Lights Out

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Lights Out_360P

FOR THE HORROR MOVIE LOVERS

source: Lights Out

It wasn't until I checked the credits that I realized this was based off of the short film by David F. Sandberg. I knew the lights off/lights on shadow figure thing seemed familiar. While I really loved the short film, I don't necessarily agree that it needed the full length treatment. I feel like we see this a lot - capitalize off some popular internet thing that, when extended, loses some of what made it special in the first place. The short film was unsettling and creepy as it was; giving it a back story and more detail made it feel cheapened. I'm not a huge fan of "BOO!" gotcha horror movies, though; I come from a generation that was raised on the original Halloween and, for me, that is the apex of subtle, creepy, slow burn etc - everything that makes one get enveloped in a movie. When there are two many jump-atchas, it is jarring and does not make for high replay value (for me, anyway). I thought the mental asylum backstory was so played out; I feel like maybe that trope should be burned alive. We get it. Although that's kind of how I also feel about kids being creepy (or "troubled"), too. There's just so little variation in horror these days. Not all bad, though - I feel like the choice of Teresa Palmer as Maria Bello (Sophie)'s character's daughter was a fantastic choice. I not only enjoyed her performance but I feel she looks the part; she looks like a younger version of her.

I went into this knowing that it was rated above average for a horror movie and came out feeling like I am on a totally different page. It contains all the clichés of a typical, low budget horror movie with one-dimensional characters, a loose plot, weak acting, glaring stigma towards individuals with mental illness, and more. The fact that it is unable to hit the 1hr 30min mark should have warned me there was little substance and I did not find myself invested in the characters or the unveiling of the truth behind the situation. On a sidenote, there was not much to look forward to with the scariest moments already portrayed in the trailer as well. Terribly mediocre.

The short is a fantastic example of a clever and well executed idea. It just works, so good, and I was super excited about the feature. So it hurts to say that the feature is far from the clever short. Why? They milk the concept bone dry in a couple of minutes. You get it all in the intro and everything after the title is just a downward spiral with a bunch of desperate attempts to keep it going. I hoped this could be a great feature version of the weeping angles from Doctor Who. If you haven't seen that you should watch the episode "Blink" right now. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1000252/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2 Some of my favorite horror movies are the original Chainsaw Massacre, Blair witch project and The Evil Dead. What do they have in common? They leave a lot to your own imagination. You get bits and pieces of explanation but they never give too much. They let you fill in most of the blanks. Lights out wants to explain all of it and centers the whole story about that explanation. In that way they miss the thing that made the concept so good. The fear of the dark and the fear of the unknown. When they take that from us we're left with jumpscares and predictable story lines.

Alright, I was kinda hyped for this movie, since everybody was like "see this if you are not easily scared". They forgot to add "because you will get a yawn fest". I have to admit the movie looks pretty. It is really pretty. The cast are pretty, the sets are pretty. The light is pretty, the intro is pretty. After the intro, the movie is pretty...... ..dumb. And not "horror-dumb" kind of way, rather dumb in a "this is plain dumb" way. The decisions the characters make, the lame and way-too-much-straight-into- your-face expositions. The jump scares that made no sense. The lack of character development. It all made me yawn at about 1/3rd of the movie. And later on was only worse. The dialogues, the music/sound effects, the monster, the reveal, the lack of character depth made me wish for them to die, rather the opposite. The ways to fight the monster back were ridiculous. And the ending? The dumbest ending I have seen in a long time. Christ, this movie made me angry. So promising and yet - ultimate letdown. Rent it. Or not. Better not.

I think any horror fan who thinks LIGHTS OUT is a great horror movie, should have their fandom questioned. This is one of those movies that's just so bad, in every aspect, you end up laughing the entire time, hell you might watch it again because it's funny, you treat it like a comedy now. I think the only thing that LIGHTS OUT has going for it is that it's produced by James Wan. Wan has become a big brand name in horror, and rightfully so, I think he's a skilled storyteller, and so his name is what the producers and filmmaker hope would drive audiences to see LIGHTS OUT and they're going to use Wan on every poster and trailer, they're going to market his name, but if you think that the film going to be close to being as decent as anything Wan has actually made, you might want to lower your expectations. LIGHTS OUT marks the feature film directorial debut of David F. Sandberg, who directed the film from a screenplay by Eric Heisserer ("Final Destination 5"), based on Sandberg's own short film. Teresa Palmer plays Rebecca who left home and her childhood behind, but now her little brother, Martin, is experiencing the same thing she went through as a child which are unexplained terrifying events that seem to happen whenever the lights go out. Turns out, a mysterious entity has been attaching herself to their mother all those years, but as Rebecca gets closer to unlocking the truth, the more resistant and dangerous this entity becomes. It has an interesting core concept, I give them that, the concept that the demon can only attack you in the dark; that any type of light (doesn't have to be UV, this is not a vampire story) would scare her and ultimately harm her. So yes the concept is interesting but perhaps Sandberg should've left it alone as a short film. LIGHTS OUT is just so poorly executed, and it insults our intelligence, not to mention how the demon originated, old photos of her when she was a little girl, the way she looks, the way the backstory is told, it just doesn't get more generic than that, the whole thing feels like a parody or as if you're watching another installment of that "Scary Movie" franchise. Let's just put it this way, if you're easily scared and you enjoy watching low-rate dreadful films like "The Grudge" and "The Eye," then you wouldn't mind LIGHTS OUT. -- Rama's Screen --

Lights out… an eerie silhouette of a human-like creature loiters down the hall. You repeatedly blink in an attempt to mould its blurred lines, but the dishevelled contour of the unfathomable spectre remains absolutely motionless. Lights on… nothing there. Lights out… it's moved a couple of inches near you, and your breath starts to come in short gasps. Lights on… a tinge of stinging pain strikes your bloodshot eyes, and sweat covers your petrified face. You hesitatingly move your fingers upon the switch and take an abrupt stop in the middle to wonder what will happen the next time the lights go out. Well, let's see. Lights out… perhaps, you shouldn't have been so curious. In 2013, Swedish filmmaker, David F. Sandberg, put out one of the most iconic horror short-film experiences that the internet had ever experienced. By that time, all the corners of the virtual realm were awash with the amateurish spine-tingling stories, and the emergence of urban legends, such as The Slenderman. They galvanised aspiring writers to leave their marks on virtual forums, but a selected few decided to take their projects to a whole new level by transferring them to a wider scope. Lotta Losten, who played the nameless main character in the short-film version, enacts a below-par reinterpretation of the same scene, which filled our hearts with sheer dread on Youtube. This time, she plays a woman who works in a mannequin warehouse, and, while clocking out, happens to have a ghastly encounter with a ghoulish presence; However, she's able to sheer away from a gruesome fate. Subsequently, she warns her boss, Paul, about what she saw. He doesn't seem to give much thought to it, but later on, while walking down a dimly lit hall, he comes across a monstrous apparition, which drags him into the darkness, and mauls him to death. The story follows the brothers, Martin and Rebecca, trying to fathom the depression episodes of their mother, Sophie, who happens to have an unexplained connection with the same demonic entity, who attacked Paul, their stepfather. Rebecca is the typical rogue girl who's then telephoned by the school, where her brother studies, to talk about his sleeping in the class, of which he attributes to the same entity which happened to haunt his sister. Rebecca feels beholden to become his responsible guardian, inasmuch as her mother is not of sound mind to look after the boy, and that's when the very same monstrosity that traumatised her childhood, decides to lurk in the shadows of her bedroom one more time. Unfortunately, the adapted version falls short in offering an immersing narrative compared to the original one. The short-film is well-off for uneasiness. It relates to the blood-curdling sensation of going to the kitchen, in the middle of the night, to get a glass of water, and feeling that, at any moment, a gelid hand will sneak up on you. The foundations of the original piece are the imaginary phantasmal beasts, which are masterfully woven due to mere creaks and noises. The experience does not establish a favourable pace in order to evoke a heartfelt sympathy towards the characters. The film doesn't take too long to showcase its premise by walking us through its mechanics. A glowing lamp pops up in the screen signalling its importance in the narrative and it appears that the whole story is used as a mere background for its successful jump scares extravaganza. 'Lights Out' didn't seem to have inherited the same traces that its predecessor could have bequeathed, instead, it limits itself as a roller-coaster filled with jump scares that do not allow the viewer to take in the events. Notwithstanding, it does not entirely fail to regale us. The formula can be categorised as hackneyed, but gets its message effortlessly through to us by simply saying: Grab a torch and give darkness a wide berth. Lights Out… enjoy the ride. Verdict: 2/5