Jason Isaacs Says There Were "Definitely Illegal" Deleted Scenes From EVENT HORIZON
In the decades since its release, the sci-fi horror masterpiece, Event Horizon, has continued to captivate audiences with its dark and unsettling atmosphere. The film, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, has always been surrounded by rumors of a lost director's cut, containing scenes so extreme that they reportedly made test audiences sick. Recently, actor Jason Isaacs, known for his role as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter series, shared some intriguing insights into these infamous "definitely illegal" deleted scenes.
During a promotional interview for his latest film, the Cary Grant biopic Archie, Isaacs discussed his experiences while filming Event Horizon. When asked about the elusive alternate version of the movie in an interview with Yahoo, Isaacs explained:
“They shot it on a soundstage next to us, and there are things that are definitely illegal to do now, probably illegal to do then, with a whole bunch of people with certain things wrong with their body or their mind. ... And Paul's best mate was shooting the second unit, and he kept coming back to our stage going, 'You will not believe what I saw this morning'.”
The lore surrounding Event Horizon's troubled production is a tale of missed deadlines, panicked executives, and extreme content that pushed the boundaries of acceptability. Paramount had to rush the film's release due to the unexpected success of Titanic, leaving the production team with limited time to finalize the movie. When Paramount executives finally viewed the film during test screenings, they were reportedly horrified by its content, which they had never seen before.
Isaacs talked about one of the craziest sequences of the film depicted the gruesome fate of the ship's crew and contributed to the panic among test audiences. The actor's comments hint at the potential illegality of the cut material, but the actor also expressed skepticism about the existence of Anderson's longer cut When talking about that, Isaacs shared:
“I don't know about this director's cut. If you watch the film it does occasionally flash — literally flash frames — to what happened to the ship when it went to hell and there's all kinds of what looks like, 'is it an orgy? Is it a massacre? What's going on?' ... I don't think putting more of that in there will make it work, and I don't think more people's visions make it work. Maybe Paul's got some footage somewhere. I don't think so, he's never mentioned it to me. I think it's a bit of a myth, this director's cut, that's the film. But I might be wrong, I didn't direct it.”
Despite the fascination surrounding the lost scenes, the possibility of an Event Horizon extended cut remains uncertain. Anderson has expressed interest in reshooting the deleted material to restore his original vision fully. Sam Neill, who starred in the film, has shown support for this idea. Still, it ultimately depends on whether Paramount executives are willing to approve the project and whether the cast is willing to participate. I doubt it will ever happen.
Regardless of whether any of these insane deleted scenes exist, it sure sounds like making the film was one of the most bonkers and insane expereinces for the cast and crew.