Weighed down with a convoluted plot, the feature-length reimagining of a two minute short has great moments sprinkled throughout and enough going on to keep horror fans engaged.

Lights Out enjoyed its world premiere at the LA Film Festival to a supportive and eager crowd of horror fans. Inspired by a wildly popular 2 minute short that had become a viral sensation three years ago, Lights Out attempts to bring a fully conceived plot to the notion of a monster in the shadows. First time feature director David F. Sandberg shepherds his original short to the big screen with the help of screenwriter, Eric Heisserer.  The results are a mixed bag of horror cliche’s and compelling ideas that stray from what really made the inspiration work.

The film opens with a promising hook. A man is brutally attacked late at night in his business, a cavernous textile factory. Here, through the use of stark overhead lighting, motion sensors and other luminous sources, we are quickly introduced to the shadowy threat that can only exist in darkness. A creeping menace, this monster can lunge, run, and do extensive damage to its victims in seconds. We are instantly sold on this idea, so what goes wrong? The over-plotted story.

We next meet the man’s family. Suffering under the weight of grief and severe depression, Sophie (Maria Bello) wanders her large craftsman style, Los Angeles home muttering to the shadows and frightening her 8-year old son Martin (Gabriel Bateman). Martin is a smart kid who has been spending nights keeping his mom’s shadowy friend at bay, losing sleep in the process. It’s not until the small chap has fallen asleep in school three times in one week that his older step sister Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) is notified and asked to come pick him up from school. With their mother suffering another incapacitating breakdown, Rebecca brings her younger half brother to her apartment. It is then that Rebecca is subjected, once again, to the monster that pursued her, who is now after her younger brother. It is up to her to confront this evil and save her remaining family in the process.

Rebecca is the reluctant hero who must uncover the secrets that are tearing her mother apart and tormenting her family in the process. She’s a tough girl who lives alone above a tattoo parlor. She has a past filled with pain and is perfectly fine staying where she is, as seedy as it might be. Palmer’s Rebecca is an interesting character to watch and one that you can easily side with. Too, Maria Bello is also spot-on as Sophie, the troubled mother who continues to grasp at the remaining shreds of sanity she has while mourning the loss of her second husband. 

Produced by brilliant horror film legend, James Wan, the pic has the slick sheen of many of his other movies. The sound design is an expert tapestry of creaking wooden floors and clawing noises against wood, only going for the cheap scare of sudden noises every so often. There is also certainly something to be said for a through line that looks at a debilitating mental illness and its effect of a family. Riding a fine line, the screenplay never treats the disability with scorn or shame but as a struggle and conflict to be dealt with.

The film is certainly a big achievement for co-writer/director, David F. Sandberg and he is to be commended in getting his small film supersized into a big studio production. Sandberg knows what works as far as scares go and he pulled out some pretty impressive gags. The problem here is the heavy plot that takes up the first 2/3rds of the movie with exposition in an attempt to explain the origin of this creature. The movie appears to buckle under the pressure of its expanded budget and resources.

Despite the problems, this will be a popular movie for sure as the gimmick is a good one, with just enough scares to keep fans engaged. Lights Out opens nationwide on July 22nd.