When the Lights Went Out

When the Lights Went Out is written and directed by Pat Holden. It stars Steven Waddington, Kate Ashfield, Natasha Connor, Craig Parkinson, Jo Hartley and Martin Compston. Film is based on alleged real life events that were recorded in Pontefract, England, in 1974. After the Pritchard family moved into their new house on the Chequerfield Estate, poltergeist activity reached such a level it has been called the most violent poltergeist haunting ever witnessed in Europe.

Director Holden, who made the criminally under valued Awaydays, helms his picture with genuine love and thought for the topic. Being related to the Pritchard family he had wanted to make the film for some time, it's a noble effort even though it never achieves all that it can.

There are two main problems that will ensure the film will stay rooted on the bottom shelves of DVD stockists and collectors. Problem one is that it is uncomfortable in mixing comedy with drama, something that practically kills a key scene in the last quarter. It's useful to understand that these Yorkshire folk are made of tough stuff, ready to offer a quip in the face of adversity, but it has to be pitched right and here it negates much of the pent-up terror.

The other key issue is that it's so stunning in its period design (this really deserves the highest praise for the makers), anyone from the 1970s is guaranteed to be spending much of the film pointing out things and reminiscing. I know I was! Garish wallpaper designs, toys like Slinky and Buckaroo, rum and pep and Babycham in the smoky pubs, The Sweet singing Little Willy and a hairy Noel Edmonds on Top of the Pops, these are just some of the things to make film fans who were reared in the 70s smile during this particular horror film!

As a tale it's creepy enough, the cold backdrop of a Yorkshire council estate suits the story no end, and in spite of a bad misstep when Holden uses CGI in the finale, the shocks and unease moments are nicely handled. While the human interest factor always remains high and there's a bit of thought within the writing to off set the normal question of "why don't they just move house?".

It's also well performed by the cast, with youngster Connor really shining bright, and with Holden keeping things brisk the picture never gets bogged down with pointless scene fillers. Is it scary? Away from the flares, wallpaper and hair styles that is! Well no it isn't really, it's more an effective ghost yarn than anything else. So needless to say, the blood lust gore crowd or those expecting a battle between religion and demon, need not apply here. 6.5/10

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.

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.

This movie turned out to be somewhat of a surprise - at least it was to me. What worked out so well in this movie was the mood that they managed to build up, because the story itself was fairly generic. The movie starts out slow, and then gradually builds up in intensity and thrills.

The story in "When the Lights Went Out" is about a small family back in the 1970's where the young daughter starts experiencing strange things happening in their home. These occurrences build up in intensity and eventually start to be physically threatening to the family and anyone entering the house.

If you are a regular to horror movies, and to ghost movies in particular, then you'll not really find anything new or overly innovating here in this movie. That being said, don't get it wrong, I am not saying that "When the Lights Went Out" is a bad movie, far from it, but it just doesn't really offer anything that haven't really been seen before.

As I mentioned above, then it is the mood of the movie that is the centerpiece for this movie, as the director managed to put together something dark and sinister, that slowly escalates and keeps you firmly in your seat. And the approach to the story as to who is actually haunting the family was quite nice - and no, I am not going to spoil anything for you here - just watch it for yourself.

If you enjoy a proper horror movie that involves ghosts and hauntings, then "When the Lights Went Out" is well worth a watch. Though, this is hardly the type of movie that you'll watch a second time around once you've seen it the first time.

"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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