![]() Sandberg takes on the challenge of stretching his original three-minute short - which was praised for being on a level of terror and suspense that most contemporary horror movies fail to reach - into something that sustains its 80-minute runtime and doesn’t grow stale quickly, which is tough when the concept is as simple as this. Lights Out is good fun that makes for a perfect late night popcorn flick.“Lights Out” may appear to just be another entry in the often cheap and soulless things-that-go-bump-in-the-night subgenre that reigns supreme in modern horror, but don’t let its seemingly conventional premise, of an evil entity that shows up to haunt when the room is dark, fool you: This movie is scary, clever and - surprisingly - elevating by addressing mental illness and the effect it could have on a family.įirst-time director David F. One of my favorite moments of the movie comes at the beginning when a character turns off the lights in a room and sees the monster then turns it back on to just have it disappear, then turns the lights back off to see it again, and does it again, and again until… well, you’ll just have to find out. ![]() It uses some good old fashioned jump scares and a tense atmosphere to make a really effective scary movie. I say this a lot about movies but Lights Outdoesn’t try to reinvent the horror movie. It makes the movie go by so fast and prevents it from being clunky like other horror flicks that try to alternate between the two. Narratively there is no separation between the character drama and the supernatural elements. The movie sets the rules and sticks to them and even presents more rules that raise the stakes. The catch? It can’t be seen and has no power in light. However, this friend ends up not being so imaginary and is willing to do anything to stay “friends” with their mother. This causes Martin ( Gabriel Bateman), Rebecca’s little brother who still lives with his mother, insomnia. Their mother has an “imaginary friend” who she only talks to in the dark. The movie presents some interesting rules. That being said, there are some really effective scares in the movie that make it for an incredibly good time at the movies. That story arc is what carries this film past its jump scares and classic horror movie formula to actually make it kind of compelling. Her kind-of boyfriend Bret ( Alexander DiPersia) even says in one of the film’s stronger character moments: “Are you doing this to help him or hurt her?” Rebecca resents her mother for not being there for her during her childhood. In reaction to this, she runs away, which is a theme that is revisited often throughout the film. ![]() Her mother suffers from a mental illness that seems like manic depression, which gives Maria Bello some really great material to work with. While this sounds like the making for that horror movie character that you hope dies first, the movie provides enough depth to make her more relatable than anything. We are introduced to Rebecca ( Teresa Palmer), a seemingly normal angst-filled punk millennial with commitment issues. I think that it’s pretty safe to give a vague synopsis of this movie because unlike The Invitationit isn’t integral to the plot. The opener does what every good horror opener should do and that makes you ask “what the hell is going on?” It Follows’ opening scene does this perfectly and so does the one in Lights Out. I’ll leave you to be freaked out by this one. I had a heard time keeping my hands away from my face, which is a lot more impressive considering we were watching in a dine-in theater and I could have been eating my Philly flatbread. ![]() I’m not ready for this.” That’s because had an eerie mix of dark and brooding atmosphere and these well-executed jump scares that instantly put you on edge. When the movie started and the opening beats began Brian turned to me and said “it’s starting already. There was a surprising buzz behind Lights Out. The buzz felt like the kind that an indie horror would get even though it was distributed by Lights Out. That’s why when Brian and I heard about it, we were instantly intrigued. It ended up taking top spots on me and Brian’s best of the year list so far. Our most recent success story is probably going into The Invitationblind. ![]() While it becomes difficult to decide what to watch when you do that, often the result is a movie experience like no other. My favorite thing to do when watching horror movies now is not knowing a single thing about them. Looking for a spooky fun horror movie to watch? Well, Lights Outfits the bill. ![]()
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