Lights Out
Warner Bros. | Release Date: July 22, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
12
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinJul 23, 2016
Bello is an excellent actress and makes Sophie’s anguish credible, although she can’t rise above the material. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJul 20, 2016
The central idea here is as durable and effective as a well-told fireside ghost story, but in the cold light of day, the film fades. Read full review
60
VarietyAndrew BarkerJun 14, 2016
Very obviously a first feature, Lights Out is full of camp (most of it clearly intentional, some perhaps not), and its underlying mythology is confused and often ridiculous. But there’s an invigorating leanness — and a giddy, almost innocent energy — to the filmmaking. Read full review
60
TheWrapRobert AbeleJun 9, 2016
That the film occasionally succumbs to certain rudimentary hallmarks of industrial studio horror is regrettable, but for the most part it’s agreeably suspenseful, date-night arm-squeezing genre fare. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweJun 9, 2016
Coming in a few notches below the terror factor of Wan’s most exemplary material, this somewhat less-satisfying variation of an ill-fated haunting nonetheless represents a solid debut for Swedish filmmaker David F. Sandberg Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiJul 22, 2016
Lights Out has been made with a certain degree of style—enough to make you want to see what Sandberg might be capable of with a better screenplay—and it does contain one great moment that pays sly homage to the most famous moment from the classic thriller “Wait Until Dark.” Read full review
50
IndieWireKate ErblandJul 21, 2016
Sandberg unquestionably has an eye for a great horror motif — and, given the frequent use of absolutely gut-churning ambient sounds and hair-raising scratching noises, an ear for it, too — and he’s assembled a strong cast to tell Heisserer’s expanded story, but even those smart decisions and clear talents can’t push Lights Out to brighter heights. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJul 21, 2016
Unfortunately, the film stumbles, offering too few legitimate scares and displaying an overreliance on traditional horror movie clichés. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChristopher GrayJul 21, 2016
Few horror films are as insistent about the trauma mental illness inflicts on families as Lights Out, and still fewer are so insensitive about it. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Jul 20, 2016
The film is blatantly, unmistakably about mental illness, and that makes it hard to ignore or forgive what it ends up saying (hopefully by accident) on the subject. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiJul 20, 2016
It’s the cinematic equivalent to a carnival funhouse: a bit scary when you’re traversing it, but utterly forgettable (and mildly regrettable) once it’s over. Read full review
40
The GuardianJordan HoffmanJul 20, 2016
Lights Out is yet another half-baked, PG-13 scare-em snoozer centered on an underdeveloped supernatural concept that won’t even give kids a good nightmare. Read full review
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