July 22nd is a pretty big day for all those out there who love science fiction. Star Trek Beyond will be out! That's not what this post is about. I saw a trailer the other day and I had to give some props. I find most trailers to be campy and boring and I don't feel like I really want to see a film because of them. However, Lights Out did a pretty decent job of peeking my interest, at least to begin with. First, as most haunting movies go, I've watched this trailer a dozen times and I'm not being haunted by anything so no worries about that!
Let's start by looking at the trailer. We start with a woman who appears to be working in a textile factory with a bunch of mannequins around. Mannequins in and of themselves are pretty terrifying. The woman is turning off and on the light in the factory watching a shadow appearing in a doorway. The shadow itself could be compared to our beloved ghost from the American version of the Ring. Long dark hair, slender features and the ability to move just with a snap of the light switch.
In fact, that's exactly what this little darling of a demon does. She moves to what I assume will be the end of this light fascinated individual. We're then given an entire synopsis. "Every time I turn off the lights, there's this woman waiting in the shadows." A finer summary could not be written for this.
So, we get some creepy shots of the woman appearing around the dark where the boy is and then some more creepy shots of the woman appearing around the girl that the boy is talking to. Apparently they are being haunted. That sucks for you guys! I don't know how you fight shadow people. But wait! They do! More light! I digress that skips a great part of this trailer.
The little boy goes into his mom's room and she asks "Did We wake you?" Obviously she's the only human there (at least from what we see in the trailer), so this is a great device to possibly suggest a possession or at least a change of perception. Abilities that shadow demons apparently possess.
Alright, time for more back story. This might be the part of this movie where I'll roll my eyes and write to you about how I'm not really all that invested in some sort of bad experiment trying to relate to darkness. If they only spend several minutes talking about it and move onto the police officer being snatched by the demon I'd be fine with that though. Things get pretty decent from here on out. We get the characters looking for more lights, trying to find a way to fight their demon. We do get a pretty clear view of the hand at the end of the trailer and a silly distorted voice talking about leaving the light's out or something at the end.
I'm always a little worried about films like this. They can encroach on some fun and entertaining ways to tantalize the audience. At the same time, if they spend too much time talking about origins to a monster and it takes me out of the adrenaline filled panic of the characters then I might not buy it and not enjoy it as much. I think the important thing to remember is that shadows and darkness are fun and very much important in our line of entertainment. It should be a celebration of all the ways darkness can kick our ass if a demon is hanging out in it.
Hopefully we're going to get a fun ride and a satisfying story without too much examination of the details that can so easily pull me away from everything else they are putting into the film. I'll let you know dear horror fans. July 22nd will be a great day!
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