Review of Lights Out (2016) by Jesse O — 01 Nov 2016

So this is the end of my horror fest. 25 horror movies, with this one included, in one month, I don't know if I beat last year, I'd have to go back and check, but it's still pretty good for the month.

Surprised I didn't even come close to touching one of the classics, which is something I'm disappointed about, but it is what it is. We got time for that next year I guess. Moving on to this flick.

I must say that I did think that this ended up being a pretty good horror movie and an appropriate enough way to close off the month of horror that I've had, even if it's not even close to the best movie I've seen all month.

That honor would have to go to either Excision or Sleep Tight, probably the latter over the former, but they're both neck and neck. This feels like a more appropriate way to close off the month simply because it's a 'ghost story', even if it might not be conventional one at that, since it deals with with mental health issues as well.

But I think a movie that attempts to be legitimately scary as opposed to a gorefest is more appropriate to close the month off. And one of the things I like about was how it uses something as simple as fear of darkness to tell a pretty cool little story all things considered.

I remember being a little kid and being scared fucking shitless of the dark. I couldn't sleep with the light turned off or anything. I was horrified of the creepy-crawlies that could lurk in there.

Of course that fear went away the older I got and now, obviously, I sleep with the light off. It's more comfortable for me to sleep in the dark. But this is something that a lot of people, from children to adults, still deal with and, realistically speaking, the film works because of the fact that it hits on a very simple and very real fear for millions of people around the world.

Is it a great horror movie? Eh, not really. But, like I mentioned, it is definitely a good one. One of the things I like most about it, other than the fact that its effective use of a very concept, is the fact that the movie also has strong enough characters to go along with the horror.

So they're not, like in slashers at least, people you don't care about get scared out of their wits. And it's not like you even care about them that much, there's not that much complexity to them, but they're at least more than just pawns there to be scared for no reason whatsoever.

The story behind the origin of the ghost is intriguing and it goes into how Rebecca's relationship with her mother deteriorated after her father abandoned them, due to Sophie, Becca's mother, spiraling down into a pit of depression and talking to a person that was not there, Diana, the 'antagonist'.

This has also affected Rebecca's half-brother, Martin, after his father was murdered by Diana. Essentially, Diana appears when Sophie is emotionally at her worst and she thrives on that. Whenever someone that threatens to get rid of Diana, by helping Sophie, she does something about it.

It's not that inventive, but I like how the film makes use of it to tell a story about a woman, Sophie, that's been carrying the guilt over what happened to Diana for such a long time that it has manifested itself into a supernatural being that can harm her children.

The solution to this problem is, really, very simple as Diana is nothing without Sophie. That gives the ending away without really giving it away, but I'm sure you could have figured it out easily if you've watched, say, more than 10 horror flicks.

I will say, though, that Diana's destruction, if you will, does feel a bit flat when compared to everything that Sophie, Martin, and Rebecca were put through. But I guess they just wanted that image of Sophie doing what had to be done for the sake of her children.

So it works and it doesn't at the same time. The scares aren't great, but they are more than solid for sure. Again, using a very typical fear in an effective fashion. The acting is strong, so no complaints there whatsoever.

Can't really complain much about this movie. It's not the best horror movie I've seen this year, but it is more than enjoyable for sure and I would certainly recommend it as a rental.