Film Review: Red Lights

DVD: Red Lights   6/10
Director: Rodrigo Cortes
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, Elizabeth Oslen

Plot: a psychologist (Sigourney Weaver) and her assistant (Cillian Murphy) are out to prove paranomal activity is fake; however the return of the world famous Simon Silver (Robert De Niro) leads to a change in attitudes.

Paranormal films are becoming more and more the same. The same premise seems to be repeated over and over again. However, Red Lights has sparked something new in the genre.

Rodrigo Cortes, the director of the brilliant film Buried, is no doubt a very effective writer. Throughout Red Lights, we never see any kind of possession or activity which is deliberately meant to scare the audience; all of it in fact is fuelled from the plot itself. Also, the almost comical and satirical nature of the film, delivered by both Murphy and Weaver (almost mocking those believing in paranormal activity) ensures that nothing is taken too seriously. All this only fuels the suspense which grows throughout the film as the questions of whether paranormal activity is present, begins.

Sigourney Weaver is, as usual, fantastic in her role, yet nothing different to her usual. Cillian Murphy however is brilliant; as the film progresses, he receives more and more screen time, which is perfect as he steals the show consistently, with some very memorable scenes. Robert De Niro, plays a fantastic world renowned ‘magician’, achieving the impossible – Niro plays an almost chilling side to the character, which is never too obvious, it almost comes across as playful in a disturbing kind of way.

In Conclusion: Red Lights is a surprisingly good thriller/horror with some real jump-scares and moments of complete chaos. All the leads do their jobs perfectly and the finale is terribly tense, however it’s not one you would watch again.