Lights out / Horror

  Studio: New Line Cinema RatPac-Dune Entertainment Atomic Monster Productions Grey Matter Productions

Director: David F. Sandberg
Year: 2016

 
Lights out opens as we are introduced to a man who is in a dark fluorescently lit room that we can infer is a basement or cellar of sorts. The man as walking towards the exit of the basement as he hears the sound of something dropping behind him. The man traces his steps back and as he turns the corner we see a dark long haired figure squatting on the ground, the man calls out  the same “Esther” who we can assume is somebody he knows and the figure begins to stand. As the figure stands we hear the sounds of bones and flesh cracking which makes a wave of discomfort rush over the audience. The lights then completely black out which establishes tension in the scene as the audience no longer knows what is happening and is sitting in anticipation waiting for the lights to turn back on. We then begin the see the dimly lit figure of the man waving his arms about trying to get the lights to sense motion and turn back on. he is waving his arms the light suddenly turn back on and we can see the dark figure behind his has moves closer, the man has his back turned to the figure and is completely oblivious that it is moving closer to him. The man then suddenly turns around and jumps back when he releases the figure has moved closer, the man then turns his head again and when he turns back the figure is gone. We can see the visible unease that the man is feeling as he begins to run towards the exit, as he is running however he falls down with a loud yell. The man frantically begins to get up and examines his leg, when he looks down at his leg there is two large red marks and blood dripping from his leg. As the man raises his head we see the dark figure is metres away from him and

begins to move closer and closer. The man watches the figure and stumbles backwards in an attempt to get away from it, but realises that the figure cannot step into the light. When the man realises that he is safe as long as he is in the light be makes a break for it towards the fully lit exit. The man makes it into the exit room and slams the door as he's turning the lights on. He then goes and grabs a baseball bat and turns around to defend himself. When he turns around we see that the basement room is full of mannequins (which are commonly added to deceive the eye in horror movies and add a further sense of unease). Then, the lights in the room begin to flicker again making the man panic further. We then get a wide shot of the lights completely turning out in the room for a perspective in the basement. The man is breathing heavily and scanning his surroundings in the dark while holding his baseball bat at the ready, a creaking sound is then heard. The door handle and
lock are turning making it look like someone is attempting to break in from the basement room, the door opens and the man is shown holding his bat out and scanning is surroundings nervously. Suddenly, the man is forcefully pulled back by a dark being and all that can be heard is the cracking of bones and flesh. An establishing shot of the basement is shown and a light is turned on abruptly revealing the lifeless mangles blood splattered body of the man. The last shot of the opening scene is a shot of the mans face with black holes for eyes, and then suddenly, the lights go out again. Lights out is a Horror movie as the opening scene gives the audience a sense of anxiety as they never know what is happening in the darkness. I think that the narrative of the rest of the movie will be following who the dark figure is and its trail of destruction. I think that the opening scene of Lights Out was very successful in establishing that it is a horror film and keeps the audience on edge throughout.