BLOOD WORK: SILVER TONGUED SILVER SCREEN: LIGHTS OUT (2016)

The summer movie-going season may be over but I am still catching up on the ones I missed. It still baffles me how at the height of summer horror movies are released in theaters. Little movies with four or ten million dollar budgets next to juggernauts like Suicide Squad ($175 million budget) and Captain America: Civil War ($250 million budget). Amazingly enough, if you look at the percentages the horror films are thriving perhaps even more than the big budget blockbusters. An example of this is THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR with a paltry budget of ten million and it grossed $80 million domestically.

I guess summer really is a good time for horror films.

Another example of this is the movie LIGHTS OUT. At a budget of only four million dollars this film has raked in $67 million. This movie made bank! I finally saw this movie in theaters recently and holy cow am I glad. Lights Out is one of the best horror films I've seen since 2013. Based off of a short film and produced by James Wan, the master of horror behind the Insidious and Conjuring films, Lights Out delivers scare after scare and nonstop suspense from beginning to end. I can't wait for this movie to be released on DVD/Blu Ray because I am getting it the day it drops.

In short, I loved LIGHTS OUT.

THE PLOT

Martin can't sleep. Every night he hears things in the dark. He even thinks things are moving in the shadows. Every night it gets worse. He only feels safe in the light. Then one day he comes home after school to find all the light bulbs in his house gone and his mother talking to the darkness. Afraid to go home, he goes to his older sister's. Rebecca listens to her brother's story. It sounds remarkably like an experience she had years ago. One night Rebecca wakes to a strange noise. A flickering neon sign outside her window reveals a shadowy figure in her bedroom doorway. When the light flashes the figure vanishes. When the light dims the figure appears, moving closer and closer to her with each flash. Martin was right. There is something in the darkness. And it wants to hurt them.

THE GOOD

The Concept. The idea is both simple and brilliant. Lights on. Nothing. Lights off. Scary figure in silhouette. A monster that only appears in the dark and you are only safe in the light. It's so primal, tapping into a universal fear of what lies in wait in the dark. And the darkness will come as surely as day turns into night. It's inescapable. What the filmmakers have unleashed, I dare say, is unto what Wes Craven unleashed when he created A Nightmare On Elm Street. We all have to sleep just as sure as we all will be covered in darkness. We can all relate to a fear of the dark and this film turns the dark into something to be feared. I can't rave about the concept enough. And the idea is employed expertly.

The Scares. There are so many good scares in this film it's incredible. The rules are laid out clearly. The monster can only appear in the dark. The filmmakers employ different tactics for each scare while adhering to the rules. They find new and inventive ways to use the darkness and flashing lights to achieve greater and greater levels of fright and excitement. This film achieves its scares not through gore or exploitation and is a testament of what horror movies can achieve without the use of blood and ultra-violence. The movie is PG-13 but it is no less scary than a rated R horror film. Don't misunderstand me, I enjoy a good splatterfest just as much as the next gorehound but this film worked just fine without it. That's not to say that a little blood wouldn't hurt 'wink wink.'

THE BAD

Metaphysical. If you're the type of horror fan who isn't phased by anything supernatural, if you laughed at The Exorcist and The Conjuring, this film probably won't do you any favors except maybe in the jump-scare department. If you don't believe in anything spiritual this horror film isn't for you. Just depends on your preference and personal beliefs I guess. I for one can enjoy just about any kind of horror film. Just about. Then there were some acting choices by Teresa Palmer that I found lacking here and there. She seemed to play up the valley-girl "Oh. My. God." slow line delivery a little too much at times. I'm just nitpicking. Overall I liked her and enjoyed her character.

THE VERDICT

I loved this movie. The inventiveness and execution of the scares is incredible. The monster too is freaky and well done. And the concept touches on primal and universal fears. Lights Out is one of the best examples of what PG-13 horror can be and one great horror movie in general. If you've enjoyed such horror films as MAMA, SINISTER, and INSIDIOUS and can let yourself get into supernatural horror, Lights Out won't disappoint.

Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10

(Really Good! One worth owning)

Nude-O-Meter: 0 out of 10