You''ll Never Turn The Lights Out After Watching This!

"Lights Out"
Directed by David F. Sandberg
Produced by Lawrence Grey,
Eric Heisserer, James Wan
Screenplay by Eric Heisserer
Based on "Lights Out" by David F. Sandberg
Starring Teresa Palmer,
Gabriel Bateman,
Maria Bello,
Billy Burke,
and Alexander Dipersia
Production company: New Line Cinema,
Atomic Monster,
Grey Matter Productions,
RatPac Entertainment
Distributed by Warner Bros.

After the highly successful box-office smash hit period horror movie 'The Conjuring 2', James Wan is back again to scare us to death. This time, not as a director but the film's producer. This July, he unleashes 'Lights Out', the full length feature film from director David F. Sandberg based on his own short film of the same name. It's produced by James Wan and Eric Heisserer and stars Teresa Palmer, Alexander Dipersia, Gabriel Bateman, Billy Burke and Maria Bello. The film has been one of the most anticipated horror films this 2016 and now that we have finally seen it in theatres, I know how excited all of you guys to see it. So here's my quick review of the film to give you an idea whether it's worth the bucks or not. So I'm telling you right now, this article contains a lot of spoilers.

The film opens with a man being terrorized by a menacing dark figure hiding in the dark, which eventually kills him. He was revealed to be the step-father of Rebecca (Teresa Palmer). She has moved away from her remaining family, her mother Sophie (Maria Bello) and half brother Martin (Gabriel Bateman). Martin ends ups spending a night with Rebecca after he is frightened with his mother's behavior, as he finds her talking to a dark figure hiding in the dark at night, which she calls Diana. This sparks Rebecca's curiosity, since when she was young, she remembers an entity she also used to call as Diana. After this, they soon starts seeing the same dark figure that only appears when the lights are turned off and soon disappears once the lights are turned back on. Together with her boyfriend, Bret (Alexander Dipersia), she starts investigating on her mother's history and her connection with Diana. Here, she discovers that the two were actually friends when they were little, as Sophie was institutionalized in the same hospital as with Diana, who was revealed to be suffering from some sort of skin condition that makes her allergic to light. She was then revealed to have powers to get into someone else's head, which is what she may have used to convince Sophie that the two of them were good friends. After spending a night in her 

mom's house, Diana attacks them and in a fun and exciting finale that will really make your hearts stop.

I must say that this is one of those films that you can proudly say that is 'really scary'. I mean, it's premise is basically simple: a creature that only appears in the dark. Some age old family backstory that is connected to what's happening to them in the present. A family being haunted by an evil entity. Simple as that. Yet the execution of it is what makes it one hell of a ride. It's like watching a kid's horror movie as it plays on most children's fears - the dark. The only difference is that it's more violent, more bloody and more batshit scary. Totally not for children below 13 years old.

One of the best parts of the film is it's mythology of the entity of Diana, the dark menacing creature hiding in the dark. The film uses the darkness to hide Diana's true form. It focused on showing her weird, unnatural silhouette in the dark, allowing viewers to imagine how the creature actually looked like once it reveals it's true form. It doesn't rely too much with CGI, and it actually looks so good and realistic, adding more scare factor to it. And once it does reveal it's real form, it is as terrifying as the demonic nun 'Valak' from The Conjuring 2.

As for the cast, I must say that everyone in the film did a pretty good job in the acting department. The four main characters of the story are all given enough time to showcase their abilities, thereby allowing the audience to appreciate each one of them on their own. Teresa palmer has been one of my favorite actress since I saw her in Warm Bodies (2013).

She is still an amazing presence here in this film. Her character goes through lengths of various kinds of terror yet she doesn't end up like the typical scream queen we see in each and ever horror film being thrown at us. Maria Bello has been appearing very frequently in horror films like this. The first time I saw her was in the other James Wan produced horror flick Demonic. This isn't new as she is really a good actress on her own right. Her portrayal of Sophie is truly one of her best performance to date. Her character's slow descent into insanity as the film goes along brought her acting skills to a very high point. Gabriel Bateman also gives out a decent performance as Martin. But the one that I really appreciated was Alexander Dipersia's funny portrayal of Bret, Rebecca's boyfriend. His character makes everything feel light and not to serious, which actually allows viewers to breathe in for a moment before the next fright. And during the must-see finale of the film, he brings out laughs from the audiences after he encounters Diana himself.

Packed with very effective jump scares and an undeniable amount of thrills and suspense, 'Lights Out' is one of the most perfectly created horror films in recent memory. It gives you what you want in your horror movie, then throws in some more. Director David F. Sandberg is definitely a name to watch out for.

Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰

Highlights:

• The Opening Scene. You know if a film is gonna be good if it's opening is done right. And this one's got it in all the right ways. Great way to start the film.
• Bret's face to face encounter with Diana. One of the most fun and exciting scenes of the film. And possibly the most hilarious. You'll love Alexander Dipersia.
• Well, almost every time they turn the lights out.