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
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJul 21, 2016
For a movie that relies so heavily on a single, not especially groundbreaking visual effect — now you see the bogeyman, now you don’t — Lights Out is crazy scary. Read full review
83
The PlaylistJordan RuimyJul 21, 2016
The difference between Lights Out and any other mainstream horror movie is that it actually uses the dark as the center of its plot, organically drawing out the majority of its jump scares in the process. Read full review
80
Total FilmJosh WinningDec 20, 2016
With characters you care about – principally Teresa Palmer’s appealingly edgy, cliché-bucking Rebecca – and a poignant denouement, this is horror with guts as well as gore. Read full review
80
EmpireSimon CrookAug 15, 2016
A lean, mean scare-machine, and a surprise contender for horror of the year. Seek it out. Then, for God’s sake, buy a bedside lamp. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsEdward DouglasJul 19, 2016
While the central visual of the figure in the dark goes a long way to provide the essential scares, the success of the film is just as much about what the filmmakers do to develop the characters that the audience cares about. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniJul 21, 2016
A well-shot, gore-free psychological thriller about our elemental fear of darkness, Lights Out has a good deal in common with "The Babadook." While it can't touch Jennifer Kent's masterpiece, it does mark the arrival of a major new talent. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerJul 21, 2016
Best of all, it’s tight at 81 minutes, which means a 7 p.m. screening gets you out of the theatre while it’s still light out, thank God. Read full review
75
The Film StageBill GrahamJul 21, 2016
Bolstered by the mythology it builds and scares that rarely feel cheap, it shows even wide-release horror doesn’t have to be a groan-inducing slog — and you’ll definitely think twice about turning the lights out. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJul 21, 2016
Lights Out presents actual characters that are interesting, that have rough edges, that act like real people, not victims in waiting. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJul 20, 2016
Palmer and Bello really do seem like world-weary, spook-addled daughter and mother, and they play the stakes just so, favoring neither blase understatement nor yellow-highlighter melodrama. They're strong enough to take your mind off some lapses in narrative judgment. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisJul 21, 2016
Spackling over any copycat cracks with strong acting and fleet editing, Lights Out delivers minimalist frights in old-school ways. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangJul 21, 2016
Bello gives a tremulous wacko-mom performance from which she has eliminated every whisper of camp. She’s both sympathetic and infuriating, and her scenes with her daughter hint at a more painful, complicated emotional history than the movie has time to explore, though it’s nice that it bothers to explore it at all. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJul 21, 2016
The scares here are in the execution, aided by the acting. Bello is, like always, terrific, adding layers to what seems at first like the stereotypical mentally-ill movie character. She's fighting for something. Palmer, too, adds grit to her would-be iconoclast. Read full review
70
Village VoiceApril WolfeJul 19, 2016
When Sandberg isn’t spinning his wheels in the why, he’s capable of doling out a steady diet of scares. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyChristian HolubJul 21, 2016
This movie purposely inspires viewers to think about serious topics, and then disregards the consequences of doing so, undermining the whole enterprise. The final physical sensation is not terror or relief, but disgust. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter TraversJul 22, 2016
Predictable stuff, energized by some spiffy scare effects from cinematographer Marc Spicer who works wonders with underlighting. But the on/off tricks would grow tiring without actors who perform well beyond the call of fright-house duty. Read full review
63
New York PostLou LumenickJul 21, 2016
The simple, highly effective gimmick of this straightforward shocker is a malevolent clawed spectre named Diana (Alicia Vela-Bailey), who only appears in the dark. Read full review
63
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldJul 21, 2016
Lights Out is an effective, tidy little chiller; basically the same sneak-up-in-the-dark scare over and over. But hey, as we’ve learned through decades of horror movies, that stuff works. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 18, 2016
You don’t realize how much a good horror movie depends on acting until you stumble in that rare one whose cast actually gets it right. Read full review
More From This Movie

58 Critic Reviews

7.6 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 71 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL