Red Lights

Psychologist Margaret Matheson and her assistant study paranormal activity, which leads them to investigate a world-renowned psychic who has resurfaced years after his toughest critic mysteriously passed away.

Given that there are so many supernatural thrillers around these days, it's refreshing to see something that looks at the topic from a different perspective. Red Lights subverts the genre somewhat, but stops short of deconstructing it completely.

I was drawn to this not only by the appearance of De Niro, but also the involvement of director Rodrigo Cortés. His 2010 film, Buried, was wonderfully claustrophobic and provided a great showcase for his talents. There are brief glimpses of what he is capable of here, but it doesn't come close to his previous work. 

The plot is fairly typical thriller fare, with the paranormal theme largely taking a back seat. This works in the film's favour and gives ample opportunity for Cillian Murphy to make full use of the paranoia that his character, Tom, is subjected to. This dynamic is responsible for some of the best scenes and has you grasping for the answers to the mystery that has seized control of his life.

The pacing is solid, as is necessary for the genre, moving along smartly enough to hold the interest. Cortés manages to create a fair amount of tension at times, but it's never really edge of your seat stuff. There's too much in the way of overly obvious plot points and I saw one of the big revelations coming within the first half an hour or so. This doesn't detract from the film hugely, but it does have the effect of lessening the impact when he does come to wrap things up.

I found the end of the film to be a tad grandiose considering what had gone before it. The epilogue in particular is nicely done, but gives itself too much credit in terms of the gravity it assigns the narrative - there is a disconnect between the journey that the characters have taken and the fanfare that greets the end of it. Much more talk of struggle goes on than actually taking place for the majority of those involved. 

I think the biggest problem with Red Lights is that it isn't in the least bit memorable. It's the kind of film that someone will ask you if you've seen a year down the line, and you'll say "I think so... I might have done...". Whilst it's certainly not a waste of time and won't leave a bad taste in your mouth, it's a flick that is easily confused with a number of others despite its best efforts. 

The Verdict:

6/10
Though somewhat forgettable, there's enough to make it worth checking out. Differentiates itself at least a little through the perspective taken on a common theme.