2016. While, on the whole, it has been a very underwhelming year as far as movies go, has been a pretty decent year for horror. So far, The Witch, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Hush, The Shallows, The Purge: Anarchy, Green Room and The Conjuring 2 have been serviceable to great. The one aspect that all of these movies have in common is that they've substituted gore for character and story. They've replaced cheap jump scares, with earned thrills. Almost each one of these movies also carried with it the trailer to Lights Out-- a movie that looked like it could've been another lazy PG-13 horror movie in the vein of Ouija or Annabelle. The movie, which is based off of a terrifying short film on YouTube, was left in capable hands and the result is a very imaginative movie that works due to it's originality and creativity. However, I do NOT recommend seeing this movie in theaters for the next few weeks.
The story, which in all honesty should not have worked, follows a family being haunted by the figure of a creepy woman who only appears where light is absent. She stalks the family in the shadows and disappears when light is present. Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) a young girl living on her own with severe commitment issues has to reunite with her estranged and mentally unstable mother, Sophie (Maria Bello) due to the fact that her step-father has been killed and her very young brother is being haunted by the figure. The figure seems to have a deep connection with Sophie and becomes a bit irritable and pissy when anyone threatens that connection. The figure is also not exclusive to Sophie's home and can go where she pleases when she wants to act like a dick and do a little haunting.
Seriously, this movie shouldn't have worked. It's a single scare repeated over and over and over again. But somehow, new director David F. Sandberg (who also made the short) is able to repeat the scare in unique ways that each time feels like a brand new terrifying scene. He's cleverly been able to write and direct a movie that uses the dark and the light in new and inventive ways that gives us a chance to watch characters that don't just haphazardly run around making terrible decisions, but actual human beings with ingenuity doing anything they can to keep some sort of light on around them. Any time there is even the hint of a shadow lurking in any particular shot is a moment of pure tension and thrills. I was genuinely impressed with the writing and directing in this film. The film reminded me, though not as subtle, of The Babadook. The movie takes a very real problem and very real experiences and turns it into an extended metaphor of mental illness. Though it doesn't always hit the mark as capably as it could have, it doesn't miss by much either.
The other aspect that was very well-thought out was the fact that the figure is never seen entirely. It makes sense considering the figure cannot be seen unless there is no light, but it also makes the figure that much more terrifying. The best horror writers and directors understand that the human mind is much scarier than anything that could be seen onscreen. The audience is able to fill in the gaps of the outline of the figure and the glow of the eyes with something much more frightening than any costume or makeup could eventually make the figure. This made the story and the scares that much more exceptional.
Though I am able to recognize all of the good and all that is scary about the film, I wasn't exactly able to experience it myself. Generally, when I go to see a scary movie in theaters (because most horror movies NEED to be seen in theaters for the full effect-- ESPECIALLY Lights Out) I try to go sometime early in the morning or on a weekday to avoid a theater full of people who are there to either intentionally or unintentionally ruin the experience. Today, I screwed up. The irony of this situation was that we went to see the new Star Trek, but the theater was too full and we would've had to watch from the front (Homie don't play that). So, we exchanged our tickets for Lights Out figuring no one would want to see a horror movie at 11:00 am in the morning. Boy, was I wrong.
The worst horror audiences are those that talk when the everything goes quiet (this is used as a very annoying defense mechanism because they're too embarrassed to be scared in public), those that audibly gasp loud enough for an entire theater to hear whenever ANYTHING (even inconsequential moments) seems to go awry, those that have to giggle and laugh whenever they're actually scared (again, another shitty defense mechanism of the totally insecure), and those who talk for a good minute after they've been scared. Then, there's just the general shittiness of the average movie goer-- the one who finds the seat next to you, take up the entire armrest, eat the most pungent of foods (seriously-- a hot dog-- did you bring your own sauerkraut?!), and smell like a rotting toilet. Somehow, after we found our ideal seats in an empty theater, by the start of the film it was full-- and we had every single one of these annoyances come together at once like a fucking perfect storm of assholery. Any semblance of me delving deep into the horror of the film was completely gone. I did get brief stints of fright, but those were immediately crushed by gasps and giggles and old Asian ladies with terrible perfumes using the entire movie run time to eat a hot dog.
So, this is why I say to you to probably not see this movie soon. Don't forget about the movie, because if you're genuinely looking to be scared, it'll do the trick. But, because this movie will not have the same effect at home, it needs to be seen in the theater. It also needs to be seen in a theater not overrun by giggly teenagers looking to ruin a perfectly scary horror movies with their high pitched insecurities. Wait a week or two, go to a matinee on a Tuesday, and you should be able to have the experience I so desperately wanted. Until then, stay home and watch Stranger Things or go get freaked the shit out by The Conjuring 2 while it's still in theaters.
B
Also, find someplace dark to watch this-- but here's the original (freaking terrifying) short the film is based on:
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