Official
Australian release date: 21/7/16. Viewed: 23/7/16.
Director:
David F. Sandberg
Actors:
Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman, Maria Bello, Alexander DiPersia
Genre:
Horror
Rating:
M
‘Lights Out’ is a semi-conventional
haunted house film, with one person being haunted, but the rest of the family
able to see the spirit/demon/ghost/whatever, rather than one of those movies
where it’s only visible to the kid. Good start, with the shadowy apparition
offing Paul (Burke), who is Rebecca (Palmer)’s step-dad, Martin (Bateman)’s dad,
and Sophie (Bello)’s husband. Turns out the thing can’t appear or been seen in
the light and lurks in the shadows…
The film does a good job of introducing
the characters, including Rebecca’s boyfriend Brett (DiPersia), but also doesn’t
let too long go without any scares or tension. The beauty of the evil being in
the shadows means that you’re always looking behind characters or in the
corners of every shot! The backstory of how Diana was Sophie’s childhood friend
emerges and goes some (but certainly not all) of the way to explaining the
haunting.
There’s a decent body count, scares,
tension and shocks throughout, a good score, and it doesn’t overstay it’s
welcome. The ending is good and logical. All the actors, including the kid, are
above average. One of the better horror films I’ve seen in a while – scary,
without being too stupid or gory.
Overall: Well-made horror fun.
Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.
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