Trailer:
Official Site: LightsOutMovie.com
Starring: Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman, Maria Bello, Alexander DiPersia, Alicia Vela-Bailey, Billy Burke
Based on the short by David Sandberg.
Lights Out – Who's There Film Challenge (2013) from David F. Sandberg on Vimeo.
After Martin’s father is killed by a mysterious presence in the dark, he starts having trouble sleeping at night. School officials notice him sleeping in class and attmept to call his mother, Sophie, but cannot get an answer. They call his sister, Rebecca, and she comes to pick him up. We learn that Rebecca had distanced herself from her mother and her father went away because of her mother’s mental issues when she goes off her meds. Turns out the mother has a friend named Diana that does not like lights. Rebecca, her boyfriend Bret, and Martin look into Sophie’s past for a hint on the very real, very supernatural, Diana. We get jump scares galore and an ending that leaves room for a sequel, but has satisfying closure regardless.
TL;DR: Fun movie with Jump Scares and an ending that goes to places you do not normally go to. See it with a crowd in the theater.
First, I need to say that I loved the short this movie is based on. I was not sure it could be stretched into a full length movie. I am glad I was wrong. This was a fun movie to watch. It loves it jump scares.
I like the notion that the ghost was attached to a person, not a place or object. Even better, the ghost is suppressed if Sophie takes her psych meds. The relationship between Sophia and Diana feels like an abusive relationship where Diana wants to be everything to Sophie with no one standing between them. Not Sophie’s husband. Not even her children. Turns out that Diana killed Sophie’s first husband in addition to her current one.
I will say that I liked the look of the monster from the short compared to Diana in this movie.