'Lights Out' - Movie Review

James Wan may have given horror a new lease of life with his Conjuring's run at the box office but it's not one that can last forever for sure. His latest attempt 'Lights Out' expanded from David F Sandberg's much revered short film basically makes a dash at jump-scare horror tricks

'Lights Out' - Movie Review
A; Horror
Director: David F Sandberg
Cast: Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman, Alexander DiPersia, Billy Burke, Emily Alyn Lind, Alicia Vela-Bailey
Rating: 

James Wan may have given horror a new lease of life with his 'Conjuring' run at the Box office but it's not one that can last forever for sure. His latest attempt 'Lights Out' expanded from David F Sandberg's much revered short film, with Sandberg himself at the helm, basically makes a dash at jump-scare horror tricks.

Watch the trailer of 'Lights Out'

A dysfunctional family is haunted by a hostile supernatural, Diana (Alicia Vela-Bailey) whose specialty is that she only appears in the dark. Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) the one primed for bearing the brunt of the paranormal effects, left home after her father went missing but since her depressed mother Sophie (Maria Bello) is unable to care for her home and her younger brother Martin (Gabriel Bateman) she is forced to return and face the clinging problems of the past which she suspects can be life-threatening. The script by co-producer Eric Heisserer delivers well on it's promise but there's not much artistic depth in the representation envisaged by Sandberg. Clichés as expected form the major chunk of horror referencing here. And Diana of course is not a new concept as it is. 'Darkness Falls' did it in 2003 and we've also seen several Japanese and old Indian films propagating that ideology.

The atmosphere here is suggestively creepy. Dark frames, dim flickering lights, sudden switch on and offs, striking sounds delivered suddenly, shadowed faces and faces shrouded in darkness and the general lame tricks that shore up the genres myriad affectations. They are all so obvious and predetermined that you can't help but feel cheated by the déjà vu surrounding the experience. The characters may appear smarter than what we've been used to in this genre but they still end up doing some stupid things. and moreover , if you've seen the short, there's nothing new for you to engage with. Also, the camerawork is not all that involving. The expansionist ideology here also doesn't involve much creative ideation. 'Lights Out' as a short was great but as a full length feature, it's not as effective. Nothing much to spook you here!

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