6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A woman is haunted by a creature that only appears when the lights go out. A feature adaptation of the 2013 short film, "Lights Out" by David Sandberg.
Starring: Teresa Palmer, Maria Bello, Billy Burke, Emily Alyn Lind, Alicia Vela-BaileyHorror | 100% |
Supernatural | 35% |
Thriller | 26% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English DD 5.1=descriptive audio
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Lights Out began as a short film less than three minutes long, in which Swedish writer/director David F. Sandberg offered a clever variation on the familiar sensation of being afraid of the dark. Released in December 2013 on Vimeo and YouTube, the short went viral, attracting the attention of major industry players and prompting Sandberg to relocate to L.A. with his wife (and the short's star), where horror meister James Wan (The Conjuring) produced Sandberg's feature-length expansion of Lights Out for Warner Brothers' New Line Cinema division. The film debuted to critical and popular acclaim in July 2016, grossing $148 million worldwide. That may not sound like much in this blockbuster era, but it's a profitable haul for a film with a production budget under $5 million.
Lights Out was shot digitally (with the Arri Alexa, according to IMDb) by Mark Spicer (Furious
7), who must have had a lot of fun arranging the film's contrasting pools of light and darkness
and repeatedly casting deep shadows. Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray, which was
presumably sourced from the 2K digital intermediate, reflects a clean and detailed image with
solid blacks of varying depth and degree that faithfully replicate Spicer's lighting design,
rendering "Diana" just visible enough to be frightening, while concealing any specifics beyond
her general form. (The few moments where we see parts of her more clearly are the film's least
effective scares.) Washes of colored light—e.g., the red from a flashing neon sign outside
Rebecca's window, or the blue of a UV lamp—provide visual contrast to the film's darkened
rooms and dark, saturated palette. By way of contrast, a brief sequence at Martin's school
provides brighter surroundings and more cheerful colors.
In a welcome departure for Warner's theatrical division, Lights Out has been mastered at a high
average bitrate of 32.81 Mbps, which is territory typically occupied by its corporate cousin, the
Warner Archive Collection. Combined with a capable encode, the higher rate ensures that Lights
Out's spooky visuals have translated to Blu-ray with all their scares intact.
Are you the kind of home theater viewer who likes looking over your shoulder? If so, Lights Out belongs in your collection. The Blu-ray's lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 repeatedly unsettles the viewer with rustlings and stirrings in the left or right rear speaker, as the film's spectral villain lures characters out of the light and into its clutches. Especially with a good audio system, these effects are so realistic that you may be tempted to pause the film and check your room for intruders. The big effects (screams, crashes, pounding on doors and walls) are rendered forcefully and with clarity. The dialogue is clear and properly prioritized. The score by Benjamin Wallfisch (who has contributed to soundtracks as diverse as Batman v Superman and 12 Years a Slave) is both suspenseful and intimidating.
The sparse extras for Lights Out represent a missed opportunity. Sandberg's original short film
should have been included (although it's easy enough to find on YouTube), and the director
should have been interviewed (or a commentary recorded) about the experience of moving to
Hollywood from Sweden and helming his first feature.
James Wan has become a one-man horror studio in recent years, directing two Conjuring films and two chapters of the Insidious franchise, while also
producing Annabelle, Demonic and now Lights Out. A sequel has already been greenlit to this latest addition to
the Wan catalog, and one can only hope that Sandberg resists the pull toward bloat and excess that weighed down The Conjuring 2. As he has so ably demonstrated in Lights Out,
horror films work best when they're lean and economical. Warner's presentation is excellent and highly recommended.
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