Event Horizon: Dark Descent #1 – A Descent into Gothic Horror Among the Stars

When Event Horizon hit cinemas in 1997, it was dismissed by critics and largely ignored at the box office. But over time, the film grew into something much bigger than a forgotten sci-fi horror experiment. It became a cult classic, celebrated for its grim tone, unforgettable visuals, and the chilling suggestion that hell itself exists not in some mythical underworld, but in the black nothingness between stars.

Now, nearly three decades later, IDW Publishing and writer Christian Ward are returning to that terrifying universe with Event Horizon: Dark Descent. Instead of retelling the story of the film, Ward and his creative team dig into the untold history of the ship itself. The result is a comic that feels both like a lost chapter of the movie and a fully realised piece of cosmic horror in its own right.

The first issue of Dark Descent isn’t interested in easing you in gently. From the very beginning, there’s a sense of unease baked into every panel. The story focuses on the Event Horizon’s maiden voyage, long before Dr. Weir and Captain Miller ever stepped foot on it. Ward positions the ship not as a vessel of exploration, but as a cursed construct, an object that seems hostile to life before it even makes its infamous jump.

What’s impressive is how the comic avoids feeling like fan service. A lot of tie-in comics lean heavily on references and callbacks, but Ward instead uses tone and atmosphere to connect to the movie. You don’t need to be a fan of the film to follow what’s happening, yet if you know the legacy of the Event Horizon, every page lands with even greater dread. The knowledge of what’s coming makes the tension almost unbearable.

One of the strongest aspects of this first issue is its cast. Ward doesn’t treat the crew as disposable archetypes, but as flawed, layered people. There are scientists seeking glory, soldiers looking for redemption, and technicians caught between loyalty and survival. Everyone has something to hide, and everyone has something to lose.

This is where Dark Descent taps into the same DNA as the film. The horror is not just in the ship or the dimension it tears open, but in the fragility of human beings confronted with the unknown. Ward writes them in a way that makes you care about their fates, which makes the creeping sense of doom that much more effective. You can already tell this isn’t a story about who will survive, but about how the crew will fall apart piece by piece.

Tristan Jones is the perfect artist for this book. His style has a jagged, worn quality that feels less like clean illustration and more like visual deterioration. The Event Horizon itself is rendered as a nightmare of steel and shadows, equal parts futuristic starship and medieval cathedral.

That architectural echo is important. In the film, the ship was designed to look like a cross between a technological marvel and a gothic church. Jones embraces that design choice and pushes it further, using heavy black inks and oppressive compositions to make corridors feel like tombs. There’s a density to the artwork that makes every page feel claustrophobic. Even when nothing horrific is happening, the atmosphere tells you that something is deeply wrong.

The horror imagery itself is sparingly used but brutally effective. You get glimpses of mangled flesh and unsettling distortions of reality, but Jones never overloads the pages with gore. Instead, he lets the environment do the heavy lifting, so that when blood finally does spill, it hits harder.

Where Jones provides texture and structure, colourist Pip Martin delivers the mood. Her palette relies heavily on sickly greens, unnatural teals, and piercing bursts of light that cut through shadow. The effect is deeply disorienting. Instead of the clean, clinical feel you might expect in a sci-fi comic, the colours here feel hostile. Light is never comforting—it’s invasive, harsh, and often reveals things you’d rather not see.

The most striking thing about Martin’s work is how she uses light to create contrast in tone. A bright panel isn’t necessarily safe; it can be more disturbing than the darkness. That inversion is part of what makes the book so effective. Just as the ship itself isn’t what it appears, the colours trick your eye into expecting relief, only to deliver more unease.

The best horror stories rarely rely on just one trick, and Dark Descent understands that perfectly. This first issue layers its approach to fear. On one level, there’s visceral horror bloody mouths, twisted bodies, glimpses of carnage that echo the infamous “ships log” scene from the film. On another level, there’s the psychological aspect, and it’s in these quiet moments where crew members reveal their secrets or question their sanity.

But what may be most effective is the pacing. Ward doesn’t rush to the scares. Instead, he builds suspense with small, unsettling details, letting readers notice the danger before the characters do. This technique forces you to lean into the page, waiting for the inevitable. It’s a reminder that true horror isn’t in the jump scare, but in the anticipation. More importantly, it’s also these small moments that are going to really test the characters in the coming issues.

For fans of the film, there are clear connections to what’s coming. The design of the ship, the whispers of something beyond space, the suggestion of another dimension—all of it ties directly into the events of the 1997 story. But what makes Dark Descent #1 so effective is that it doesn’t require any prior knowledge.

You could come into this comic having never seen Event Horizon and still find it a complete and satisfying read. The horror, the atmosphere, and the character work all stand on their own. Yet, if you do know the film, the experience is heightened. You’re always one step ahead, recognising that every small crack in the ship, every faint flicker of madness, is leading toward something catastrophic.

Overall, Event Horizon: Dark Descent #1 is more than just a prequel. It’s a confident, well-crafted horror comic that embraces the unsettling power of the original film while carving out its own identity. Ward’s writing grounds the story in human fragility, Jones’s art makes every page feel haunted, and Martin’s colours turn light itself into an instrument of fear. It’s rare for a licensed comic to succeed both as fan service and as original storytelling, but this issue manages it. Whether you’re a longtime admirer of Event Horizon or simply a horror reader looking for something dark and atmospheric, this book is worth adding to your pull list.

The film once suggested that the real horror wasn’t hell itself, but the idea that humanity could create its own gateway to it. Dark Descent #1 captures that same idea with brutal clarity. It doesn’t just revisit the legend of the Event Horizon, it drags you onto the ship, forces you to walk its cursed corridors, and leaves you wondering what’s waiting once the gravity drive fires up.

And remember: where we are going, we won’t need our eyes to see! 

Rating: 10/10 

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow us on TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky