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MOVIE REVIEW 'Lights Out' gets the creepy factor right Comment By Chris Honoré for Revels DailyTidings.com By Chris Honoré for Revels Posted Jul. 28, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Chris Honoré for Revels Posted Jul. 28, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News Lights Out ; 81min; Rated PG-13 “Lights Out” is an effective, compact horror-thriller that uses a minimalist conceit — fear of the dark — to its full advantage. I would judge that there is not a horror film made today that can avoid the criticism that it is derivative; and so the challenge becomes how to make the familiar sufficiently original to be downright creepy. “Lights Out” manages to do that in spades. Just the title signals that when the light on the nightstand or the one in the ceiling begins to flicker, signaling that the orb of illumination that defines safety is about to fail, well bad things are going to happen. Here’s the set up for this tidy little chiller: A specter — called Diana — has returned to inhabit a spooky old house and torment an emotionally fragile single mom, Sophie (Maria Bello), and her increasingly terrified, sleep-deprived 10-year-old son, Martin (Gabriel Bateman). Martin wakes and hears his mother having late night conversations with someone/something in the dark of her bedroom and finally, desperately, turns to his estranged sister, Rebecca (Teresa Palmer), for help. She has long ago left the family and lives a kind of goth, hip life over a tattoo parlor, her boyfriend perpetually kept at arm’s length, implying attachment/childhood abandonment issues which are, tangentially and remarkably, explored. Diana, who vanishes when the lights go on and appears when the lights go off, is a long-limbed, hair-like-snakes silhouette who has as her mission the elimination of all all who are close to Sophie. They were childhood friends, stemming from a time when the two were committed to a mental institution for depression, a place where Diana dies during treatment. Now, this malevolent apparition has returned to take possession of Sophie’s life. Sophie is the catalyst, and Bello perfectly balances the sincere jeopardy she feels for herself and her family and her wacko delusions, foremost being that she and Diana are “friends.” Ultimately, however, it’s her family that is in harm’s way, not Sophie. And it’s Rebecca and Martin who are subjected to the murderous machinations of Diana. They quickly discover that light is essential if they are to survive. What first seems a delusion (mom is off her meds?) soon becomes a pure, supernatural, physical presence representing evil. Of course, the film is filled with moments that scream, “Don’t leave Martin alone in his room!” or “Don’t walk down that long dark basement passageway carrying only a light!” “Don’t sleep downstairs while Martin is sleeping in his room upstairs with his door closed!” Really? His door closed? “Do not open that one particular door, yes that one!, behind which is a very dark room.” Admittedly, “Lights Out” possesses all the familiar tropes. But still, the essence of the film plays to that core of insecurity that seems almost universal: all of us believe in some deep or hidden way that there is something beyond the evidence. And it is that reality that has made films of this genre — jeepers-creepers-poltergeists — so durable and effective after decades of iterations. All that is to say, if you appreciate the genre you will like this film. It has its goosebumps moments. By Chris Honoré for Revels DailyTidings.com By Chris Honoré for Revels Posted Jul. 28, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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