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Lights Out

Play trailer 2:29 Poster for Lights Out PG-13 2016 1h 17m Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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74% Tomatometer 180 Reviews 61% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
When Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) left home, she thought that her childhood fears were behind her. As a young girl growing up, she was never really sure of what was real when the lights went out at night. Now, her little brother Martin (Gabriel Bateman) is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that jeopardized her safety and sanity. Holding a mysterious attachment to their mother (Maria Bello), a supernatural entity has returned with a vengeance to torment the entire family.
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Lights Out

Lights Out

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Critics Reviews

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Ed Potton The Times (UK) 10/10/2016
3/5
There are scares from the off in the short, punchy horror Lights Out, adapted by the director David F Sandberg from his short film. Go to Full Review
Donald Clarke Irish Times 08/22/2016
3/5
The thrills are well orchestrated in a flick that knows not to outstay its welcome. Go to Full Review
Geoffrey Macnab Independent (UK) 08/18/2016
3/5
In its own deeply contrived way, the film is just as frightening as you want it to be. Go to Full Review
Zach Pope Zach Pope Reviews 08/07/2023
Excellent jump scares forgettable characters but Palmer is great! Go to Full Review
Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies 08/23/2022
4/5
It does employ a few all-too-familiar tricks, but they certainly don’t undercut the many things the film deserves credit for. Go to Full Review
Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review 04/11/2022
2/4
While Sandberg orchestrates a few sequences of heavy tension, Lights Out doesnt quite click or retain a place in our minds after the end credits. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Jason H @JASON330 Dec 9 This is a movie that will definitely stick with you once it's done. See more Michael G. @micgriffin12 Nov 30 Fast paced to the end. Creative take on jump scare movies. A great watch! See more ChrisCSH H Oct 21 Lights out has scares right off the bat and continues throughout the entire film and the film moves along at a very fast pace. It might not be the goriest of the horror films, but it’s definitely one that will provide some creepiness and some jump scares along with a pretty entertaining story to go with it. See more Paul S Oct 19 This movie was amazing! It has one of the most terrifying horror concepts I've ever seen, and the story was incredibly compelling. Bret was definitely the best character, but all of the characters were amazing and lovable. I definitely recommend it for horror fans, but if you're afraid of the dark, this movie might not be for you. See more Anthony H. @Hardy Oct 14 Lights Out, a basic horror movie that had a unique and unsettling premise. The ability to only see the villain in the light created a creepy atmosphere. However, the movie’s jump scares were repetitive, which detracted from the overall experience. While it had an interesting story about mental health, the movie lacked depth in many other aspects. See more Calvin O Sep 25 ***SPOILERS*** Lights out is one of those movie concepts that sounds really interesting on paper, but falls flat on its face and breaks its nose as soon as it starts moving. It's a jump-scare filled slug that fails to impress, featuring a boring cast with no real personality, illogical decisions to try and make you jump, and a monster that doesn't even follow her own rules. The massive problem is the star of the movie itself: Piana. She's an evil woman that follows the mother of two kids, and relies on the mother suffering to survive her self. The problem with Diana is that she breaks her own rules all the bloody time. One moment she needs people to open the doors for herself, the next she's teleporting around like she's a god. In the next moment she might disappear when you flash a light at her, or she might decide to stand there and burn while screaming her lungs out. Diana herself doesn't seem to have any real goal other than being a jerk. She needs the mother to be depressed or she disappears #supposedly but then decides to hunt her kids when they're trying to avoid her, which in theory she should be grateful for. Diana is also about as subtle as a Train wreck. Whenever she appears the music blats your ears in an attempt to scare you, but when you close your ears since it's always easy to predict where she will be* and just look at the scene, you realize Diana is about as scary as Mickey Mouse with fangs. See more Read all reviews
Lights Out

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Movie Info

Synopsis When Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) left home, she thought that her childhood fears were behind her. As a young girl growing up, she was never really sure of what was real when the lights went out at night. Now, her little brother Martin (Gabriel Bateman) is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that jeopardized her safety and sanity. Holding a mysterious attachment to their mother (Maria Bello), a supernatural entity has returned with a vengeance to torment the entire family.
Director
David F. Sandberg
Producer
James Wan, Lawrence Grey, Eric Heisserer
Screenwriter
Eric Heisserer
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Atomic Monster, Grey Matter
Rating
PG-13 (Disturbing Images|Brief Drug Content|Some Thematic Material|Terror Throughout|Violence)
Genre
Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 22, 2016, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 11, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$67.3M
Runtime
1h 17m
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