Every year, a few movies always sneak up on people. These movies aren't really anticipated and nobody even really cares about their release. Last week, I was invited to a screening of Lights Out. My thought process was "Oh, even if this sucks I'll get an early review out of it." That's how bad horror has gotten recently. I'm happy to say that this movie is one of those great films that nobody saw coming.
I was FLOORED at how truly good this movie was. The advertising for this movie has been very typical horror advertising. We see a few jump scares in the trailer but soon realize those will probably be the scariest parts of the movies. With Lights Out, the advertising team significantly trimmed down scares or took them out of context in the trailer. That led to me being absolutely scared to death because I saw nothing coming. This movie is legitimately frightening. The jump scares are perfect and the antagonist is extremely original. I also really enjoyed how some true tension came from the protagonists as well. This movie built very good tension between the people dealing with this entity. There were a few exchanges that shocked me at how truly unfiltered they were. This movie felt so real at times and I loved it for that. I also love how truly original the idea was. I've never seen anything like this film and it was so clever how the simplest light switch turning off would create legitimate fear.
Another huge part of this film that I enjoyed was how SMART THE CHARACTERS WERE. WE FINALLY GOT A MOVIE WHERE PEOPLE IN A HORROR FILM THINK. For example, one character gets chased down by the paranormal force and in any other movie, the character would for sure be dead. Yet, this character thought on his feet and actually combated the spirit. That got an applause from the audience at my screening. People were actually so excited to see characters fighting for their lives and making smart choices. Every character was also written extremely well in this film. The writing was awesome and you really care for all the characters, especially when they are in danger. I loved Teresa Palmer as the lead. She had some serious chops and I hope to see her in more. I also really enjoyed Maria Bello's performance. In the film, she plays Palmer's struggling mother and she brought some real life human emotion into this movie. The cast all around was great and that was another huge plus. The writing was also awesome and you really care for all the characters, especially when they are in danger.
I also loved how real this film got at times. This film deals with trauma and depression and doesn't sugar coat a thing. The ending of this film is very real and not that typical "let's scare the audience one more time" type of ending. I left this movie really wanting more and seeing where these characters ended up. I have to give major props to director David Sandberg because he did a terrific job. The tension was built perfectly and the characters felt so real. This movie never took a pause and always kept you at the edge of your seat. He's currently filming Annabelle 2 and I now have giant expectations for that film. He did a terrific job with this and it was great seeing how this film grew from a short film he made a few years back. This was a spectacular directorial debut on his part.
What was crazy about this movie is how unexpected it was. I honestly wouldn't have seen this film if I wasn't invited to advanced screening. Yet, now I'm imploring all of my readers to check this bad boy out. It's an awesome film that you will love. I promise. The concept is super original and you will not be able to sleep in the dark for a few nights (trust me, night lights have come in handy).
Rating: A-
(Lights Out hits theaters on July 22).
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