Lights Out

Movie Name: Lights Out
Year of Release: 2016

Director: David F. Sandberg

Stars: Teresa Palmer, Maria Bello, Billy Burke, Gabriel Bateman, Alexander DiPersia, Alicia Vela-Bailey, Andi Osho, Rolando Boyce
Genre: Drama

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
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Synopsis:

Swedish director David F. Sandberg made a name for himself with a series of short features, before making his feature length directorial debut with "Lights Out". The film follows the story of Rebecca, a young woman with some intimacy and trust issues, who suddenly has to deal with family issues. These family issues are reminiscent of troubles she had in the past, and are now haunting her younger half brother. These issues stem from an entity that co-exists with their mother, a woman who has passed away by the name of Diana, and who had a serious problem and aversion to light. Rebecca tries to help her brother, but the more she gets involved with the situation, the more Diana's presence is felt on her life, and everywhere in their house. It's up to her, to try to save her mother and brother before that malevolent creature destroys all their lives.
"Lights Out" is an interesting and auspicious film for the young director. Though the film does fall to tropes and traps typical of horror films, it still unfolds with enough intelligence to keep the viewers interested in the events that occur. The director smartly avoids showcasing the menace/entity, always relying on the game of light and darkness, to create suspense and dread by suggestion, and not by relying on gore or flashy effects. It's an interesting approach that is closer in style with what James Wan has been doing with both "Insidious" and "The Conjuring" series, which explains why Sandberg went on to direct the sequel to "Annabelle", one of the offshoots of "The Conjuring" series. Even if the film doesn't bring anything terribly new to the proceedings, it's still sufficiently well done to hold the attention of the viewer. Worth watching.