Lights Out
Mother, Sophie (Maria Bello), wants nothing but the best for her children, but a dark past and presence surrounding the family including mental illness continues to cloud and blur the lines of reality until young son Martin (Gabriel Bateman) begins to see what might in fact be the real problem. Called in to help, big sister, Rebecca (Teresa Palmer), digs up the family history to further expose what’s really going on, but stopping the darkness and bringing truth to light might just take their lives, how to find peace? 
Spawned of a popular youtube short film with the same name, Director and Co-Writer David Sandberg successfully creates a fully contained dark ride for the summer that manages to flesh out an original concept that doesn’t overstay its welcome, the film’s runtime is a mere 81 minutes. More impressive, the film maintains it’s fright factor well into the third act, typically the point where most horror films jump their spook shark and just go through the motions. Albeit, a few chunky plot omissions make for some rather boneheaded oversights if you actually stand back and think about the film; meanwhile, on the nose details are often spelled out too easily dumbing down the audience with unnecessary and cliche plotting. Regardless, the desired effect is reached and audience members will definitely think twice before they turn off the lights. Worth your time if horror’s your thing, Lights Out is rated PG-13.