LIGHTS OUT - NON-SPOILER REVIEW

I know this movie has been out in America for a few weeks, but it was just released in the UK today.

PLEASE NOTE - THE FOLLOWING IS A SPOILER FREE REVIEW. I WILL NOT REVEAL ANY MAJOR PLOT POINTS FROM THE MOVIE.

With no disrespect intended to my redheaded brethren and sistren, but horror movies are like the redheaded stepchild of all the movie genres. They are never given the respect they deserve. They are not considered to be great auteur works probably due to an over reliance on jump scares, cheesy dialogue and questionable acting. However, in recent years thanks to directors like James Wan and production companies like Blumhouse, the horror genre seems to be experiencing some kind of renaissance. The latest entry into the horror genre started life as a 2 min short film that came second in a film competition. However, it racked up millions of views on YouTube and was so impressive that James Wan was convinced it would make a good feature film. Was he right?

The story/plot
A young boy and his estranged sister are confronted by an evil entity that appears in the dark and disappears in the light. How can they combat this? And what is their mother's connection to the supernatural being?

Overall opinion
I am a HUGE fan of the original two minute YouTube short film that this movie is based on. I have watched it multiple times and was extremely happy when I heard it was being made into a full length feature film. However, my only worry was whether the simple premise could be worked into a plausible narrative that would comfortably last 81 mins. I am pleased to say the answer is a resounding yes! This is not only a great horror movie, it is a great movie in general. The story makes sense, the pacing is great, the scares are amazing and creative, the supernatural entity is EXTREMELY creepy and the performances from the small cast are all really on point.

With many horror movies you usually find yourself asking why the characters do certain things as they defy logic of a "normal" person. Fortunately, there is none of that in this movie. Which really adds to the tension in some scenes. And a special mention to the sound design too. I won't spoil it by saying too much, but you will know what I mean when you watch the movie.

The Performances
Teresa Palmer - Rebecca
Rebecca is the films protagonist and Palmer gives a great performance as the older sister in a family that has some problems. She is not your typical horror movie heroine though, which I liked. You really cared about what happens to her and she never did anything in the movie that was cause for sighing or rolling of the eyes from the audience.

Gabriel Bateman - Martin
Rebecca's younger brother, this kid was great. As with Teresa Palmer, this was not the typical young kid in a horror movie role. You really bought into the unsettling situation this kid finds himself in. He has a great acting future ahead of him.

Mario Bello - Sophie
Rebecca and Gabriel's mother, it was great to see Mario Bello back on the big screen. She was very convincing as a mother struggling with some mental disorders, but who genuinely cares for her son and her daughter.

Alexander DiPersia - Bret
Bret is Rebecca's "boyfriend". I put boyfriend in quotes as he is obviously more into Rebecca than she is into him. She holds him at a distance (given some secrets that are revealed about her family throughout the movie). There would have been the temptation for Bret to be the typical douchy boyfriend that you always see in horror movies, but, as with all the other characters, Bret avoids the horror movie boyfriend cliche and is a very likeable character.

The effects
The simple premise of the short film is used to good use throughout the movie, without any moments being repeated.

The horror
There are a lot of stand out jumps, scares and a general overall feeling of unease and creepiness throughout the movie, especially whenever you see a dark corner or a dark room shot through a doorway.

Other stuff
As mentioned before, the sound design is fantastic. A lot of people rarely understand the importance of sound in a movie and how effective it is at creating the required emotion for a scene.

Final verdict
This movie could easily have been a one-note movie, living off the shock value of it's simple premise, but over using it and turning it into a gimmick. However, that does not happen once. It is a simple story, but extremely well told and was thoroughly engaging. It's a short movie at 81 mins, but actually felt like a much longer movie (in a good way) which is a testament to the story telling and direction of David Sanberg. Sanderg will be directing Annabelle 2 as his next project and I, for one, cannot wait to see what he does what that IP.

My Movie rating system
10- Citizen "F*%king" Kane (A+)
9- Bloody Great (A)
8- Really rather good (A-)
7- Pretty decent (B+)
6- Definitely above average (B)
5- Middle of the road average (C)
4- Mediocre (D)
3- Meh (E)
2- Crap (F)
1- Why the hell did I waste my my time and money of this abomination (unrated)

Score - 8.1/10