Respond to these rapid questions in our Lights Out quiz and we will tell you which Lights Out character you are. Play it now.
A three-minute short film by David F. Sandberg, “Lights Out” started out as a film with a lot of big jolts but was lacking in elements such as narrative complexity, character development, and memorable dialogue (I don’t recall a single word being said), and ended up with a lot of big jolts but with a lot less narrative complexity and character development. It received a great deal of attention, and Sandberg was given the opportunity to turn the short into a full-length feature, putting it in the same category as classic horror films such as “When a Stranger Calls” and “The Babadook.” These works were successful because the filmmakers found ways to expand on the original shorts that were both clever and dramatically interesting, as well as extremely frightening. When it comes to “Lights Out,” the problem is that, while Sandberg is adept at creating “BOO!” moments—those instant shocks when something unexpectedly appears and scares the bejeezus out of you and your friends—they’re deployed in the service of a story that has little else to offer and thus loses its potency very quickly.
Like “When a Stranger Calls,” the film “Lights Out” begins with a sequence intended to be a recreation of the original short. As opposed to an anonymous apartment, the short begins with an employee (Lotta Losten, who also starred in the short) noticing a mysterious female figure in the dark who disappears whenever the lights are turned back on, and who suddenly gets a lot closer when they go back outside again after work is done that day. Unlike in the previous film, she survives this time, whereas the factory owner (Billy Burke) meets a grisly end. Fortunately, he was on the phone with his young son, Martin (Gabriel Bateman), just before he passed away, talking about how his mentally ill mother, Sophie (Maria Bello), has apparently gone off her meds and is apparently talking to an imaginary friend named Diana. In the following months, we learn that Sophie’s condition has deteriorated and that her conversations with Diana have become so unnerving to Martin, not to mention the strange noises and scratches that have accompanied them, that he is no longer able to sleep through the night and has been conking out in the middle of the school day.
When Sophie’s school nurse is unable to reach him, she contacts his stepsister Rebecca (Teresa Palmer), whose own father had mysteriously vanished years before and who has been estranged from Sophie since she abruptly moved out a few years earlier. Sophie and Rebecca have a complicated relationship. The name Diana strikes a familiar chord with Diana, who recalls her own traumatic childhood years and attempts to persuade Martin to come and live with her. After Sophie reclaims Martin from the gang, Rebecca sets out to discover who or what Diana is, and what she has to do with her family’s disappearance in the first place. Without going into too much detail, she has evolved into a creature that can only attack in complete darkness and cannot be in the presence of any form of light. A couple of Diana attacks later, Rebecca and her amiably dopey boyfriend Bret (Alexander DiPersia) and Martin decide to take up residence in Sophia’s house, where they light up the entire place in an attempt to persuade her to resume taking her medication and seek treatment for her mental instability. Unfortunately, Diana thrives when Sophia is at her most disoriented, and she immediately begins turning off the lights in order to get rid of the intruders once and for all.
But you shouldn’t waste any more time and start this Lights Out quiz.
Despite the fact that Sandberg is the director, the big name behind the scenes is co-producer James Wan, who has a starring role in the film. In addition to the “Conjuring” and “Insidious” franchises, he has directed films that have largely avoided the gory excesses of his breakthrough hit “Saw” in favor of low-fi thrills that rely more on atmosphere, small-scale effects (such as door slams), and things that appear out of nowhere, among other things. In the proper hands, as was the case with the first two “Conjuring” films and the second installment of “Insidious,” the results can be sensationally effective, comparable to the best haunted house ride ever created. Mistakes can result in films like “The Conjuring 2” and “The Insidious: Chapter 3,” which are increasingly tiresome attempts to elicit additional screams from a body of material that has become too familiar for its own good. “The Conjuring 2” and “Insidious: Chapter 3” are examples of films that have gone wrong.
Lights Out Quiz
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out which of those directions “Lights Out” is headed after only a few minutes of watching the show. Even though “The Conjuring” was primarily a spooky show at its core, it took the time to develop characters that we cared about, develop a plot that didn’t completely strain the boundaries of credulity, and mix up the scares so that we didn’t know what to expect next. This is part of what made “The Conjuring” so successful. In contrast, this film has two strong actresses in Teresa Palmer and Maria Bello, but it never manages to find a way to make effective use of their abilities throughout the film. Diana’s identity and the extent of her powers are never fully established in the story, which is somewhat vague despite a great deal of exposition. When it comes to scares, there are a couple of really effective ones. Even the most jittery of moviegoers will find themselves feeling surprisingly calm and placid by the time the film comes to a close (despite the fact that it only runs for 80 minutes, “Lights Out” still feels lengthy).
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Lights Out quiz.
Despite the fact that “Lights Out” has a certain amount of style—enough to make you want to see what Sandberg might be capable of with a better screenplay—it does contain one excellent scene that pays sly homage to one of the most famous scenes from the classic thriller “Wait Until Dark.” While it may be sufficient entertainment for those who want to stay at home and watch some cheap thrills on television on a Saturday night, it does not appear to be worth the effort of going to the theater to see it in the first place. Although there is a scarcity of fright movies out there at the moment (with the exception of “The Shallows,” which is an example of a genre entry that managed to take a familiar premise and turn it into something fresh and exciting), there may be enough pent-up demand for a film of this nature to make it successful, thereby launching yet another franchise. If that is the case, let us hope that the filmmakers will come up with something innovative to do the next time around.
For more personality quizzes check this: 10 Cloverfield Lane Quiz.
