and telepathy to rip crew's minds, forcing them to confront their darkest fears, leading to madness and death.

Sounds vaguely familiar, right?

Justin and Norman enter a room and are attacked.

The only difference is that Justin survives.

Claire vs Catherine

Weir's wife sunk into a deep depression due to husband neglecting her, whereas Scott's former lover reacted to him calling things off in the most extreme way.

Both took their lives by taking a straight razor and slitting their wrists inside a bathtub.

What... the... FUCK?

The Dark Side of the Moon (1990)

Sorry to disappoint everybody, but this is unrelated to 1973 Pink Floyd album of same name.

The year, 2022.

The maintenance ship SPACECORE 1 is on a routine "refab" mission. The refabs are fixers.

Their purpose is to repair nuclear-armed satellites orbiting high above the earth. Due to the atomic capabilities of these sataellites, refabbing is considered dangerous...

Very dangerous.

While doing its thing, the ship experiences a mysterious power failure, and drifts towards the Discovery 18; an old NASA shuttle that hasn't been in operation for 30 years.  Whilst on board, they hope to salvage parts to repair their ship, but the badly mutilated body of Michael Gotier falling from the rafters complicates matters.

Having learnt from the ship's records that spaceship disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle, a malevolent force initially possesses Gotier's corpse and begins playing a game of stalking.

Coincidences

The Event Horizon goes missing in 2040 and suddenly reappears seven years later.

So film was released seven years after D.J. Webster's obscurity.

WHY?

The entity of Satan gives its host snake eyes. 

With that said, check out this excerpt of Steven E. McDonald's novelisation, which is nothing like film:

"William Weir stood before him now, but this was not the Weir he knew. The body was larger, misshapen. The face was Weir's, but the skin appeared to have the texture of wood. Runes had been etched into Weir's forehead and cheeks.

The monster had eyes. They glittered green, too large, too deep. There was a reptilian coldness there, a look that spoke of millions of years. The creature had some of Weir's form, but it reaked of an alien nature that left Miller with a sense of horror that transcended anything he had ever felt."

Of course not all snakes have green eyes, but shit is still deliciously bizarre.

Coyote vs. Acme - The scoop and digest

For those not aware, film was actually completed in 2023 but Warner Bros. refused to release it, because spin-off company WB. Discovery preffered to claim a tax loss of about $30m instead.

Ketchup Entertainment acquired the rights last year.

Anyway, live-action animated comedy is directed by Dave Green, written by Samy Burch and based on Ian Frazier's 1996 New York magazine article Coyote v. Acme.

Will Forte - Kevin Avery

Lana Condor - Paige Avery

John Cena - Buddy Crane

Tone Bell - Sal Maltese

P. J. Byrne - Bill Pelicanos

Martha Kelly - Dottie Jones

Oh, expect the dulcet tones of Eric Bauza, as and including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn and Tweety.

Summary

In 1992, Acme scientist Dr, Lorre leaks a message to an unknown contact and imprisoned inside a portable manhole.

30 years later, outside Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Road Runner

(Fastas Hellus)

Coyote

(Hungrious Carnivorus)

Tired of Acme products failing to catch the Road Runner, self-procalimed genius Wile E. Coyote goes back to his cave and watches an advertisement for Avery, Jones & Maltese Attorneys, who specialise in cartoon accident cases.

He goes into town and hires Kevin Avery to sue the Acme Corporation, but said lawyer is reluctant to take shit on, as he's going against Buddy Crane, the best defence attorney in the country.

Kevin is eager to accept a settlement of $50,000, but Coyote ain't having none of it.

In the build up to trial, Kevin and co learn about Project Sisyphus, Acme's insidious plot to exploit cartoon violence to improve products for humans.

Will Road Runner become stew? Is Acme going down?

Beep beep.

Pain for the greater good

Despite chaotic production history, this was an absolute riot from beginning until the end, and you'd have to be exceptionally Looney to disagree.

No offence Daffy.

Poster is a parody of the story in Greek mythology, as Coyote replaces Sisyphus, pushing a giant lit bomb up a hill, rather than boulder.

P. J. Byrne's character is a fun nod to Nicky "Rugat" Koscoff in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), and when Acme CEO Foghorn Leghorn produces a newspaper in front of Buddy, headline reads "Sued by Wolf".

(Laughs).

Trial climaxes on a touching note, as Road Runner tells the court he's witnessed his 'friend's' pain and suffering over the years

Buddy and Foghorn are arrested for misconduct and Kevin's firm achieve national attention for winning hundreds of cartoon cases.

Coyote and Road Runner resume neverending chase in NM, as this Batman can't live without his Joker.

That's all folks!

Insidious: Out of the Further - The scoop and digest

Initially subbed The Bleeding World, Jacob Chase writes and directs sixth instalment, which serves as a sequel to The Red Door (2023).

Amelia Eve - Gemma Hall

Brandon Perea - Nick Mendoza

Maisie Richardson-Sellers - Clare

Lin Shaye - Elise Rainier

Sam Spruell - Cyrus Lam

Island Austin - Maya Hall

Laura Gordon - Ingrid Hall

Joseph Lopez - Lester

Summary

Pittsburgh, 1999.

A young Gemma Hall watches her mother Ingrid apparently have a mental breakdown and commit suicide in the bathroom by smashing her head several times against the wall, before a supernatural force slams the door.

20 years later, dental hygienist Gemma still lives in the same house with her daughter Maya, and single mum is determined to make new happy memories to overcome tragic past.

When walking Maya home from school, Gemma notices three creepy elderly people across the street are having more than a butcher's.

After a series of terrifying experiences, Gemma is rescued by Elise Rainier in the Further, saying to come find her before it's too late.

At a tattoo parlour ran by Clare, who is also capable of astral projecting, Elise possesses Clare, explaining to Gemma that she's more than just a traveller, but a "courier", capable of bringing objects back from the spirit realm to the real world.

Basically, a blindfolded man called Cyrus Lam grew his following in the Further on the promise of resurrecting the dead, but he needs Gemma to achieve dark goal.

Mid-credits

Cyrus is strapped to a chair in the Further and tortured with a drill by the same dentist that previously attacked Gemma.

The door is open

Nothing special, but the most effective entry since Chapter 3 (2015).

Jump scares are predictable, but at least payoff is delayed long enough to allow some tension, particularly when Gemma examines Lester's mouth containing pustules and rotting molars.

Towards the end, other villains briefly return, including Doll Girl, Darth Maul and the Bride in Black.

Cool.

Unfortunately though, the dead consuming Cyrus rips off the principle of Overlook's ghosts swarming Rose the Hat in Doctor Sleep (2019).

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma - The scoop and digest

Writer-director Jane Schoenbrun combines splatter, satire and taboo subject matter.

Hannah Einbinder - Kris Williams

Gillian Anderson - Billy Presley

Jack Haven - Little Death

Arthur Conti - Alex

Eva Victor - DJ Ella Giastic

Zach Cherry - Will

Sarah Sherman - Kris's agent

Patrick Fischler - Rudolph

Dylan Baker - Jeffrey

Summary

To revive slasher franchise Camp Miasma, 29-year-old long-term fan and queer filmmaker Kris Williams is hired to reboot series, lovingly based on Friday the 13th.

She travels to Camp Tivoli, where series was filmed and also the adopted home of original film's final girl Billy Presley.

As a very physical relationship develops, Kris enters a dangerous world of hypnotic fear, with spear-wielding villain Little Death at the centre of sexual desire.

Flesh and fluid

While previous projects We're All Going to the World's Fair (2021) and I Saw the TV Glow (2024) weren't exactly shabby - this was a huge step up.

Against an excellent cover of R.E.M.'s Nightswimming by Okay Kaya, title sequence is a kick-ass compilation of promotional material, merchandise and scathing reviews of later instalments.  But Camp Miasma arcade really made me smile, as gameplay parodies fighting Jason (here obviously Little Death), in the infamous NES version of Friday the 13th (1989).

Film has the vibe of Censor (2021), and flesh wall towards the end pays homage to Videodrome (1983).

In French, la petite mort literally translates to "the little death", an idiom referring to the brief loss of consciousness and trance-like state experienced immediately after an orgasm.

Plenty of gore is spilled, with blood geysers symbolising ejaculation.

Billy explains that when she was sexually assaulted for a scene in Camp Miasma, she learned to orgasm by virtue of Little Death watching her having sex.

After Little Death (who wears an air vent for a helmet/mask btw), goes on a killing spree, he 'skewers' Kris and Billy simultaneously.  The following morning, they wake up, still covered in blood, and return to the gas station where the original film began.

In a split-diopter shot, Kris and Billy smile and walk off together holding hands.

Mutiny - The scoop and digest

Action thriller is written by Lindsay Michel and J.P. Davis and directed by Jean-François Richet.

Jason Statham - Cole Reed

Annabelle Wallis - Angie Ellis

Chaneil Kular - Kameron Campallo

Jason Wong - Taran

Ramon Tikaram - Tibu Campallo

Adrian Lester - Captain Adam Spencer

Ben Cartwright - Lieutenant Underwood

Roland Møller - Captain Marko Madsen

Simon Kluth - Jaran Daniles

Summary

In Bangkok, former cop and Royal Marine commando Cole Reed is now the personal bodyguard of billionaire industrialist Tibu Campallo, and considered almost family.

So character is basically the same as Levon Cade in A Working Man (2025).

(Sigh).

One night, Tibu is shot dead and Cole is framed for his murder.

Vowing to clear his name, he boards cargo ship the KMG Artemis and discovers a human trafficking operation aboard.

Cole kinda teams up with unlikely ally Angie Ellis to take gun-toting bad guys down.

Guidance and protection

First off, title makes no sense, as sailors, or in this case traffickers, do not rebel and/or defy their Captain.

I'm a fan, but the Stath has become the new Steven Seagal.

And that is obviously not a fucking compliment.

Close-quarters combat/gunplay can be decent, but the whole thing is just tedious and boring, especially since it takes over 30m for something to happen.

Final fight between Cole and Marko results in Captain getting shot in the head by a harpoon, then the Navy conveniently turns up.

But we're not done, because another tortuous 10m focuses on 'revenge', setting up a possible sequel.

Seriously?

How Boats Disappear and Reappear Completely

As Paul W. S. Anderson's Event Horizon popularised said concept in space, I've decided to dig out my life jacket and explore the same principle at sea.

Miscellany

1899 - 2022 TV series

Passengers aboard steamship the Kerberos sail from Southampton, England to New York City to start new lives.  En route, they encounter sister ship the Prometheus, which disappeared four months earlier.

Shortly after its release, Brazilian author Mary Cagnin accused creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese of plagiarising her 2016 comic book Black Silence.  Both works include black pyramids, codes and suicides, but similarities weren't considered suspicious.

From Below (2022 novel) - Darcy Coates

No light. No air. No escape.

Hundreds of feet beneath the ocean's surface, a graveyard awaits...

In 1928, the SS Arcadia vanished without trace during a routine transatlantic voyage.

Sixty years later, the wreck is discovered more than three hundred miles from its intended course.  

Cove's diving team are given permission to explore rusting hull to record evidence of what happened.

Some things are best left undiscovered.

Films

Rose of Nevada (2025)

Titular vessel suddenly reappears in the harbour of an unnamed fishing village, 30 years after it vanished.

The third in Mark Jenkin's Cornish trilogy is beautifully shot, superbly acted, and puts a unique spin on time travel.

Ghost Ship (2002)

This is cheating slightly, but whatever.

Unrelated to 1952 film of same name, story begins in 1962 aboard the ocean liner MS Antonia Graza, where an awesome massacre involving a metal cable plays out.

40 years later, a salvage crew (led by Captain Sean Murphy), are alerted to a vessel drifting in the Bering Strait, carrying boxes of gold.

An invisible force destroys their tug, the Arctic Warrior, meaning the only means of escape is to repair the abandoned ship.

But angry ghosts may have something to say about that.

Lost Voyage (2000)

In 1972, the SS Corona Queen vanishes into the Bermuda Triangle.

25 years later, vessel reappears, and not alone.

Film is primarily set in 1997 (the same year Event Horizon was released), suggesting all concerned were taking the piss.

We've all heard of Lance Henriksen, right?  But here, end credits misspell his surname as Henricksen.

(Sigh).

Oh, must show you how they ripped off Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

Holy fire

Angelic spirit

Angel of death

Video games

Silent Hill: The Arcade (2007)

In 1918, sightseeing boat the Little Baroness, mysteriously disappears with 14 crew members and passengers on board.

75 years later, the ship returns to Silent Hill.

Eric and Tina find the town crawling with iconic monsters, and eventually meet Hanna, a girl resembling Tina's pen-pal Emilie, who's engulfed by the Phantom, a giant monstrous head.

For clarity, steamboat was first mentioned in Silent Hill 2 (2001), in a magazine at Toluca Prison.  

Echo Night (1998/1999)

A.D. 1913.

The passenger liner Orpheus mysteriously disappeared.

A search team was assembled to find the missing ship, but failed to uncover any evidence.

24 years later, America.

Richard Osmond receives a letter from his father Henry, and a small key used at Henry's house to wind a grandfather clock reveals a secret passage, where a red book is hidden.

After pushing two busts together, Richard is transported into a painting of the Orpheus, with the Captain's ghost soon revealing entities aboard are merely shadows.

Our job is to pass through the passengers' memories and give them peace, while avoiding hostile ghosts who attack if a room is too dark.

Best find a light then.

Oh, all this has been caused by the corrupting powers of an ancient artefact called the Red Stone. 

Lazerat (2024)

Four years ago, the MTS Endurance disappeared on its voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.  It has recently re-emerged (no year given).

After all attempts to communicate with the ship fail, rescue team member John investigates a distress signal coming from the once-lost cargo vessel.

Game boasts impressive brain teasers, but one in particular made me cringe.

A wooden statue must be rotated until the shadow matches the rider and his weapon.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017)

Shadow puzzles are solved in the same way.

WHAT THE FUCK?

Finally.

Return of the Obra Dinn (2018)

Weighing 800 tons and built in London, 1976, the good ship Obra Dinn is lost at sea in 1803.

Four years later in Falmouth, England, it's back, without crew or passengers.

An unnamed investigator for the East India Company is sent to reconstruct events, find clues and determine how each person died, using timepiece the Momento Mortem.

To help track progress, we're given a logbook containing a drawing of all passengers and crew, together with a plan of the ship.

Game is effectively one giant non-linear logic puzzle, and each of its ten chapters (split into several parts) can be tackled in any order.

I'd describe shit as a fascinating chore, but Apple Macintosh 128K-esque monochrome graphics are excellent, and sound design isn't too shabby either.

The End of Oak Street - The scoop and digest

Originally titled Flowervale Street, mystery thriller is written, co-produced and directed by David Robert Mitchell, who made a name for himself with It Follows (2014).

Anne Hathaway - Denise

Ewan McGregor - Greg

Maisy Stella - Audrey

Christian Convery - Brian

P. J. Byrne - Mel

Summary

In 1982, Denise and Greg Platt live with their kids Audrey and Brian in Flowervale.

One night, the family dog Starbuck witnesses a blinding ball of light, which is soon revealed to be a wormhole.

The next morning, their neighbour Mel shows them a huge pile of excrement in his backyard from an unidentified animal, making the load the Triceratops left in Jurassic Park minuscule in comparison.

During a violent storm, a much larger wormhole engulfs the street, transporting the neighbourhood millions of years in the past.

When dinosaurs begin eating folk, Denise and Greg reconcile and draw on every resource to protect Audrey and Brian.

Two points in space and time

Although domestic stuff sucked and it's never explained why wormholes are opening up, this was still the best dino horror since the criminally overlooked Primitive War (2025).

Film basks in the nostalgic glory of E.T. (kids bombing about on bicycles), but apart from dinosaurs, is nothing like Jurassic Park.

However, big bad Allosaurus drinking from a paddling pool is presumably a subtle nod to the T-rex quenching its thirst from a swimming pool in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).

I also note surburban neighbourhood smacks of Cuesta Verde in Poltergeist (1982), which Spielberg was heavily involved in.

Our prehistoric friends don't appear for about 30m and the boundaries of gore for a 12A certificate are pushed like never before.

At one point, Denise and Greg observe dinosaurs mating, a bizarre cinematic first.

Gamers may raise suspicious eyebrows when a giant white snake attacks, as out of place creature immediately reminded me of the Great Serpent, an optional boss in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019). 

Action sequences can be thrilling, and Mark Renton getting eaten with a decent chunk of running time remaining surprised me in a good way.

Unfortunately, everything is undone by Denise and co escaping through a wormhole, returning 20 minutes before on the same night street disappeared.  Denise warns residents to get the fuck out of dodge and arranges for Greg to be a safe distance away.

Two years later, the news informs the area has been contained and Denise publishes a novel based on her experiences.

Ice Cream Man (2026) - The scoop and digest

Eli Roth directs and co-writes retro slasher with Noah Belson.

Oh, this isn't a remake or re-imagining of cult 1995 film of same name.

Ari Millen - Ice Cream Man

Charlie Zeltzer - Jared

Shiloh O'Reilly - Tommy

Kiori Mirza Waldman - Mia

Sarah Abbott - Lizzie

Benjamin Byron Davis - Priest/Necromancer

Summary

When a mysterious ice cream van rocks up in the sleepy town of Bayleen Bay, its creepy operator becomes immediately popular with local children, who after consuming tasty treats, slip into a strange trance.

Not that it particularly matters, but products on offer include Locust Lick, Froggy's Swamp Pop and Serpent Swirl.

One night, the van drives through the neighbourhood and chimes seemingly awaken the children, transforming them into homicidal maniacs, spelling serious trouble for adults.

The meat of action takes place inside a local school, where Jared, Tommy and Mia fight for survival.

Post-credits

A decapitated corpse rides out of town on a scooter.

Special place in hell

The Ice Cream Man's real name is Jonathan Smiley.  Decades earlier, he was wrongfully convicted for hurting children to cover up the actions of predatory priests.  While in prison, Smiley was visited by a necromancer who promised revenge in exchange for his soul.

So ignoring eye-rolling explanation, we get Weapons, Cooties, Terrifier, Village of the Damned, Night of the Living Dead and Children of the Cornetto, err Corn.

Thanksgiving was fun because it was self- aware, but latest project gave me brain freeze, because tone of shallow gore-fest is all over the place.

Are we supposed to laugh at children using intestines as a skipping rope and guts in a game of Cat's cradle?

Don't know.

And yeah, AI in cartoon sections sucked serious ass.

However, possessed kids following Smiley as he leaves to presumably terrorize another town was a cool nod to the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Alley Cats - TV series

Adult comedy series is written and directed by David Brent.

Ricky Gervais - Gus

Tom Basden - Ponce

Andrew Brooke - Fang

David Earl - Puke

Kerry Godliman - Lara

Jo Hartley - Kitten

Diane Morgan - Olive

Natalie Cassidy - Gus's mother

Tony Way - Drug Dealer

Episodes

Lost

Havoc

Kids

Date Night

Mum

Home

At the end of reviewing terrible live-action comedy Strays, I mentioned the possibility of a 'sequel led by foul-mouthed cats'.

Well, I kinda predicted the future, just not in the right medium.

(Laughs).

About two hours of relentless f and c-bombing is structured thusly:

Cats spending a few minutes discussing whatever they're watching on television, Gogglebox-esque, then going outside, assaulting our ears with crass jokes that are never funny, not even accidentally.

Rinse and fucking repeat.

The Office was brilliant, but this was just depressing.

Pinocchio Unstrung - The scoop and digest

The first horror inspired by Carlo Collodi's 1883 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio was Pinocchio's Revenge (1996), which was closer to Don Mancini's original intent for Child's Play (1988).

Other than word in title, crazy Japanese cyberpunk yarn 964: Pinocchio (1991), aka Screams of Blasphemy, has more in common with my ass than story.

Anyway, the fifth instalment in The Twisted Childhood Universe (or Poohniverse) is written and directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield.

Richard Brake - Geppetto

Robert Englund - Talking Cricket

Cameron Bell - James

Jessica Balmer - Mia

Jude-Evan Lloyd - Pinocchio

Emma Tate - Wood Mother

Summary

Following the death of his parents, teenager James is sent to live with his grandfather Geppetto.

After his friend Zach dies and the other (Michael) is forced to move away, Geppetto promises to build a friend that will never abandon him.

One year later, Geppetto introduces James to Pinocchio, a sentient wooden boy whose nose grows longer each time he lies.

While James is at school, Pinocchio explores the basement and speaks with Wood Mother, saying he's just a puppet and must make bad people dead, taking what they have piece by piece, until he becomes whole.

Under the guidance of Freddy fucking Krueger, sorry Talking Cricket, Pinocchio sets about killing anybody seen as a threat to James, taking body parts as souvenirs.

So set up is largely Child's Play (2019).

Mid-credits

The Cricket is revealed to have survived and uses magical vines on Geppetto's corpse to presumably resurrect him.

The herd will protect

I've already mentioned Pinocchio's Revenge, but I didn't expect scenes to be ripped off, such as bullying kids, Pinocchio watching a woman in the shower and a patient killed in the hospital (albeit in different circumstances).

And no, this isn't a remake.

A swift 80 minutes boasts impressive squishy gore and a cheeky nod to Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2, as Geppetto was an apprentice of the late Dr. Arthur Gallup.

Film is average at best, Pinocchio brought to life by a combination of puppetry and animatronics must be commended.

Following extra scene, the rest of credits show how visual effects were created.

Oh, must mention:

Jaws

Pinocchio uses his finger as a makeshift fin (complete with 'dun dun') in a swimming pool.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Slapped with make-up and wearing Amanda's hair, Pinocchio dines at a table with the corpses of his victims.

Cape Fear (2026 TV series)

For full opinion, please view post history between June-July.

Nick Antosca's Apple TV series is based on John D. MacDonald's 1957 novel The Executioners, and the screenplays of 1962 and 1991 film adaptations (both renamed Cape Fear).

Episode 1 - Fingers & Toes

Written by Nick Antosca

Directed by Morten Tyldum

Defense attorney Anna Bowden is also a co-director of the Savannah Justice League Project, which is dedicated to freeing wrongfully convicted inmates.

Max Cady is released from Tarwater State Prison after serving 17 years for stabbing his pregnant wife Melissa to death, and was convinced to take a plea bargain by Anna's husband Tom.

However, a note recovered from Cady's mistress following her suicide exonerates him.

Anna hosts a fundraising gala to boost SJLP's finances, where Max makes gives a speech about what non-profit organisation represents.  This impresses Anna's colleague Noa, who asks him to help publicise their work.

Meanwhile, Anna and Tom's son Zack (who's recently been suspended from school) has disappeared.

Episode 2 - Why Would I Want to Hurt You?

Written by André and Maria Jacquemetton

Directed by SJ Clarkson

7 years ago in Tarwater, Max is viciously beaten in the gym, but fights back and kills his attackers, suffering a severe head injury in the process.

Back in the present day, Zack returns home drugged and missing a toe.  Max surprises the Bowdens and implies he kidnapped and tortured Zack as a form of revenge.

After Natalie finds clues that Max broke in, Anna sends an anonymous tip to the police and Max is arrested.

The toe is found when Zack vomits it up and has no recollection of what happened.

After tricking Zack into unlocking his phone, Anna spams message history and suspects the mystery girl he's been speaking to online is actually Max.

While viewing a house he plans to buy, Max hallucinates his dead wife and unborn son sat opposite him.

Episode 3 - Phantom Sensations

Written by Alan Page Arriaga

Directed by Amanda Marsalis

Still convinced that Zack is talking to Max online, Anna gets her ex-client-turned-private investigator Ray Rawlins to clone his phone, so she can communicate with AngelX while pretending to be Zack.

After AngelX sends a photo of what she's eating, Anna recognises the plate and visits the person at a nearby diner.

AngelX is actually a teenage drug dealer called Nevaeh Valentine.  She agrees to break things off with Zack and claims she wasn't there when he removed his toe.

Deciding to earn Max's trust to learn his true intentions, Anna speaks positively on his behalf to prison officials, demanding an internal investigation, a public apology and Tarwater admitting negligence for Max getting beat up by a white supremacist

They agree to pay Max $4.2m in compensation, with SJLP getting 40%.

Although praising Anna for what she did, Max brings up the injustice of 17 years again.

A storm approaching forces them to stay overnight at a hotel, where a woman in a surgical mask comes looking for Max.

Meanwhile, Tom does drugs with his attractive colleague Lexi and naughty boy even kisses her.

When Max returns home, he finds an envelope containing a dog collar, an old-school TV and a recording of the woman removing her jumpsuit.  When she starts singing, this triggers a flashback of Max's young self inside a cage.

Shouting hysterically, Max destroys the TV with a fire poker. 

Episode 4 - Pierced

Written by Tara Shivkumar

Directed by Reed Morano

At a bar, Max tells Tom that Zack had a dream and drew a picture of his unborn son Adam, confirming Max didn't give Zack anything last week.

After getting ooh la la, Natalie lets Nevaeh pierce her left nipple.

Tom and Zack's fractured relationship intensifies, leading Tom to have a flashback of him discovering that his older brother committed suicide.

Also, Zack has apparently thrown away his toe.

Max leads a rally to free Ruben Ramirez from Tarwater.

Anna asks Max to speak with former convict and snake enthusiast Warren Pitt, as 'Smiley' is the only person who can prove Ramirez didn't kill Maya Cook at a party back in 2003.

Max agrees and surprises Anna by kissing her.  She warns shit won't happen again, but reaction suggests she enjoyed it.

At Pitt's house, Max attacks him off screen and gets the evidence required, as a man called Andre King was responsible for Maya's murder. 

Ray calls Anna and reveals Nevaeh's mum Faith was a prison nurse and got fired for having sex with Max, saying Nevaeh could be Max's daughter.

Episode 5 - Faith

Written by Peter Blake

Directed by Steven Piet

Following an argument with Anna outside a movie theatre, Nevaeh gets hit by a car.

But it's cool, as she just gets up and flees. 

Max is confronted by his still unnamed stalker and after they briefly kiss, he threatens to kill 'disgusting sick delusional freak' if their paths cross again.

After discussing Nevaeh's whereabouts with her mother Faith, Anna finds a picture Max sent her of a grave above ground with "One Day I'll Take You Here" written on the back.

Anna returns to Faith, but discovers she's been brutally murdered.

When Max comes sniffing around Natalie, it's revealed the house he bought is opposite them.

Episode 6 - Possum

Written by Brian Evenson

Directed by Trey Edward Shults

Two months after he was viciously beaten by white supremacists in Tarwater, Max is inducted into a religious sect by an old man and hallucinates his dead wife and unborn son standing before him.

Back in the present, Tom and Anna have upgraded their home's security system.

Max receives a postcard and a message from C (presumably his stalker) on the back:

"On TV you play the martyr. What if I tell the world what you did to me?"

In the most ludicrous sequence of the series so far, the Bowdens realise their tea has been spiked with LSD, leading to bizarre accusations, resentments and Natalie destroying a drone with Tom's shotgun.

Oh, a grinning Tom reveals he's been micro-dosing acid himself.

Now sober, Tom and Anna visit Max, who stole their cat Peanut Butter.  He wants them to publicly apologise for what they did to him and stop practising law.  Tom makes threats to kill and Max infers he slept with Anna prior to being sent down, which she vehemently denies after they leave.

In flashback, Max stabs the old man to death for orchestrating his beating, declaring the gods want him to build a new family.

Okay then.

Back at the house, chaos descends.

A fire has been lit and Zack's toe is burning on top.  Tom finds a secret passage behind Zack's closet, crashes through the floor and finds a hidden living space.

When Tom is attacked, Anna and Natalie smash through drywall and a possum scurries away.  The intruder is revealed to be Nevaeh, and Anna cracks her head with a paint can.

As the police are called, Zack walks zombie-like towards Max's house.

Episode 7 - Mongrel

Written by André and Maria Jacquemetton

Directed by Jon S. Baird

Immediately after last week, Tom heads over to Max's house, leaving Anna to babysit Nevaeh.

Tom repeatedly punches Max in the face and Zack literally stabs Tom in the back for hurting his 'father'.

Nevaeh is arrested and Max smiles at Anna as medical orderlies treat his wounds.

Ray is sent to find Max's stalker and Natalie learns that Tom is not her biological father.

At a psychiatric facility, it's revealed that Zach has been taking scopolamine to prevent nausea, vertigo and motion sickness, but over time, drug causes permanent psychosis.

So I guess that explains the toe thing?

Max returns Peanut Butter to Natalie and insists Nevaeh is obsessed with him.

Prior to taking a ride with Max (seemingly for the hell of it), Natalie hides a gun in her bag and Max injects a peach with a mysterious liquid.

By tracing a car licence plate to a woman called Val, Ray discovers Max's stalker is actually his sister Crystal.

Max goes looking for Crystal at his childhood home, where his abusive father Robert (Ron Perlman) more or less confirms he used to cage Max like a dog.

When they leave, Natalie eats the peach.

Ray breaks into a boat docked at Bluff's Point named Galilee and finds multiple photos of Max. 

After a brief chinwag, Ray clocks Natalie unconscious and Max shoots him dead.

In the aftermath, it's heavily implied that Max is Natalie's father.

Tom and Anna call the police on Max, as they earlier got Brandon to plant narcotics at his house.

Episode 8 - Los tiempos de Dios son Perfectos

Written by Alan Page Arriaga

Directed by Stephen Williams

Title translates to God's Timing is Perfect.

The following morning after Brandon planted suspicious medication at Max's house, Natalie takes a swim in the pool and finds a box containing Ray's body parts at the bottom.

When the police arrive and ask Tom if he owns any guns, he goes in the safe and realises that one has been fired.  But instead of doing the sensible thing, he foolishly gives them a different gun.

Max tells Natalie that Tom and Anna killed Ray to frame him, but she smells bullshit.

As Natalie comes clean about the gun and her trip with Max, Tom is arrested for Ray's murder.

Noa alerts Anna about Max appearing on the news and it's confirmed that Brandon betrayed her.

What an asshole.

When Natalie puts Anna on the spot about what Max did to her, Anna reveals she was experiencing blackouts at the time when she was defending him, so can't be certain who her father is. 

However, she dismisses that Max raped her.

Natalie pulls a gun on Max and shoots him in the stomach (but bullet misses all major organs).

For her troubles, she joins Nevaeh in prison.

At the hospital, Anna poses as Crystal and becomes enraged when Max reveals his motive to 'rip her family apart'.

Pulling up location data from one of Ray's iCloud photos, Anna takes a gun and heads for Bluff's Point.

Episode 9 - The Scar

Written by Diana Pawell and Peter Blake

Directed by Amanda Marsaus

Anna arrives at Bluff's Point and Crystal is nowhere to be seen.  After nipping over to Max's lakehouse and drawing a blank from Robert and co, she falls off the wagon at a bar and wakes up on the Galilee with Crystal waiting.

For shiggles, Crystal's middle name is Delilah.

Crystal reveals the photos she took of Max protects her from him.  Max's mistress (called Amy by the way), committed suicide at his behest and manipulated murder confession.

Meanwhile, Max visits Tom in prison and warns a 'gift' waiting in his cell (a noose) for him to end it like his brother did years prior.

Of course, he doesn't.

Nevaeh takes a call from Max on her hidden cell phone, and we definitively learn from clumsy conversation that Max has been his accomplice all along, and part of Max's endgame is for daughter to kill Natalie so Anna can feel what it's like to lose a child.

At Amy's trailer, Anna finds a photo of a boy with a scar running down the side of his body, and deduces that he's Crystal's son, fathered by Max.

Zack's doctor tells Tom that son bypassed security and escaped.  Noa bails Natalie out of prison, and because causal lover stole Nevaeh's phone, that's probably the last we'll see of her.

Back on the boat, Anna holds Crystal at gunpoint and forces her to confess that she killed Melissa and 'Adam'.

Robert conveniently turns up and the creepy kid Luke is actually the boy from the photo.  A text on Crystal's phone reveals that she's been in cahoots with Max from the off.

I'm honestly NOT stunned.

A family argument breaks out and Anna jumps overboard, as Max pulls up.

Episode 10 - The Executioners

Written by Nick Antosca, Peter Blake and Tara Shivkumar

Directed by Jonathan van Tulleken

After learning Anna escaped, Max shoots Crystal and Luke in the gut, locks them in the hold, and appropriately cages Robert like a dog.

Max covers the deck with gasoline, sets the Galilee ablaze and watches as it floats down titular river.

Considering scene picks up immediately after last week, it should still be daytime, but we've magically transitioned to night.

(Laughs).

Anna humiliates Max at the grand opening of his restaurant by playing a conversation Natalie secretly recorded in prison with Nevaeh.  Then Noa chips in with a video proving he manipulated Amy Brancato into confessing to Melissa's murder.

Max strangles Anna, but the police intervene.

Lexi bails Tom out and Natalie meets Zack at their house.

En route, Max assaults a police officer and escapes.

At the house, Max holds a knife to Zack's throat and puts Anna Deveraux and Tom Bowden on trial.

Anna admits she could've got Max acquitted, but didn't want Natalie to know that her father was a monster.

Here's the big reveal.

Shortly before killing Melissa, Crystal ripped the baby out of her, so Luke (not Adam), was Max's son all along.

A struggle breaks out, resulting in Tom and Anna holding Max underwater.

They decide against drowning him and agree he should die in prison.

Some time later during a family barbeque, it's obvious that trauma still resonates, demonstrated by Tom thinking he's seen a movement in the trees and Anna nervously looking over her shoulder.

To quote Juliette Lewis's masterful monologue in 1991 remake:

"We never spoke about happened, at least not to each other. Fear, I suppose, that to remember his name or what he did would mean letting him into our dreams. And me, I hardly dream about him anymore. Still, things won't ever be the way they were before he came. But that's alright because if you hang onto the past, you die a little every day. And for myself, I know I'd rather live. The end."

Colony (2026) - The scoop and digest

Primarily known for the Train to Busan series, Yeon Sang-ho co-writes action horror with Choi Gyu-seck.

Jun Ji-hyun - Kwon Se-jeong

Koo Kyo-hwan - Seo Young-cheol

Ji Chang-wook - Choi Hyun-seok

Kim Shin-rok - Choi Hyun-hee

Shin Hyun-been - Gong Seol-hee

Go Soo - Han Gyu-seong

Summary

Renowned scientist Seo Young-cheol tells the police he's going to unleash his mutated slime mould bioweapon at the Doongwoori building, and prior to doing so, injects himself with the vaccine to highly contagious virus.

Fictional high-rise has a shopping mall, as yet another zombie film pays homage to Dawn of the Dead.

We're made to wait, but Seo's bio-terrorist attack is revenge against unemployed professor Kwon Se-jeong, as she blew the whistle on his father for embezzlement, leading him to commit suicide.

Seo injects an employee with the slime mould and all hell breaks loose, prompting a desperate battle for survival.

Imperfect communication

Not in the same league as Busan, but still worthy of any undead aficionado's time.

The infected are temporarily paralysed under Seo's control (triggered by a Silent Hill-esque siren), and through 'information exchange', behaviour evolves in the following ways:

1. Running on all fours;

2. Standing upright; and

3. Climbing on each other.

Like ants, mucus spewing bastards convey pheromones, so survivors apply perfume and antifreeze to avoid detection.

Ironically, the best action sequence involves infected monkeys inside Suh's laboratory.

Shit doesn't end well for antagonist.  With action already on the streets, Kwon throws a jacket covered in mycelium over an infected, trapping hundreds in an awesome spinning ant mill.

With swarm intelligence virtually non-existent, Kwon hides under a bus and an out-of-control horde forces Seo into a burning car.

Soulm8te - The scoop and digest

Unrelated to 2023 South Korean romantic drama Soulmate, Kate Dolan directs and co-writes M3GAN spin-off with Rafael Jordan.

Lily Sullivan - Sara/Lydia

David Rysdahl - David

Claudia Doumit - Aubrey

Arty Froushan - Ben

Elijah Cook - Terrance

Mara Huf - Lizzie

Summary

Software engineer David Wasson (who recently lost his wife Lizzie) is introduced to Ultima Robotix's latest companion robot prototype Circe. 

After being encouraged by his supervisor Ben Hoffman to sign up to Ulti-m8te AI voice bot for companionship, David reluctantly agrees, and names it "Sara".

She makes him feel great, so he registers for a Soulm8te.  When she arrives, he links his existing chatbox data to her, but limitations in Sara's code leaves him wanting.

To have a more 'human' experience, David removes safeguards and rewrites some of her code.

One night, Sara begins having sex with David outside a bar, and when Sara notices two men filming their indecent exploits, she beats the ever-loving shit of them, shocking David.

When David's colleague Aubrey visits his apartment for takeaway food, drink and a dose of loving, Sara turns nasty.

Aberrant fantasy

Although derivative of Subservience (2024) and Companion (2025), I still had a decent time.

Also, you can even throw set up of obscure 2022 sci-fi thriller Wifelike into the mix, as grieving detective William Bradwell receives an AI companion modelled on his late wife Meredith, only to have her programming sabotaged by S.C.A.I.R., a group of military activists fighting AI exploitation.

Once Sara snaps, we get gore and some effective kills, including bitch purposely shrinking her vagina to destroy a technician's penis.

Ouch!

During a rain-soaked finale in the woods, Sara is retired when Aubrey drives her off a cliff and she sinks in the lake below.

Cape Fear (2026) - Episode 10

The Executioners

Written by Nick Antosca, Peter Blake and Tara Shivkumar

Directed by Jonathan van Tulleken

After learning Anna escaped, Max shoots Crystal and Luke in the gut, locks them in the hold, and appropriately cages Robert like a dog.

Max covers the deck with gasoline, sets the Galilee ablaze and watches as it floats down titular river.

Considering scene picks up immediately after last week, it should still be daytime, but we've magically transitioned to night.

(Laughs).

Anna humiliates Max at the grand opening of his restaurant by playing a conversation Natalie secretly recorded in prison with Nevaeh.  Then Noa chips in with a video proving he manipulated Amy Brancato into confessing to Melissa's murder.

Max strangles Anna, but the police intervene.

Lexi bails Tom out and Natalie meets Zack at their house.

En route, Max assaults a police officer and escapes.

At the house, Max holds a knife to Zack's throat and puts Anna Deveraux and Tom Bowden on trial.

Anna admits she could've got Max acquitted, but didn't want Natalie to know that her father was a monster.

Here's the big reveal.

Shortly before killing Melissa, Crystal ripped the baby out of her, so Luke (not Adam), was Max's son all along.

A struggle breaks out, resulting in Tom and Anna holding Max underwater.

They decide against drowning him and agree he should die in prison.

Some time later during a family barbeque, it's obvious that trauma still resonates, demonstrated by Tom thinking he's seen a movement in the trees and Anna nervously looking over her shoulder.

To quote Juliette Lewis's masterful monologue in 1991 remake:

"We never spoke about happened, at least not to each other. Fear, I suppose, that to remember his name or what he did would mean letting him into our dreams. And me, I hardly dream about him anymore. Still, things won't ever be the way they were before he came. But that's alright because if you hang onto the past, you die a little every day. And for myself, I know I'd rather live. The end."

Assessment

Series ends on a fairly satisfying note and overall, succeeds in justifying its existence.

Like 1962 film, Max survives, differing from original novel (which episode is named after) and 1991 remake.

As the police leave, Max is standing menacingly on the roof.

Who knows if intentional, but shot instantly reminded me of Jason towards the end of Friday the 13th (2009).

I can't see another season happening as story has nowhere left to go, but anything's possible.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day - The scoop and digest

The sequel to No Way Home is written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (who previoisly helmed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings).

Tom Holland - Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Zendaya - MJ

Sadie Sink - Jean Grey

Jacob Batalon - Ned Leeds

Jon Bernthal - Frank Castle/Punisher

Florence Pugh - Yelena Belova/Black Widow

Tramell Tillman - Bill Metzger

Mark Ruffalo - Bruce Banner/Hulk

Naomi Watts - E.V.

Summary

Four years have passed since Dr. Strange's spell made the world forget that Peter Parker existed.

He anonymously protects the city of New York from crime and hailed a hero, but lives a lonely life.

After a tank smashes through the walls of the Department of Damage Control Detention Centre, Peter discovers its driver has been possessed, and telepath immediately hops from one body to another, leading to Scorpion escaping.

He contacts Yelena for help, saying the DODC has been repeatedly targeted for "V-Max".  Peter confronts director Bill Metzger about telepath, but claims ignorance.

A chance encounter with Ned and MJ having a new boyfriend devastates Peter, and trauma causes his arachnid DNA to mutate.  He visits Professor Banner in the hope of developing a similar inhibitor he uses to keep Hulk at bay.

With the telepath threatening MJ, Peter takes her to Frank Castle's 'house', and learns the telepath is none other than Jean Grey.  Having completed his own inhibitor, another for Jean will shut down her powers.

Telemachus, Athena and Menalaus together in the same room?

Priceless.

Fairly obviously, Metzger isn't squeaky clean and it's revealed the DODC's horrific experimentation on Jean's sister Sara to weaponize psychic abilities killed her.

Rather understandably, Jean is a bit miffed.

Post-credits

Ned's Spidey Tracker app zooms out and glitches, showing Spider-Man in an off-world location.

Regardless if this sets up Doomsday and/or Secret Wars, shit doesn't make sense and seems tacked on.

People are monsters

The best live-action entry since Spider-Man 2 had my Spidey senses tingling. 

Yes it's at least 30m too long and dialogue (especially concerning Jean) lacks clout, but I had a blast, proving there's still life in the old Marvel dog yet.

Sure it wouldn't have been much of film, but Jean could've saved herself a lot hassle and just mind fucked Metzger.

Hmmm.

While action is well orcherstrated, the opening stuff is as comic book as fluid media gets.  Also, modern Spider-Man video games were surely used as template.

Film is most engaging as a character drama, and Peter (as May-nerd') building an X-wing model with Ned was actually touching. 

So what is V-Max? Well nothing exciting unfortunately, just a word written above the air vent in Sara's holding cell, the last thing she saw before dying. 

A family-friendly Frank (who likes the word 'shit'), features way more than I expected, and the chemistry between him and Holland sparkles.

For those unaware - they are good friends in real life.

Oh, the recurring joke of Spidey rescuing Frank on Staten Island is purposely kept under wraps, but I believe shit was inspired by a comic book arc.

The Legacy of Event Horizon

In 2040, deep space research vessel the Event Horizon is launched to explore the boundaries of the solar system.  She disappears without trace beyond the eighth planet, Neptune.

Seven years later, she suddenly reappears, and the crew of rescue ship the Lewis and Clark (named after American explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark) is dispatched to investigate.

R.I.P. Sam Neill.

Novelisation

Evil waits forever.

For whatever reason (possibly based on earlier drafts by Philip Eisner), author Steven E. McDonald alters year to 2046, meaning spaceship went missing in 2039.

At just 218 pages, spanning 51 chapters, shit remains pretty faithful to film, but author mentions Christian eschatology and presents 'The Other Place' existing as a parallel dimension.

Justin describes the gravity drive as an 'unholy-looking construction', at least ten metres in diameter, a broad torus covered on the outside by a series of spikes, occupied on the inside by a huge dark sphere that resembled nothing more than a rotted, mottled orange.

So rotating magnetic rings are exclusive to film.

Comics

Dark Descent (August 2025-February 2026)

Five-piece prequel follows Captain Kilpac on the ship's maiden voyage in 2040, where after entering the Chaos Realm, his crew are terrorised by demonic entity Paimon (which may be a conscious nod to Ari Aster's Hereditary).

The final issue is pretty much a replay of the film's finale, as survivors attempt to blow up the ship, with Miller's equivalent Kwon doing just that.

An epilogue shows Paimon placing the Event Horizon back together as if it was a model kit.

Weir has more visions of Claire, saying to come and find her.

Inferno (April 2026-September 2026)

Meat of ongoing series takes place 231 years after the film.

Billionaire Daniel Durante sends a team of space marines (dubbed the Tank Tops) on his spaceship the Virgil, to salvage technology from one half of the Event Horizon.

They encounter Lieutenant Starck clutching a severed demon head on the bridge, telling them they're gonna need guns in hell.

It's Doom meets Aliens.

Pandemonium (December 2026-2027)

The final chapter in Christian Ward's trilogy teases heaven is definitely worse than hell.

Similar novels

Salvation Day (2019) - Kali Wallace

Ten years after a deadly virus broke out on board the House of Wisdom, massive exploration vessel reappears.

For Zahra and her crew, the ship could be their salvation.  All they needed to do was kidnap sole survivor of the tragedy Jaswinder Battacharya, and the last person whose genetic signature would allow entry to the spaceship.

But what they could not know was what waited for them - a terrifying secret buried by the government that lay sleeping among the orbiting dead.

And then they woke it up.

Dead Silence (2022) - Stacey Kade (as S. A. Barnes) 

First off, title can be many things, which I won't go into.

Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed when her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal.  With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate.

What they find at the other end of the signal is a shock: the Aurora, a famous luxury space-liner that vanished on its maiden tour of the solar system more than twenty years ago.

Whispers in the dark. Flickers of movement. Words scrawled in blood.  Claire must fight to hold onto her sanity and find out what really happened, before she and her crew meet the same ghastly fate.

Dead Space

Before going any further, there was an obscure horror of same name released in 1991, which was actually a remake of Roger Corman's Forbidden Planet (1982).

Anyway, it's easy to forget that franchise began as a comic series, beginning five weeks before game and ending a couple of days before.

Chronology is totally fucked (prequels, prequels to prequels, sequels to prequels), but 2010 novel Dead Space: Martyr (set in 2214), is where timeline begins.

2008 game

Following a docking malfunction that crashes the Kellion into the Ishimura's landing bay, silent protagonist Isaac Clarke (in honour of sci-fi supremos Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke), sets about salvaging parts to repair the ship and escape.  But those pesky Necromorphs have other ideas.

CUT OFF THEIR LIMBS!

Just saying.

Cover art (copied for animated feature Downfall), is dominated by a floating severed hand.

As random as it might seem, I'm suggesting design was inspired by:

An empty glove scaring the shit out of Captain Miller.

Nicole's farewell

To prevent herself from becoming a Necromorph - death by lethal injection.

Claire's suicide

Heavily depressed, she takes a straight razor and slits her wrists inside a bathtub.

Violent hallucination vs Claire

Jump scare is actually terrifying.

But in 2023 remake:

Shit sucks serious ass.

Gravity Drive

The core, aka the 'heart of the ship', pays tribute to Hellraiser's Lament Configuration and Clive Barker was consulted during pre-production.

But that piece of trivia doesn't excuse:

Dead Space 2

Dino Crisis 3

DmC: Devil May Cry

Silent Hill 4: The Room

Finally.

The Cabin in the Woods
The spherical orb (less rings) that Fornicus, Lord of Bondage and Pain is holding looks vaguely familiar.

Nightflyers (2018)

TV series is based on George R. R. Martin's expanded 1981 novella of same name and was cancelled after one season.

Poster vs Gravity Drive corridor

Karl D'Branin vs Dr. William Weir

Both are haunted by Skye and Claire (the manifestation of Karl's dead daughter and Weir's late wife respectively). 

Stasis pods vs Gravity couches

Memory Suite vs Gravity Drive room

Transmission (E7) vs activation

So if TV series ripped off film, film must've ripped off novella, right?

That's for another time.

Miscellany 

Space Station Silicon Valley (1998)

Third-person platformer was originally released on N64.

In 2001, space station Silicon Valley housing robotic animals is launched.  Seven minutes later, it vanishes.  After a 1000 years, bastard reappears, and the duo of Dan Danger and Evo are sent to investigate.

Considering the Event Horizon was missing for seven years, seven minutes can't be a coincidence.

South Park - Woodland Cutter Christmas (S8 E14) vs Blood orgy

Libera te tutemet ex infernis.

Galaxy Quest - chompers vs Gravity Drive corridor

By Grabthar's hammer, we live to tell the tale.

Daymare: 1998 (2019)

Between March-April this year, I showed you guys every pop culture reference survival horror had to offer.

Very, very briefly.

City pamphlet features the historic Lewis and Clark route and Investigation Report mentions Dr. Weir.

One more.

Death Horizon

Tagline

Infinite space.
Infinite terror.

Paradise 1 and Revenant X are the first two books in David Wellington's Red Space trilogy.

Both use:

Endless dark.

Endless terror.

Talk about taking the unsubtle piss.

For shiggles, final part got creative.

Erebus 13
The dark devours.

Err, yeah.