Lights Out

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Lights Out

PG-13

2016

1h 17m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

74%

Tomatometer

181 Reviews

61%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

When Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) left home, she thought that her childhood fears were behind her. As a young girl growing up, she was never really sure of what was real when the lights went out at night. Now, her little brother Martin (Gabriel Bateman) is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that jeopardized her safety and sanity. Holding a mysterious attachment to their mother (Maria Bello), a supernatural entity has returned with a vengeance to torment the entire family.

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Critics Consensus

Lights Out makes skillful use of sturdy genre tropes -- and some terrific performances -- for an unsettling, fright-filled experience that delivers superior chills without skimping on story.

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Ed Potton

The Times (UK)

Oct 10, 2016

3/5

There are scares from the off in the short, punchy horror Lights Out, adapted by the director David F Sandberg from his short film.

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Donald Clarke

Irish Times

Aug 22, 2016

3/5

The thrills are well orchestrated in a flick that knows not to outstay its welcome.

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Geoffrey Macnab

Independent (UK)

Aug 18, 2016

3/5

In its own deeply contrived way, the film is just as frightening as you want it to be.

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Matt Oakes

Silver Screen Riot

Oct 14, 2026

C

Maria Bello shines as a conflicted maternal figure but David F. Sandberg’s debut feature can’t quite formulate how to actually make it all scary.

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Zach Pope

Zach Pope Reviews

Aug 7, 2023

Excellent jump scares forgettable characters but Palmer is great!

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Aug 23, 2022

4/5

It does employ a few all-too-familiar tricks, but they certainly don’t undercut the many things the film deserves credit for.

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Marco L

@decatur555 5 days ago

A compact horror film built around one brutally simple idea: darkness is no longer safe. David F. Sandberg gets a remarkable amount of tension from light switches, flickering bulbs and the suspicion that something may be waiting just beyond what we can see. Diana works because she is not only visually unsettling but genuinely dangerous, and several scenes gave me real goosebumps. Teresa Palmer brings strength and vulnerability, Gabriel Bateman makes the threat feel especially urgent, and Maria Bello gives the story an unexpectedly sad emotional core. The mythology is less interesting than the visual concept, and some scares are conventional, but the film knows how to use anticipation instead of constantly showing its creature. Short, direct and genuinely effective: it reminded me that sometimes the oldest fear is still one of the best — turning off the light and suddenly not wanting to look into the dark.

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Georgia P

@RT70958088 5 days ago

This movie was so ahead of its time with the creepy imagine. Some great jump scares

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dede W

@RT37612585 Oct 27, 2026

The movie scared the literal shiii outta me when I was a kid watching ts, I used to be afraid to turn the lights off, my mom had to go get me a nightlife and she had to tell me to imagine what the behind the scenes were like

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Fuzz C

@RT09814338 Oct 11, 2026

Sometimes I don’t understand how can movies like this have 70% positive reviews while other much better ones get 30-40%. Waste of time don’t bother.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 13, 2026

Lights Out = a *3.5* star movie!

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Roger S

@RT66529725 Sep 6, 2026

This is actually a good decent tv or dvd/Blu ray horror movie. Not for theatres in my opinion. It’s really good. Acting is good and storyline is interesting and good.

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David F. Sandberg

Director

Teresa Palmer

Rebecca

Gabriel Bateman

Martin

Alexander DiPersia

Bret

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Paul

Maria Bello

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Synopsis

When Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) left home, she thought that her childhood fears were behind her. As a young girl growing up, she was never really sure of what was real when the lights went out at night. Now, her little brother Martin (Gabriel Bateman) is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that jeopardized her safety and sanity. Holding a mysterious attachment to their mother (Maria Bello), a supernatural entity has returned with a vengeance to torment the entire family.

Director: David F. Sandberg
Producer: James Wan, Lawrence Grey, Eric Heisserer
Screenwriter: Eric Heisserer
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Atomic Monster, Grey Matter
Rating: PG-13 (Disturbing Images|Brief Drug Content|Some Thematic Material|Terror Throughout|Violence)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 22, 2016, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 11, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $67.3M
Runtime: 1h 17m

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