We horror fans must take what we can get.
David F Sandberg's feature debut is not in the same class as recent hits such as It Follows or The Babadook (a film Lights Out superficially resembles), but this is a very economic piece of work that gets just enough mileage out of its key high concept.
The notion was first hatched in the director’s short film of the same name. What we have here is a creature that appears only in darkness. Keep a flashlight with you and the hissing Diana – far from the most terrifying name ever – will not be able to sink her long fingers into your flesh. It hardly needs to be said that our heroes are forever encountering blown fuses.
Like a few too many horror films, Lights Out take a slightly reckless approach to mental illness. The depressingly under-employed Maria Bello plays Sophie, a disturbed mother who lives alone with her resourceful son (Gabriel Bateman).
The two muddle on well enough despite Sophie having frequent conversations with a mysterious presence in shadowy corners.
When things get too hairy, Martin ends up staying with his goth sister Rebecca (Teresa Palmer). But something looks to have followed him there.
The script is far too concerned with a back-story about which nobody will much care and fails to clarify what the heroes believe is happening in the last act. Never fret. The thrills are well orchestrated in a flick that knows not to outstay its welcome.
Get used to Diana. Having made close to $100 million in the US on a $5 million budget, it is already one of the year’s most profitable films.
