When the Lights Went Out

"When the lights went out," is a supposedly true story of a haunting/ exorcism that takes place in England during 1974, and seems more like a reinterpretation of New England's haunting stories of the same era. Somehow the 70's were so bad and dull that even ghosts had to find more to do.

Good: The acting was fine, not great or memorable but fine. The story is a good one, even if over used by movies and the "true story" part is always somewhat of a draw. Although I question the trueness. Being set in the 1970's wasn't too bad and I think they hit the overall 70's feel and look pretty well. The whole haunting thing is always popular as well which always makes a film alluring to watch.

The Bad: Nothing new to see here, except it takes place in England instead of the eastern U.S. "When the lights went out," is another story, supposedly based on true story, that takes place in the 1970's, oddly like another true story in the 1970's "Amityville Horror" (1979) and contains a bit of demonic possession, much like another 1970's movie "The Exorcist"(1973). How many films to the makers of this one think we haven't seen or forgot. There was also very little to cause you to jump in your seat or really fill you with fright when you really do turn out the lights.

I give it a 6 out of 10. It was interesting to watch, they did well bringing the 70's era into it, and not to much to gripe about acting wise. The originalness of the story is questionable at best, and seems to be a combination of a few older movies that came out in the era it takes place. It wasn't nearly scary, and other than a few tiny parts, provided none of the "jump" effect a movie like this needs.

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A have read a review on this site, where the poster says he or she has seen similar things in other horror films. This may be true but it is pretty hard with poltergeist movies not to duplicate, things being displaced etc, I found the setting of 70's Britain excellent,having lived through the 70's it brought back memories of collars on the outside of jackets and the humour added another dimension. The acting was realistic and unlike so many films there was a story which had a conclusion. How many times do we sit with the credits coming down and think "is that it, has it finished?" Personally I don't believe in ghosts, poltergeists, exorcisms, etc but this film kept me entertained which is all you can ask.

I reluctantly began watching what seemed to be yet another Paranormal Activity ripoff but was gradually pulled into the storyline by Pat Holden's fine direction and performances. The mood was effective as was the music score and sound design. I'm a big fan of ghost films, particularly Robert Wise's THE HAUNTING and Peter Medak's THE CHANGELING. While this film doesn't reach those heights, it is so much more effective than any of the American ghost films of the last few years.

I'm also intrigued by paranormal films based on true stories, which this one claims to be, adding more creepiness to the viewing. Making a good chilling film is not nearly as easy as it seems, so hats off to the creators of this good little film.

Okay, take Poltergeist and The Exorcist then move them to seventies Yorkshire and you basically have When the Lights Went Out. It's supposedly based on a true story (but aren't they always?) about a family who encounter a particularly nasty spook in their house.

This is a film where I can find many positives and only one negative. The good things are the setting (if you ignore the occasional Sky Digital dish in the background). They do a good job of portraying seventies England. The actors are also all believable. The film centres quite a bit on two young girls. Kids in films (and especially horror films) tend to be either highly annoying, or just totally unlikeable. However, I found these two girls quite endearing and hopefully they will have a long acting career ahead of them. Also, it's quite creepy. The scares are sometimes predictable, but they're there nonetheless.

About the only thing that's negative is that - as far as story-telling goes - is that there's nothing new here. Hollywood has been churning out these sorts of films for years and all you have here is a British (period) version of one of those types.

If you're in the mood for an easy-going British horror flick, definitely give this one a go. Just don't expect anything revolutionary.

I really enjoyed the fact that this was old fashioned, yes obviously, due to the fact it is set in the 70s but I enjoyed that it was slow and simmering. The attention to detail in the sets and costumes really helped the whole feel and the acting was excellent and very natural. There are moments of black humour and the language and responses are very British, which I appreciated. Yes, it's nothing new but sometimes you just want a ghost story to give you chills and make you look twice at any open door at night when you are going upstairs! It is a shame the last 5 minutes let it all down so badly, no spoilers here but watch it and see what I mean. I'd say give it a go, it might just give you the creeps.