Saturday 8 September 2012

When the Lights Went Out (2012)


“Based on the true story of the most terrifying poltergeist haunting in British history”

The horror genre will always walk a very fine line. If it draws a laugh, or even a titter without intending to, anything the audience invests in the premise is gone and is almost impossible to regain. If the audience’s attention is averted for too long, the same issue applies. Essentially, a horror film has to hook the audience from the start and (not too unlike the antagonists of many horrors) not let go. Pat Holden’s When the Lights Went Out  (2012) definitely hooks the audience with the opening scene, but quickly lets go and never really reaches out again.

Set during the nationwide blackouts of 1974 in Yorkshire, When the Lights Went Out tells a familiar tale. A young family move into a new house only to discover that it’s haunted. The teenage daughter, Sally, is apparently a bit of a problem child as her parents refuse to believe her at first, soon however, Len and Jenny, her parents are faced with the poltergeist first hand and have no choice but to accept it. The issue is how harmful the spirit is and how to find the solution. 

The film opens and makes use of as many horror conventions as possible, and edited cleverly, it manages to stop them from appearing clichéd. Questions are asked, but far from answered. An interest is sparked and there is real potential for audience fear. As soon as that scene ends though, so does any hope When the Lights Went Out continuing as a successful horror film. The wooden script is the first thing to remove any audience investment and despite some impressive efforts by some cast members, the conversations just seem forced. Other distractions quickly follow and despite a couple of moments that draw out audience jumps, the genre aimed for is quickly lost.

Despite this, the film is not an unmitigated disaster. Based on the haunting of the Black Monk of Pontefract, religion and history are key themes. Believers of this haunting attribute the spirit to a monk, who during the Tudor reign, was hanged for rape. The film claims that the monk tortured and killed many young teenage girls, which explains why the character of Sally is catalyst. The film also explains that in order to save the church any embarrassment, the monk was killed by fellow monks and buried in secret. The hypocrisy and corruption of the church is the most interesting key theme of the film as it has been a recurring theme throughout history. (For a more contemporary, and far more horrifying, case study on this, see Amy Berg’s documentary Deliver us From Evil (2006). Berg investigates the church’s cover up of a priest’s abuse of children in Northern California). There are a couple of instances of religious secrets, with the second being the catholic priest (comedically played by Gary Lewis) having an affair, but that is primarily used for unnecessary comic relief. Unfortunately, the most interesting theme is brushed over in order to return the focus to characters that have no real exposition and are ultimately unlikeable. The disappointing truth of the film is that the story of the haunter is ultimately more interesting than the story of the haunted, or even the haunting itself. The film attempts to jump through history once, but, almost as if it’s worried it’ll lose audience attention, quickly returns to 1974. The moments without the key cast were the most interesting sections of filmmaking, and the most scary, but were made destitute by their length.
Being a period film, the production design and wardrobe department have to do incredible work to transport the film to a specific time period. This is the part of the film that the filmmakers did achieve their aims. Unfortunately the filmmakers know this and waste no opportunity to showcase their achievements. Throughout the film there are unnecessary shots thrown into scenes that seem to be self-congratulatory of the production design. The audience are no longer transported to 1974, but are having 1974 thrust upon them and are drawn out of the diegesis.

When the Lights Went Out showed a couple of sparks but ultimately fizzled. There were chances to reproduce the promise made by the opening scene, but these chances weren’t taken. The story is only really remembered by the minority who believe in the supernatural. In the same way, the film may gain a cult status in local community of Pontefract, but will elsewhere be forgotten along with the countless other films that failed in their attempts to walk the fine line of the horror genre.

Written by Edward L. Corrigan on 08/09/2012