Introduction
Science fiction in cinematography is a genre that has many pictures that movie fans call hidden gems. These are usually lesser-known films that performed poorly at the box office and were coldly received by critics. One such movie is Event Horizon, Paul Anderson’s first science fiction horror film that explores the topic of quantum physics and the associated fears, anxieties, and concerns of humanity.
The film has a trivial plot and many jump scares, but it is loved by fans for its futuristic, biblical, and devilish visuals, good acting, and decent atmosphere. The idea that the picture presents to the audience is subtle and rarely mentioned in other thematically closely cinematic works. Event Horizon warns humankind that their worldview’s mystical, religious aspect can subconsciously affect their understanding of science, such as quantum physics and wormholes, leading to horrific consequences.
Quantum Physics and Wormholes
Quantum Physics
Quantum mechanics is one of the film’s central thematic components. It also serves as a plot device for all critical events. The scientists and researchers of this scientific discipline are engaged in the theoretical and experimental discovery, study, and analysis of the universe’s primary mechanisms and primordial phenomena. Quantum physics is closely intertwined with Christian religious mysticism in the film. Such a conceptual combination is not unique to the science fiction cinema genre. According to Poon and McLeish, “quantum mechanics (QM) is a favorite area of physics to feature in “science and religion” discussions” among expert circles of various fields, especially theologians (1). Moviemakers also often exploit the theme in their science fiction works.
Wormholes
The specific concept that the director uses is a wormhole. It is a theoretical concept within quantum physics of a time-space phenomenon, or anomaly humans could use or recreate for long-distance space travel. According to Maldacena and Milekhin, “they are interesting configurations that are allowed by the laws of physics as we know them” (066007-1). However, “in classical general relativity, they are forbidden by the average null energy condition,” the two authors also note (Maldacena and Milekhin 066007-1). One can find wormholes in many works of science fiction whose setting implies space travel and the distant future.
Wormholes and Their Working Principle
In quantum mechanics, humanly traversable wormholes have a working principle that is relatively easy to understand. These are considered two separated fixed black holes between which a passable hyper-dimensional channel is created utilizing matter and gravity bending. A pass-ability rule also states: “The time it takes to go through the wormhole should be longer than the time it takes to travel between the two mouths on the outside” (Maldacena and Milekhin 066007-1). One should remember that actual world data does not confirm the existence of the wormhole phenomenon. It is a concept that exists only in hypotheses and theories.
Wormhole in Event Horizon
Wormhole in Event Horizon has the same working principle as its theoretical, conceptual original described above. Sam Neill’s character, the film’s antagonist, explains how the spaceship he designed was supposed to work at least two times. His gravity drive technology for long-distance travel between star systems includes a matter-bending instrument, three gravity rings, and a stable artificial black hole (Anderson). Their interaction was supposed to warp the universe, connect two spatial points, and create a humanly traversable gateway (Anderson). This description of the wormhole and the associated potential technology is entirely similar to the conventional scientific one.
Event Horizon on Science
Religiosity and Science
Anderson’s film makes several specific statements about science, the use of technology, and scientific ethics. The central one is that humanity’s mystical, religious worldview can interfere inadvertently and subconsciously with people’s understanding of sciences like quantum physics, resulting in nightmarish consequences like those shown in the movie.
The director does not directly indicate that Wein is a religious person. The only narrative element suggesting that he is a Christian is the design of the Event Horizon and gravity drive. The former resembles Christian churches, especially Catholic ones, in their interiors. The latter looks similar to the biblical description of some angels.
Moreover, Janssen notes that “the Event Horizon itself looks like a big crucifix, and the gravity drive Sam Neill’s Doctor Weir designed for the ship’s bowels looks like some biblical angel wrought in studded iron — an ophanim, to be more precise” (para. 4). The malfunction of the gravity drive. The location where the original crew was teleported through the wormhole is a direct result of the influence of Christianity on Neill’s character.
The idea of a multiverse is incredibly familiar to the Abrahamic Christian viewpoint. Christians believe there are at least four dimensions: the material universe, hell, purgatory, and heaven. This perspective on the world significantly impacted his understanding of space technologies, quantum physics, and wormholes, and the already described Event Horizon indicates it. The protagonist’s ship is visually similar to modern ones without semi-religious elements (Anderson).
Another narrative element that needs to be mentioned is the suicide of Wein’s partner (Anderson). It can be said that when he experienced a personal hell while developing a new technology. Religiosity, psychological trauma, and guilt led him to unknowingly develop a portal to a devilish dimension similar to the Christian hell. From the beginning, the gravity drive has been unable to create a wormhole for Proxima Centauri. Another hypothesis is that the gravity drive created this chaotic dimension, not just paved a spatial passage to it. The director and screenwriter warn that religiosity combined with world-changing scientific knowledge in one mind is dangerous.
Ethical Use of Technology
The creators also discuss the ethical use of high technology in the picture. They postulate that those technologies during testing or application of which many people lost their lives should be forgotten or even destroyed. The main character, Lawrence Fishburne, blows up the gravity drive and most of the spaceship during the ending (Anderson). It can be interpreted as filmmakers’ protest against the technological progress achieved by human suffering.
Conclusion
This work is a thematic analysis of Event Horizon, a science fiction horror from 1997. It is a B-category film for some and a warning to the scientific community for others. This picture presents viewers with several nuanced topics intersecting science, theology, and ethics. Event Horizon shows that researchers of sciences capable of changing natural laws, such as quantum physics, should be more self-aware and not allow such aspects of their worldview as religiosity to interfere with the development and application of knowledge. This message was very relevant in the late ’00s when we were on the verge of a new millennium.
Works Cited
Event Horizon. Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, Paramount Pictures, 1997.
Janssen, Eliza. “Retrospective: 25 Years Ago, Event Horizon Made Space Exploration Look Like a Terrible Idea.” Flicks. 2022. Web.
Maldacena, Juan, and Alexey Milekhin. “Humanly Traversable Wormholes.” Physical Review D, vol. 103, no. 6, 2021. Web.
Poon, Wilson, and Tom McLeish. “Is There a Distinctive Quantum Theology?” Zygon Journal of Religion and Science, vol. 00, no. 0, 2023, pp. 1-20.