Lights Out (2016) Review!!!

Synopsis – When her little brother, Martin, experiences the same events that once tested her sanity, Rebecca works to unlock the truth behind the terror, which brings her face to face with an entity that has an attachment to their mother, Sophie.

My Take – I remember seeing this short horror video a couple of years ago as it was scaring people, including myself, across the web. The short was the brain child of Swedish no-budget horror short-filmmaker David F. Sandberg, otherwise known as Ponysmasher on YouTube and other social media platforms. Here, David Sandberg adapted his own short film into this feature length thrill ride with the help of Horror director/producer James Wan (Saw, Conjuring, and Insidious) and the result is quite possibly one of the most visually and mentally scary films in the last two years. It’s shares a few story elements from other existing horror films like The Ring, The Grudge and Insidious and whilst not entirely unique, it is superbly done and quite unpredictable. The trailer doesn’t give too much away as it might suggest. They’ve kept it simple and it works, trying not to stray from a working formula. This is what horror films should be like – focused on the scares, has really effective jump scares, even a few humors thrown in, and a not complicated story line that is very easy to follow. The film is yet another in a string of horror films that uses diseases as allegories for its premise, and this premise alone is genius. The film is often unnerving and sometimes terrifying, dark in look and tone, without feeling recycled or derivative. The biggest strength of the film is that the story is constructed in a way that the audience is always wondering if something will happen. Yes, the film is as generic as a horror film can be – Family in peril, check, Ghost/Monster/Creature terrorizing, check, and Jump scares/Death. Obligatory back-story reveals about the Ghost/Monster/Creature, check. End fight/battle, check – which is not a bad thing at all because most horrors work from this formula. It is how this formula is presented and what new ideas are brought which makes or breaks whether a film is good or bad and new to feature film director David F. Sandberg shows that not only has he a couple of new ideas to bring to the table but he knows how to work the formula to keep things tense and scary.

The story follows Rebecca (Teresa Palmer), a young woman who is determined to move away from her home to leave behind inexplicable events that happened in her childhood on account of the psychological disorders of her mother with her imaginary friend, Diana (Alicia Vela-Bailey). However, her younger half brother Martin (Gabriel Bateman) replaces the role of his elder sister in house of his mother, experiencing the apparition of a woman with creepy appearance as soon as lights are switch off. Rebecca with the help of her boyfriend Bret (Alexander DiPersia) decides to confront her atavistic fears from childhood and save her family, inquiring into the origin of the mental problems of her mother, Sophie (Maria Bello), uncovering the tragic roots of the supernatural manifestation that haunts them. This time another first time feature film director makes his mark. And he delivers. The reason why this film succeeds as a horror film isn’t the jump scares- any old hack can make jump scares. The reason why it works so well lies in the pacing-Sandberg knows how to relax the audience before scaring them, before building a Hitchcock like suspense, only to be broken, then rebuilt back into a scare This film does what The Babadook did a couple of years ago, and uses depression as an allegory for the creature in the film, which is turning into a very cool concept. The film is one of the few films within the system that uses lighting to tell the story, and does so in a way that is clever and terrifying at the same time. With multitude of resources such as the setting, lighting and the sounds cape manage to hook the audience in a dark spiral to their deepest fears, the cupboard, the blackness under the bed, a bleak basement and of course the universal fear of the darkness. This is very much a very “popcorn horror film” where it delivers the right scares & thrills. Taking some queues from Japanese-styled ghost film, so it will be attractive to that audience. It has a strong chill-factor but a somewhat average formula, and it could have used fewer back-story explanations to make it more mysterious, especially since those elements did not feel original. Based on chill factor alone, it ranks higher than Dark Water, The Forest, Paranormal Activity, The Others, The Babadook, and The Boy, and lower than The Ring, Ju-On / The Grudge, and other Japanese-styled ghost film, as well as any horror James Wan himself directs. I would say its chills rank somewhat evenly with The Woman in Black and It Follows, without being as original as the latter. Relating to horror films, aren’t we exhausted of diffuse plots that do not lead anywhere; the argument is elementary and simply effective. A narrative that combines with the haunting soundtrack and the admirable cinematography, obtaining sequences makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end during all run time, here with appropriate run time of 81 minutes; the film gradually gives us clues without delivering cheap jump-scares with an ending in an appropriate manner. The finale is where the director finally goes full throttle and doesn’t let up until the final shot. It makes a good film into a damned near-great one, especially for horror fans. The use of lighting is also tops, as the vicious monster can never appear in light, the different sources of light- from a lit candle, a fluorescent black light, head lights, flashlights, even gun shots- are all used ingeniously.

The same goes for the darkness, as every time a light bulb flickers, or we are suddenly thrown into pitch black darkness, all one can do is hold their breath and grip their chair. As you know some bad news is about to go down. It really dives into that primal, childhood fear of the dark and may conjure up a few bad memories or two. I can’t express it enough; the finale is worth the price of admission alone. Sandberg‘s entry into the horror world receives three cheers from people all across the globe, owing to his unpredictability. He breaks horror clichés in many ways. For example, Bret played by Alexander DiPersia who plays boyfriend to Rebecca, cannot be simply ignored. Breaking banality profusely the character fits like a rare gem in the film. He isn’t a hero exactly, and yet he survives Diana’s attack on three occasions with sheer presence of mind. We generally tend to think boyfriends die first, because they are not important to the tale, but Sandberg decides to break the chains of platitude by keeping Bret alive and breathing. The second most important character is that of Rebecca played by Teresa Palmer. She has this constant confident mien that she wears like a pro at odd hours. The only problem is that she condescends and patronizes Bret beyond limit, so much that you begin to wonder why Bret’s with her in the first place. Yet she packs in an uncommon poise that seems to fill you up with pluck too. Martin, played by Gabriel Bateman, her brother isn’t a wuss either. He is scared, terrified, but he always comes around. He has peerless tricks in his pockets that he comes up with to stay safe. The film could be accused of having a little bit too much to do with jump scares, but one that gives it this critique should first understand how jump scares work and how they can be inserted into a film. David F. Sandberg clearly knows this and he uses the scares not as a gimmick, yet as an intelligent tool to build suspense, scare the characters and so the audience and get under your skin. Where this film has flaws is in its mythology, whilst a lot of it is saved by the thematic undercurrent that explains it, a lot more is simply out of place and the creature haunting the family doesn’t end up having any kind of coherent way of being and whilst it remains scary for its psychological effect, the film did cheat the audience multiple times and didn’t get away with it. Diana herself (played by stunt double extraordinaire, Alicia Vela-Bailey) is a great creation even if not solely original. Her hands, her stance and her voice work perfectly well and actually preferred the silhouette and glinting eyes over seeing her in the flesh. The rest of the cast does just as good as the leads. Aussie model and actress Teresa Palmer shows good range and makes for a strong lead. Maria Bello is amazing. Gabriel Bateman some restraint at first, but plays his part well. Alexander DiPersia is excellent. This film is the dreamy debut of any director and fulfills with generate excitement about what will deliver David F. Sandberg with Annabelle 2. In a period in where horror films are having a boom spontaneous, the last project of New Line does not exceed the level reached by previous films of the film producer, nevertheless, it entertains, frightens and even paralyzes. On the whole, ‘Lights Out’ is a ridiculously entertaining, gorgeously executed, and a surprise contender for horror film of the year. For a horror fan, it is worth it, to watch it with lights out, because it will amaze you. Whether you look at the film as a metaphor to depression or just a straight forward horror film, it scratches the mark of greatness, but rests in the ‘good’ range of horror films.