Lights Out

Starring: Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman, Alexander DiPersia, Billy Burke, Maria Bello, Alicia Vela-Bailey, Andi Osho
Directed by: David F. Sandberg
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Horror
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A woman (Teresa Palmer) must face her childhood fears in the form of a supernatural entity to save her half-brother.

Review:

Tim: I have to say, I'm impressed with David F. Sandberg, making his feature film directorial debut with the surprisingly effective Lights Out. There's so many bad horror movies that come out every year, whenever you get one that actually does things right, it makes you sit up and take notice. Now, this is certainly not destined to be a classic horror movie- it's too forgettable for that. But, what it lacks in staying power, it makes up for in entertainment. This is a creepy, enjoyable horror film- one that manages to avoid the obstacles that so many others seem to hit.

First off, I give the writers great credit for creating characters that we actually kind of care about. I won't say I actually felt a true emotional investment in the characters, but they felt like people. So many horror movies present their human characters as lambs and we're just waiting for the slaughter. You know most of them are going to die, so why bother caring? This film actually takes the time to help us understand their fractured family. I actually loved that the two main characters are half-siblings. I couldn't think of another instance of that, but it gave these characters something that felt unique. The sister is the main protagonist and she routinely risks her life for her younger brother. But, their family dynamic was different- they had different fathers. It's hard to explain why, but this gave them a nice twist. They're related, but not full siblings. It made everything seem a little changed and provided a new light in which to view the events. It was a small thing, but it made a difference.

The story itself is pretty typical of horror movies. There's this supernatural entity (props making her a female!) and she only appears in the dark. She disappears when there's light. This is simple and been done before, but the execution here was fantastic. You have characters flip lights on and off- in the dark, there she is. In the light, she's gone. This creates such a creepy, nerve-racking situation. You know you'll get some cheap jump scares out of it (and how I hate them), but it's not as bad, because the build-up is fun and frightening. I like how Sandberg took a simple concept but executed it exceptionally well. That's the difference. The visuals worked wonders and added a nice element of unease to any sequence. Now, this is not to say Sandberg hit a home run- there's still far too many illogical decisions the characters make and far too much reliance on light (we all know the lights are going to go out for one reason or another). There were dozens of annoying cliches throughout the film. The difference is that it wasn't all cliche- there were truly unnerving sequences throughout the movie.

Teresa Palmer was pretty good in the lead role. She had a few uneven, forced moments, but for the most part, she worked well. I can't say I'm a huge fan, but she is becoming a dependable actress. Gabriel Bateman was good- he and Palmer work well together. I was excited to see Maria Bello here, but I really didn't love her performance. She has a few strong moments, but there were too many moments that felt too over-the-top and forced. It's interesting because Bello is a good actress, but this wasn't her best performance.

Lights Out is a surprisingly effective horror movie. Sure, it has flaws, but it represents a solid entry into the genre. I've seen so many horror movies that they do start to blend together. This film offered a different enough experience that I found myself enjoying the movie more often than I didn't. In a genre that suffers from poor quality, this movie is definitely a win.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Conjuring, Insidious, Darkness Falls