Suicide Squad (15)
Directed by: David F Sandberg
Starring: Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman and Maria Bello
Running time: 1hr 21mins
When a major studio-backed horror film hits the big screen, it can give us horror fans a twinge of worry; it seems that unless you’re James Wan, you can fall victim of “them” wanting to make a quick buck over a good movie.
Luckily, Lights Out has the man himself on board in a producing role, but can that elevate this above the lesser horror flicks we’ve been getting in spades as of late?
There’s a reason you may be on edge going into Warner Bros’ Lights Out; big names attached to the genre can weigh it down. Luckily, for whatever reason, those involved with this project seem to have been left to do the devil’s work, because from the first scene here you can breathe a sigh of relief… after catching your breath from a solid, scary opening scene – one of the best opening scenes I’ve seen in an out-and-out horror flick in some time.
The film gives us our story setup straight out of the gate; no real messing around, it introduces an honestly creepy creature, some likeable off-model characters (a serious plus in this genre) and throws more than a few really good, off-kilter scares into a seriously strong first half of a film that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Meeting the characters from here – our leading lady, played with serious strength by Teresa Palmer, and her boyfriend, by Alexander DiPersia, who together provide a fresh twist on a horror relationship cliche – introduces a tilt on a well known dynamic, as we meet the rest of the cast who drive a plot based around a simple, effective idea.
The film descends into a tale based around a proper family drama, that at its best and darkest will have genre fans recalling The Babadook – though as the by-the-book genre moments sadly creep in, you soon realise Lights Out won’t stick with you quite like that one.
Though things get a little bogged down by familiar development, it’s the strong performances, a descent story – revolving round a tense guessing game – and some very good scares that carry this film proudly. It doesn’t break any moulds, but it uses its building blocks to scare the bejeezus out of you.
This film has its own instructions: watch with the lights out, the sound up, the brain switched off and watch the popcorn fly.
3 out of 5 Nerds
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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