When sci-fi horror fans discuss movies like Event Horizon, they usually remember how shockingly committed the 1997 film is to fusing haunted house logic with space-rescue procedure. It is a grim science fiction horror story with ecclesiastical overtones, a mounting tone of dread and a story engine powered by a missing experimental ship. Stakes run from the personal loss of crew members to the cosmic risk of letting a hellish dimension bleed into real space. Relationships between Captain Miller, Dr Weir and the rest of the Lewis and Clark team crack exactly when the visions start. Signature moments like the blood-spattered gravity corridor or the logbook footage prove that terror increases when technology cannot explain the supernatural.
To qualify as close neighbours we looked for films that keep terror in or around an isolated vessel, base or mission thread. We favoured stories where professional crews investigate a signal or anomaly and unleash something worse. We also tracked the balance between science and occult suggestion so the vibe stays near movies like Event Horizon. Titles span late 70s classics to 2010s streaming-era experiments to show the idea never stopped mutating. Everything below filters through tone, narrative engine, themes, character dynamics and do-or-die stakes so you get watchlist-ready horror.
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Methodology
We scored every candidate on five axes: 1) tone of dread or corruption, 2) narrative engine driven by rescue, recovery or anomaly, 3) themes of crossing forbidden thresholds, 4) character dynamics under pressure and 5) stakes that escalate from local to existential. We also made sure to mix eras and regions so you see how different filmmakers interpret the same nightmare without drifting too far from the original vibe.
Why movies like Event Horizon still work in 2025
1) Alien (1979)
- Runtime: 117 min
- Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt
- Director: Ridley Scott
- Genre: Sci-fi horror / cosmic terror
- IMDb Rating: 8.5/10
- Why it’s similar: Shares the haunted-ship dread and crew breakdown of movies like Event Horizon.
Ridley Scott’s Alien is the clearest ancestor to Event Horizon in spacebound terror. A commercial crew responds to a distress signal and brings something lethal aboard. The film builds slow burn tension that turns claustrophobic once the xenomorph emerges. Like the Lewis and Clark’s team it shows professionals fraying under escalating dread. Its industrial ship corridors mirror Horizon’s cold metal sanctuaries of isolation. The emotional payoff comes from watching competence erode as survival replaces protocol. Fans who want movies like Event Horizon yet prefer a tangible monster will feel at home. It proves the formula works best when the unknown is nearer than anyone realises.
2) Sunshine (2007)
- Runtime: 107 min
- Starring: Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne
- Director: Danny Boyle
- Genre: Sci-fi thriller / psychological
- IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
- Why it’s similar: Mission to recover a lost ship that turns into metaphysical terror.
Danny Boyle’s Sunshine swaps gothic ship design for solar radiance but keeps the fatalism. A science team is sent to reignite the dying sun and meets a corrupted previous mission. The tone moves from procedural to slasher-like urgency once the intruder complicates things. Its crew relationships echo Horizon’s mix of loyalty and mission-first conflict. The Icarus ship frames a doomed expedition across blinding light instead of darkness. That arc lands in the same sacrifice-driven space horror register. Viewers who can handle more metaphysical imagery will appreciate it. It reminds you that some rescues become confrontations with people who already stared too long into nothing.
3) Pandorum (2009)
- Runtime: 108 min
- Starring: Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster
- Director: Christian Alvart
- Genre: Sci-fi horror / survival
- IMDb Rating: 6.7/10
- Why it’s similar: Nails the derelict-ship labyrinth and memory-loss terror of movies like Event Horizon.
Pandorum is almost a sister movie to Event Horizon in structure. Two crew members wake from hypersleep on a derelict craft and uncover a monstrous evolution. The film balances jump scares with investigative pacing through dark decks. Its central pairing maps to Horizon’s divided leadership over what the ship has become. The labyrinthine vessel carries psychological dread born from isolation and memory loss. Payoff arrives when personal history collides with the ship’s terrible mission. Anyone chasing movies like Event Horizon with more creature action should start here. It shows how far people bend when the void offers a new identity.
4) Sphere (1998)
- Runtime: 134 min
- Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone
- Director: Barry Levinson
- Genre: Sci-fi mystery / thriller
- IMDb Rating: 6.1/10
- Why it’s similar: Isolated team unlocks an artefact that weaponises their fears.
Sphere shifts the terror underwater yet keeps the discovery-gone-wrong spine. Scientists investigate a crashed craft on the ocean floor and find an alien sphere. Its tone is talkier and more paranoid than explosive. Character friction among experts mirrors Horizon’s distrust of motives and trauma. The submerged habitat becomes a stand-in for a sealed haunted spaceship. Emotional payoff comes from realising the threat is amplifying what people deny. Fans of deep sea paranoia horror will find this a neat variant. It proves that location matters less than the way humans manifest what they fear.
5) Life (2017)
- Runtime: 104 min
- Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson
- Director: Daniel Espinosa
- Genre: Sci-fi horror / thriller
- IMDb Rating: 6.6/10
- Why it’s similar: Updates the lethal-discovery plot that defines movies like Event Horizon.
Life brings the premise back to modern orbital science. An international crew recovers a Martian sample that grows intelligent and predatory. Pacing is crisp with escalating set pieces. Crew dynamics capture Horizon’s tension between duty and self-preservation. The ISS setting tightens survival-in-isolation stakes to the square metre. Its ending lands in the same bleak nowhere-to-run corner. Viewers drawn to movies like Event Horizon who want newer effects will be satisfied. It argues that curiosity without containment policies always invites catastrophe.
6) The Thing (1982)
- Runtime: 109 min
- Starring: Kurt Russell, Keith David
- Director: John Carpenter
- Genre: Sci-fi horror
- IMDb Rating: 8.2/10
- Why it’s similar: Paranoid crew, sealed location, no safe outside world.
John Carpenter’s The Thing is not in space but its DNA overlaps strongly. Researchers in Antarctica find a shape-shifting organism that imitates them. The film’s pace alternates between testing sequences and violent eruptions. Paranoia among professionals lines up with Horizon’s mistrust once the ship changes. The isolated polar base substitutes for a starship cut off from rescue. Viewers get an equally grim emotional cadence where no choice is clean. Horror fans who like practical effects will admire the craft. It locks you in a room where the only exit is deciding who to burn.
7) In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
- Runtime: 95 min
- Starring: Sam Neill, Julie Carmen
- Director: John Carpenter
- Genre: Horror / cosmic metafiction
- IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
- Why it’s similar: Pushes reality rupture toward the same abyss as movies like Event Horizon.
Carpenter’s later In the Mouth of Madness shows where Horizon got some cosmic bite. An insurance investigator hunts a missing horror novelist and slips into his reality. The tone is pulpy then reality-shredding. Its leads clash over what is real just like Horizon’s crew fights the ship’s visions. New England towns replace space but the gateway-to-elsewhere idea is the same. The emotional payoff is surrender to a story bigger than the characters. Watchers after movies like Event Horizon who want overt Lovecraft energy should log this. It clarifies that sometimes the maze wins because it authored you first.
Darker movies like Event Horizon that lean into hell imagery
8) Hellraiser (1987)
- Runtime: 94 min
- Starring: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins
- Director: Clive Barker
- Genre: Supernatural horror
- IMDb Rating: 7.0/10
- Why it’s similar: Shows the infernal dimension Event Horizon hints at.
Clive Barker’s Hellraiser supplies the infernal dimension side of Horizon’s mythology. A family opens a puzzle box and summons Cenobites who explore pain and pleasure. Pacing moves from domestic unease to supernatural incursion. Its small cast mirrors Horizon’s stressed team trying to close a door they opened. The house setting stands in for a cursed chamber storing extradimensional rules. Emotional payoff is the price of craving experience beyond human limits. Fans who track movies like Event Horizon back to occult horror will see the link. It is the clearest reminder that some signals should never be answered.
9) The Void (2016)
- Runtime: 90 min
- Starring: Aaron Poole, Kenneth Welsh
- Director: Jeremy Gillespie, Steven Kostanski
- Genre: Horror / cult / creature
- IMDb Rating: 6.0/10
- Why it’s similar: Traps survivors in one facility while an opening to elsewhere grows.
The Void is an indie echo of Hellraiser and Horizon combined. Police and civilians get trapped in a hospital besieged by robed cultists and monsters. Its tone is relentless with practical gore. Group tensions reflect Horizon’s mix of authority, faith and desperation. The hospital becomes a portal lab full of techno-gothic atmosphere. The emotional rise comes from characters choosing who returns from the threshold. Anyone needing a jump in cult imagery will rate this. It leaves you with the same sense of having glimpsed a colder creator.
10) The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)
- Runtime: 102 min
- Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo
- Director: Julius Onah
- Genre: Sci-fi horror
- IMDb Rating: 5.5/10
- Why it’s similar: Dimension-bending catastrophe on a haunted station like movies like Event Horizon.
The Cloverfield Paradox is messier but shares key DNA. A multinational crew tests a particle accelerator in orbit and reality glitches. Tone flips between comedy beats and body horror. Crew relationships hold secrets and loyalties like Horizon’s bridge crew. The experimental station fills the haunted spaceship slot directly. Its emotional climax is reunion chased by cosmic consequences. Viewers into movies like Event Horizon who forgive unevenness will still enjoy the concept. It proves that tampering with dimensions rarely ends in a clean win.
Pulpier, looser or action-forward movies like Event Horizon
11) Doom (2005)
- Runtime: 105 min
- Starring: Karl Urban, Dwayne Johnson
- Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak
- Genre: Sci-fi action horror
- IMDb Rating: 5.2/10
- Why it’s similar: Marines answer a distress call and find science has opened the wrong door.
Doom adapts the game but the corridor horror lines up with Horizon. A marine squad answers a distress call on a Mars facility and finds monsters. The tone is action-heavy but anchored by biohazard fear. Team dynamics echo Horizon’s professionals who are not ready for hellish science. Mars labs replace starship decks yet feel just as cut off. The story pays off with sacrifice and unfinished business. Fans of movies like Event Horizon who like guns with their demons will enjoy this. It scratches the pulpier edge of science-meets-evil tales.
12) Ghosts of Mars (2001)
- Runtime: 98 min
- Starring: Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube
- Director: John Carpenter
- Genre: Sci-fi action horror
- IMDb Rating: 4.9/10
- Why it’s similar: Remote outpost, possession threat, professionals under siege.
John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars is a pulpier cousin. Police and miners on Mars face possessed colonists. Its pace is siege-styled with rock-scored bursts. The ensemble channels Horizon’s mix of cynics and believers. The terraformed outpost stands in for a remote haunted spaceship. Payoff comes through teamwork against an overwhelming force. Viewers looking for looser tone will tolerate this. It shows the concept still works even when you swap dread for swagger.
13) Supernova (2000)
- Runtime: 90 min
- Starring: James Spader, Angela Bassett
- Director: Walter Hill (as Thomas Lee)
- Genre: Sci-fi thriller
- IMDb Rating: 4.8/10
- Why it’s similar: Rescue mission picks up a survivor whose cargo is catastrophic.
Supernova follows a medical rescue vessel answering a beacon in deep space. They pick up a survivor whose cargo hides catastrophic power. The movie’s tone is uneven but it keeps a thriller spine. Crew disputes over what to do with the alien artefact map to Horizon’s conflicts. The cramped ship layout captures the same trapped-with-evil feeling. Its emotional beat is saving someone while realising the universe will not notice. People collecting movies like Event Horizon will see a rough but relevant variation. It underlines that danger often arrives disguised as a person in need.
14) Europa Report (2013)
- Runtime: 90 min
- Starring: Sharlto Copley, Michael Nyqvist
- Director: Sebastián Cordero
- Genre: Sci-fi / found footage style
- IMDb Rating: 6.4/10
- Why it’s similar: Keeps the investigative mission tension of movies like Event Horizon.
Europa Report grounds the horror in plausible science. An exploratory crew travels to Jupiter’s moon and documents discoveries. Tone is documentary-like then quietly terrifying. Crew cooperation reflects Horizon’s professionalism before the ship turns. Europa’s ice fields swap for space corridors but isolation stays absolute. The emotional payoff is tragic discovery preserved for others. Fans who file movies like Event Horizon under smart sci-fi will value this. It says curiosity and sacrifice can coexist without heroism.
15) The Black Hole (1979)
- Runtime: 98 min
- Starring: Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins
- Director: Gary Nelson
- Genre: Sci-fi / gothic adventure
- IMDb Rating: 5.9/10
- Why it’s similar: Early haunted-ship-in-space tale that anticipates movies like Event Horizon.
Disney’s The Black Hole is old-school yet thematically adjacent. A research ship finds a missing vessel near a black hole and meets its unstable commander. Pacing mixes wonder with gothic thriller beats. Character tension between explorers and the mad doctor mirrors Horizon’s clashes. The vast ship interior is effectively a baroque haunted spaceship. Its ending tips into metaphysical imagery audiences still debate. Viewers cataloguing movies like Event Horizon should include this for historical context. It proves the idea of hell beyond space predates the 1997 film.
Conclusion: widening your search for movies like Event Horizon
When you chase movies like Event Horizon you are really chasing that collision of science and damnation. Alien, Pandorum, Life and The Cloverfield Paradox cover the straight haunted craft lane. Hellraiser, The Void and In the Mouth of Madness keep the infernal dimension angle alive. Sunshine, Europa Report and Sphere prove you can stay in hard science and still feel doomed. For viewers who want pulpier beats Doom, Ghosts of Mars, Supernova and The Black Hole scratch that itch. To dig deeper into how filmmakers merge horror and space study the BFI’s space and sci-fi features. Then cross-reference creature and possession cinema in the AFI’s genre resources to see the lineage. Whichever direction you go remember the core is a crew, a signal and a decision to open the door.
