Reviews: Lights Out (2016) Movie Review
Genres: Horror, Thriller, Drama, Mystery
Subgenres: Supernatural, Featured Phobia, Haunted, Phobia, Single Moms
Horror fans will enjoy our review of Lights Out (2016), where we cover its story, scares, and how it ranks among modern horror classics.
Lights Out (2016) is an American supernatural horror film based on director Sandberg’s award-winning short film Lights Out (2013) and was shot in Sweden. Director David F. Sandberg (Vad tyst det blev… (2006), Attic Panic (2015), Coffer (2014)) marvelously executed his movie that exceeded my expectations in every possible way, being fun and terrifying. David knows how to deliver terror as I was scared as he made his way into mental health issues with a villain. David did not overdo things and kept everything simple except for one or two scenes with Sophie and Diana, making everything flow beautifully. David used a lot of old-school tricks and techniques instead of CGI when it came to Diana. Lights Out contain violence, graphic/disturbing images, suspense, thrills, drug content, tension, and terror throughout, leaving you sitting on the edge of your seat or cowardly awaiting the next scene.
Lights Out revolve around Rebecca (Teresa Palmer - Warm Bodies (2013), I Am Number Four (2011), The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010), Bedtime Stories (2008)) left home after her father vanished because of several reasons. Her mother Sophie (Maria Bello - A History of Violence (2005), Prisoners (2013), Secret Window (2004), Payback (1999)) has a psychosis which made Rebecca fear for her life and is one of the reasons she left home at a young age. Sophie remarried because she had a hard time dealing with it and married Paul (Billy Burke - Twilight (2008), The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009), The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)) who she had a son with named Martin. Sophie’s psychosis is gradually getting worse with time and is harmful to Martin (Gabriel Bateman - Annabelle (2014), Band of Robbers (2015), Outcast (2016)) who is still young.
Skip Forward, and we see Sophie being frantic about Diana, who she claims is a shadowy figure that travels only through darkness and has something to do with Sophie being in a mental hospital when she was a teenager. You have to follow the movie and listen to everything not to become confused. Sophie thinks that Diana is a good old friend, but Rebecca and Martin think otherwise as the evil presence shows more of itself. Rebecca is involuntarily given the task of protecting Martin and stopping Diana from taking over her mother’s mind entirely.
All of the actors gave astonishing performances with their great character roles, emotional, scary, and touching. One of the most touching and emotional scenes for me is when Sophie finally knows that protecting her children is more important than anything or anyone else. The movie spooked me so much that I had to sleep with my room door closed and put every light on while making my way to the restroom. The cinematographer did an excellent job manipulating darkness, amongst other things, and the sound design was brilliant. All horror fans should see this movie when it hits the movie theaters in your hometown.
Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- Lights Out Rating Scores
- Our Score: 9/10
- Overall Score: 7.40/10
- IMDB: 6.3/10
- MetaCritic: 5.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 7.5/10
Look here for more movies starting with L and here you can find 2016 movies to watch on your favorite streaming service.