Movie Review: Lights Out (English)

Lights Out

Lights Out, the latest movie from torture porn-turned-horror mastermind James Wan (he is the producer), is certainly not an easy watch. It's fairly unsettling, smartly staged and clocks a crisp 81 minutes, yet for all its quirky refreshing premise, the movie doesn't really succeed in its attempts to turn what's familiar to us, audiences, into something more nerve-racking and thrilling. But what it does manage to do is make us care about the characters, and root for them to come out of the ordeal alive and well.

It would be an understatement to not mention how brilliant the central conceit is. Unlike the ghosts of the past, the ghoul in Lights Out is one you can see only in the dark. In other words, when the lights are out. It is horrifying enough to instill a fear of the dark in just about anyone, and it does, mind you. Still you can't help but feel most of the jump-scares are been-there-done-that. Which is quite a shame because director David Sandberg broaches a far more interesting point about depression and the emotional complexities that tag along with it. At a time when sequels/reboots/remakes are beginning to induce ennui, Lights Out is definitely an interesting watch, but ultimately could have been much more.