When the Lights Went Out

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.

Yorkshire, 1974: the Maynard family moves into their dream house but soon discovery it is already occupied by a violent spirit.

Based on what is regarded as the most violent poltergeist haunting in Europe and not to be confused with the 'Enfield Poltergeist', from the metal bins to glass milk bottles, cigarette filled pubs, Buckaroo, Kerr plunk, wood panelled walls, seventies patterned wallpaper and 70's TV to name a few When the Lights Went Out is worth viewing for the 70s nostalgia alone.

Director Pat Holden takes some queues from some well know horrors and parts of his offering are unavoidably reminiscent of The Amativille Horror, The Exorcist and Poltergeist. Although the closing is unnecessary effects laden, the overall unassuming setting adds to the ominous and uneasy feel, this coupled with the minimal melodic music and lighting create some good tension.

With haunting figures and things going bump in the coal shed and dwelling as the family becomes more convinced their house isn't right, it becomes quite compelling viewing especially for those also familiar with the well documented alleged haunting. The creepy sound design makes the most mundane objects jumpy and menacing as the incidents escalate throughout. Along with the on location feel amongst the expertly recreated period, the everyday UK setting adds to an air of realism.

Part horror, part family drama what's interesting is the haunting events and its effect on the daughter and family and the reaction of the school and local community. It's well filmed and acted, notable are Kate Ashfield , Steven Waddington, Tasha Connor with Craig Parkinson Martin Compston and Andrea Lowe providing some good performances in supporting roles.

With a bit of artistic licence, based on The Black Monk of Pontefract, Holden gives the events context and structure to a story that's well acted amounting to a solid British haunting film.

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.

As a few other reviewers have mentioned, this is the telling of an average, unoriginal ghost story, but it is well acted, filmed, good sets etc, but the let down for me, was the actual showing of the Ghost. It was shown for too long onscreen, which meant that actually you could study it and in really was just poorly executed.

I thought the two kid actors were great and am surprised that they have not archived bigger things after this movie.

Overall, it is worth a watch as it an enjoyable movie, but you'll certainly not loose sleep at night over it and will most probably forget about it as soon as the credits roll.

I saw this at a preview screening tonight in London. Its a British supernatural haunted house film set in Yorkshire 1974 and is apparently based on a true story.

The 70s Britain backdrop is suitably done reflecting the country's financial struggles of its time and if you remember growing up in 70s Britain, there are some fond nostalgic touches to enjoy. The story, however is a typical haunted house affair. A working class family (mother, father and a thirteen year old daughter) moves into a new home in the suburbs. Of course the new home is haunted and aggressively so. The family becomes rather concerned about this little negative point....which unfortunately is the first of this film's many problems.

See, the family's reaction to the haunting is ridiculously flippant. They accept the haunting too easily, despite its obvious aggression. The family are mostly naive and unlikeable which doesn't help me root for them. The performance of the 13 year old is initially quite annoying in her mannerisms but she is deliberately playing a stroppy teenager who lacks self esteem and friends, and she portrays that well. She has just one school friend, who seems to be a much more accomplished little actress and was very charming. In fact, the film had more spark every time she was on the screen. The friendship drama with the children, their isolation and their struggles against bullies was actually far more interesting and captivating than the house haunting itself.

Which brings me to the films's biggest problem of all. If you have seen just a few supernatural films, then this wont likely scare you. Its not completely devoid of "boo" moments but there is absolutely nothing new here and its embarrassingly clichéd. Almost every attempted boo moment is lifted from classics such as Poltergeist, Sixth Sense, and Paranormal Activity but with inferior results and sometimes laughably ridiculous visuals that is too illogical even for a Loony Tunes cartoon. Perhaps the scares would be effective to complete virgins of supernatural films. Its possible that I may have seen too many supernatural films myself being a massive fan of the genre for these scare attempts to be effective on me but the scares here are still poorly executed and devoid of logic. I mean for Pete's sake, even the real ghosts will cringe and come out into the open to declare how mind numbingly silly the hauntings are in this film. I just know they would be saying: "we can shift stuff, make you cold, blow a breeze, play with lights and shadows but we don't do bleeding magic tricks".

It seems to me this film's success will be dependant on its "based on a true story" premise and its Yorkshire setting flavour.

There are some redeeming features about the film, I have already mentioned about the children's drama and nostalgic setting of 70s Britain but the film did also offer a surprising and most welcome period of comic relief towards the end which brought genuine chuckles out of me. I did enjoy that and felt relieved that the film had at least something more to offer. If only it could have given more of that kind of humour earlier to make up for the lack of effective scares.

There is no blood and gore by the way, in case you are concerned about that. And only one f-word is used (to comical effect actually) so, this might earn a rating of PG13. By all means still go see this, if you are very easily scared and are content to be scared for only one or two effective moments.

Being based on a true story might be a pulling factor but I personally think its a cop out.

I rate this 6/10...mainly for the captivating school friendship drama, the sudden burst of humour and for me personally, a retro nostalgia of 70s Britain. Scare factor scale, however, an abysmal zero.