Review by Jonathan Godfrey for Mr. Will Wong
Lights Out began as a short. In 2013, David Sandberg submitted nearly three minutes of scares to Bloody Cuts first ever Film Challenge, “Who’s There.” Sandberg took home “Best Director” that year, and gained massive internet attention thereafter. Later he teamed up with James Wan to stretch his short into a feature, and scare us silly this summer.
Teresa Palmer stars as Rebecca, a troubled woman from a troubled home. Her mother has been struggling with depression since adolescence, and her latest struggles are afflicting Rebecca’s younger brother Martin. Martin has been kept up nights by his mother’s incessant muttering. She talks in the darkness to something other than her imagination. Martin can see it. Rebecca can see it too, and as the Movie progresses we are informed as to why it can only be seen in the dark.
The Movie is a Film Noir mystery that investigates our universal fear of the dark. Eric Heisserer is the Writer responsible for adapting Sandberg’s short. Heisserer has slowly been rising up the ranks with several horrifying screenplays over the past six years. Lights Out is additional evidence of his talent. Add to that the talents of the makeup & visual effects departments. They’re demon of the dark is quite the terrifying specimen.
Teresa Palmer is also quite the Scream Queen. Though she’s not yet a legend like Jamie Lee Curtis, Palmer nevertheless expresses the emotion necessary to draw us deeper into the dark. And let’s not forget the lights, a plot device played with in so many ways that their flickering will hold you in suspense from start to finish.
Warner Bros. Pictures Canada release LIGHTS OUT Friday, July 22, 2016.
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