This movie follows a young woman who has disengaged from her family due to her mother's mental illness and issues from when her father disappeared. The mother (played wonderfully by Maria Bello) is haunted by demons from her childhood and is supposed to be on meds to reduce her psych issues. The mother has in her care a young eight year old son, the step-brother of the young woman who ran away. When something happens to the boy's father the boy seeks his sister's help in helping him and helping there mother.
If you believe in ghosts, demons, and other supernatural beings this movie was very interesting. The supernatural element was never really explained, so the viewer has no idea why it is there or how it came to be, unless it was through trauma suffered by the individual who the supernatural being is bound to. However, that being said, the supernatural being was very interesting in the form it took and the fact that it could only appear in dark areas (hence the name of the movie LIGHTS OUT). Now, if you watch a lot of horror movies this is not something new, but seeing it developed this was is. In the movie BOOGEYMAN the supernatural being hides in the dark, so there are other monsters who hide in the dark of a closet or under a bed. Yet there was something about this idea that did make it a little creepy.
Now, that being said. there were issues with the movie too. The young woman kept doing stupid things which caused her to become a victim to the supernatural being, for example, she kept a flashlight pointed in front of her but she kept walking backwards into the dark. Very dumb, and several members of the audience even shouted at her. The young boy is told a terrible story that would frighten any young child and he didn't even really react, which disturbed me. He should have shown some fear or emotion in all of this, but instead he just asked more questions.
The last issue I had with this movie was the ending. It was too predictable for me, although the person I went with did not see it coming. I felt that it was a little too contrived and would have liked to see it end another way. It was a little disappointing.
If you already have a fear of the dark, see this movie and you will sleep with the lights on for a month or two. If you don't have a fear of the dark this movie might put some in you. It isn't a bad movie, and there were some good scares or intense moments in it.
So, go see it. You might enjoy it.