Lights Out (2016 film)

Lights Out
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	David F. Sandberg
Produced by	James Wan Lawrence Grey Eric Heisserer
Screenplay by	Eric Heisserer
Based on	Lights Out by David F. Sandberg
Starring	Teresa Palmer Gabriel Bateman Alexander DiPersia Billy Burke Maria Bello
Music by	Benjamin Wallfisch
Cinematography	Marc Spicer
Edited by	Kirk Morri Michel Aller
Production company	New Line Cinema RatPac-Dune Entertainment Atomic Monster Productions Grey Matter Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates	June 8, 2016 (2016-06-08) (Los Angeles Film Festival) July 22, 2016 (2016-07-22) (United States)
Running time	81 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$4.9 million[2]
Box office	$148.8 million[3]

Lights Out is a 2016 American supernatural horror film directed by David F. Sandberg in his major directorial debut, produced by Lawrence Grey, James Wan and Eric Heisserer and written by Heisserer. It stars Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman, Alexander DiPersia, Billy Burke and Maria Bello. It is based on Sandberg's 2013 short film of the same name and features Lotta Losten, who starred in the short.^[4]

The film had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 8, 2016, and was released in the United States and Canada on July 22, 2016 by Warner Bros. The film was a success, grossing over $148 million and receiving generally positive reviews. A sequel is currently in development.

Plot

In a textile warehouse, worker Esther sees a silhouette of a figure when she turns the lights off, but sees nothing with the lights on. She warns owner Paul about the apparition, whom he ignores, and leaves. Paul is then chased and gruesomely killed by the figure.

Paul's stepdaughter, Rebecca, lives away from her mother Sophie and brother Martin. Sophie has a documented mental illness and depression that has resurfaced, talking to an imaginary friend. One night, Martin sees Sophie talking to a figure and is horrified, gaining insomnia. Rebecca takes Martin to her apartment to protect him, against their mother's wishes. That night, she awakens to find the figure, barely avoiding it's attack just as the building's neon sign turns on. The next morning, Rebecca finds "Diana" scrawled on the floor. She recalls Diana from her own childhood, the reason she left when her father seemingly abandoned them.

That night, Sophie has a movie night with Martin, but includes the figure, frightening him. She tells him a story about the figure, Diana, her friend when she was in an institution, who had an unusual condition that made her skin photosensitive. Martin sees Diana crouched above and turns on the light, escaping to Rebecca's before Diana can attack him.

Rebecca confronts Sophie about Diana but she denies the accusation. Later, she breaks in and sees files about Sophie and Diana, and that she was killed when exposed to a bright light for an experiment. Rebecca, her boyfriend Bret and Martin decide to stay overnight to protect her. Rebecca goes to her bedroom to reconcile; however, Sophie secretly passes her a note saying "I need help" before Diana tugs her back in. Rebecca realizes that she is being controlled and turns on all the lights in the house to keep her away.

Knowing their intentions, Diana baits Rebecca and Martin into the basement by shorting out the power. Bret is attacked but escapes and contacts the police. Rebecca realizes that using blacklight can allow them to see Diana and discovers scrawled writings along the wall, explaining how Diana won't let anyone "take" Sophie and that she killed Rebecca's father.

A pair of police officers arrive and free Rebecca and Martin but are killed by Diana. Rebecca sends Martin to Bret and goes back to rescue Sophie. Diana then attacks Rebecca violently, but Sophie confronts her with a gun, realizing she's Diana's tether to the world. She then commits suicide and Diana disappears. Distraught, Rebecca, Martin and Bret reconcile and vow to stay together outside.

Cast

• Teresa Palmer as Rebecca
  • Amiah Miller as Young Rebecca
• Gabriel Bateman as Martin, Rebecca's brother
• Maria Bello as Sophie, Rebecca and Martin's mother
  • Emily Alyn Lind as Young Sophie
• Alexander DiPersia as Bret, Rebecca's boyfriend
• Billy Burke as Paul, Rebecca's step-father
• Alicia Vela-Bailey as Diana, a malevolent spirit
  • Ava Cantrell as Young Diana
• Lotta Losten as Esther, Paul's assistant
• Andi Osho as Emma

Production

Sandberg, along with his wife Lotta Losten, created the initial short film for a film competition. Although the film did not win said competition, the short soon went viral, leading to Sandberg to be contacted by several agents, to the point where he had to develop a spreadsheet to keep track of them all.^[5] One of the contacts was Lawrence Grey who wanted to collaborate with James Wan in order to produce a feature-length version. Although Wan enjoyed the short, he was hesitant that it could be turned into a feature until Sandberg produced a treatment for the feature-length version.^[5]

The move to Hollywood was somewhat hectic for the couple, requiring that Losten quit her day job in order to do so. Once in Hollywood the two were unable to get an apartment due to a lack of credit, forcing them to rent Airbnb on a monthly basis.^[5]

The casting of Gabriel Bateman and Teresa Palmer was announced in June 2015; which was the same month that principal photography had began.^{[6][7] [8][9]} Sandberg had not worked with a film crew or visited a film set before directing Lights Out; he had to ask the first assistant director, "So when do I say action?"^[10] Filming wrapped on 5 August 2015.^[11][12]

Release

The had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 8, 2016.^[13] The film also screened at Comic-Con on July 20, 2016,^[14] and was released on July 22, 2016.^[15]

Box office

Lights Out has grossed a total of $67.3 million in North America and $81.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $148.8 million, against a production budget of $4.9 million.^[3]

In North America, Lights Out was projected to gross $13–15 million from 2,900 theaters in its opening weekend.^[16] It made $1.8 million from its Thursday night screenings and $9.2 million on its first day.^[17] The film exceeded expectations and earned $21.7 million in its opening weekend, finishing at third place behind fellow newcomer Star Trek Beyond and holdover The Secret Life of Pets.^[18][19]

In other territories, the film earned $8.5 million in its opening weekend from 3,737 screens in key markets of Russia and Australia along with 30 smaller Eastern European and Asian markets. The film benefited from being released in the wake of the global success of The Conjuring 2.^[20] It debuted at first place in Russia with $1.7 million.^[20] Its other top openings were recorded in South Korea ($3.9 million), France ($1.5 million), the U.K. ($1.4 million) and Spain ($1.1 million).^[21][22] Its biggest earning markets are South Korea ($7.7 million), Mexico ($5.5 million), the U.K. ($4.5 million) and Spain ($3.9 million).^[23]

Critical response

Lights Out received generally positive reviews from critics.^[24][3][25] Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 77%, based on 145 reviews, with a weighted average score of 6.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Lights Out makes skillful use of sturdy genre tropes — and some terrific performances — for an unsettling, fright-filled experience that delivers superior chills without skimping on story."^[24] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 58 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[26] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.^[27]

Lucy O'Brien of IGN gave the film 7/10, saying: "[w]ith an unnerving monster at its core, great cast and relentless final sequence, Light’s [sic] Out is a debut director Sandberg should be proud of. A clunky script occasionally loosens its grip on the nerves, but chances are Diana will still have you sleeping with the lights on for a good while after leaving the theatre."^[28] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film 4 stars out of 4, stating: "[e]ven the most cynical, jaded, seen-it-all-before critic cannot deny certain visceral reactions to a film. Lights Out gave me the chills."^[29] Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "[a] surprisingly maternal horror movie that relies as much on fraying emotional bonds as supernatural suspense to create tension, Lights Out deals with an array of primal fears that threaten to unravel a family’s fundamental relationships, along with their sanity."^[30] Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times wrote, "[s]packling over any copycat cracks with strong acting and fleet editing, Lights Out delivers minimalist frights in old-school ways."^[31]

A few critics were less taken with the film. James Berardinelli of Reelviews gave 2 stars out of 4, saying: "[u]nfortunately, the film stumbles, offering too few legitimate scares and displaying an overreliance on traditional horror movie clichés." Berardinelli detested the film's camerawork, characters as being "thinly drawn", and the screenplay "spending inordinate amount of time providing a backstory..."^[32] Rex Reed of The Observer gave 1 star out of 4, saying: "the film's screenplay focuses almost entirely on the number of resourceful and ingenious ways the characters dream up to keep the lights on, stave off the next attack and stay alive—lights from candles, flashlights, cellphones, the car in the driveway—before the batteries die; The fun wears out fast and so does the “gotcha” factor."^[33]

Sequel

In July 2016, it was announced that New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures had greenlit a sequel for the film. Eric Heisserer and David F. Sandberg will return to write and direct the film, respectively, while James Wan and Lawrence Grey will return to produce under their Atomic Monster and Grey Matter Productions banners.^[34][35]

See also

• The Babadook

References

External links

• Official website
• Lights Out at the Internet Movie Database
• Lights Out at Box Office Mojo
• Lights Out at Rotten Tomatoes
• Lights Out at Metacritic
• Lights Out at totalhollywood
• Lights Out review at AllMovie by Lexi Cummins (rating 3/5)