Event Horizon was a critical and commercial failure when it was released in 1997. But thanks to home video, the mash-up of sci-fi and demonic horror tropes gained a cult following. And nearly three decades later, IDW Publishing is releasing an official prequel to the film, titled Event Horizon: Dark Descent. And thank Paimon, it’s as gross and nasty as you would want it to be.
Written by Christian Ward with art by Tristan Jones, the series — the second issue is released this week, so plenty of time to catch up — jumps back in time to show what happened to the ship the Event Horizon before it was discovered in the 1997 feature film. And if you’ve seen the movie, you know the broad strokes, and they essentially boil down to: using an experimental gravity drive, the ship accidentally went to Hell. A classic oopsie if there ever was one, and it led to the horrible deaths of everyone on board.
But what we never really got to see were those deaths, or got to know that original crew. What Ward smartly does in the first issue of the series is efficiently set up each character, their individual motivations, and plenty of plot intrigue, without wasting time getting to the good stuff (i.e.: Hell). And in the second issue, without getting two far into spoilers, everything becomes very, very awful, very quickly.
Jones’s art is the perfect companion for Ward’s writing, leaning into the nightmare aspect of the scenario with disgusting, pulsating visuals that will haunt your waking hours, as well as your sleeping ones. While the movie might have been a slow burn, Ward and Jones know that we, the readers, know what’s coming; and Dark Descent, true to its name, is an almost immediate dip into absolute, sheer terror.
Does every ’90s property need a legacy reboot or a belated sequel (or prequel)? Absolutely not. But when you’ve got a continuation of the “franchise” as good as Event Horizon: Dark Descent, you’ve transcended cult classic status, and find that the comic might create a cult of its own.
Event Horizon: Dark Descent #2 is in stores on October 8, 2025.
It’s spooky season, and you know what that means: time to curl up with a comic book or graphic novel that will scare your socks off. With that in mind, we’re posting a new horror book to check out every day of October, for our 31 Days Of Halloween Comics. Awoooo! Looking for the rest of our picks? Check them out on the Halloween tag.
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