Lights Out

Rebellious twentysomething Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) dwells in a dingy apartment in downtown L.A. that is set above a tattoo parlor with a red neon light blinking all night. She has commitment issues with her boyfriend (Alexander DiPersia), but she's devoted to her 10-year-old stepbrother Martin (Gabriel Bateman). Traumatized after the violent death of his father (Billy Burke), Martin has been left to contend with their edgy, tormented mother (Maria Bello), and Rebecca invites him to stay with her. But Mom turns out to have a very jealous ghostly companion, Diana (stunt specialist Alicia Vela-Bailey), a deceased frenemy from her teenage incarceration in a mental institution. When she was alive, Diana suffered from a rare skin condition, making her hypersensitive to light; as a result, this hideous, malevolent spirit with long, sharp fingernails only appears in the dark. Director David F. Sandberg doesn't explain much here, instead relying on time-honored horror tropes including eerie flickering lamps, remote-controlled car headlights, unexpectedly loud noises, and jump-scares galore in what is ultimately a rather middling chiller. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes (14 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus digital and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a small extras package for a so-so horror flick.] (S. Granger)