Pat Holden (director)
Kintop Pictures (studio)
15 (certificate)
86 mins (length)
14 September 2012 (released)
06 September 2012
Based on the true story of the Maynard Hauntings in West Yorkshire, When The Lights Went Out follows a family’s breakdown and descent into madness as they move into a 1970’s council house (potentially a factor in itself) before realising it’s inhabited by a violent poltergeist.
Good British horror smells different to its US equivalents. We’re good at cerebral violence through the likes of violent, arty thrillers like Bronson. We’ve managed gothic with The Woman In Black. We made zombie flicks scary again with 28 Days Later. Up until now though, the realm of “Things That Go Bump In The Night” has remained firmly in the shaky, amateur-camcorder-gripping hands of the US, through the likes of Paranormal Activity and the now-cult Blair Witch.
When The Lights Went Out is a crossover of sorts. It is part of the family of ‘implied’ horror films like ‘Witch and ‘Paranormal, lacking in bizarre effects or lengthy Silent Hill -esque CGI and almost entirely based in one house. However, gone thankfully are the shaky camera “Did you see that?” moments that have become increasingly routine.
Based on the town of Pontefract, Yorkshire mid-1970’s, the film follows Pritchard family, husband, wife, daughter as they move into their new house. Clearly a family used to hardship, for the couple Len and Jenny, the move is a step toward a new life. For the angsty 13 year old daughter Sally however, it’s yet another reason to hate her life and her parents.
Upon moving in, mysterious events occur - temperature drops, furniture moves and objects break. At first the events seem to solely affect daughter Sally, leading the couple to suspect it’s a series of attention-seeking manoeuvres only. But eventually, a combination of increasingly hysterical behaviour from Sally coupled with first wife Jenny then eventually husband Len becoming spooked by the presence leads the family to near-breaking point.
When The Lights Went Out excels in its story-telling. It’s one of few horror films out there that goes to lengths to investigate the effects on a family of such an event: Len turns to increasingly heavy drinking - flitting between bragging to mates in the pub that he sees it daily and regularly talks with it, and being too scared to sleep. Jenny nears hysteria as she convinces herself it’s imaginary, forever re-adjusting cushions and objects she knows are moving of their own accord. Worst off is Sally, who ends up building a rapport with the ghost, which has the result of isolating her from her own friends at school and for a brief moment, turning both parents against her violently. The film, true to the story behind it (Director Pat Holden’s auntie actually lived in the house) also amusingly drifts between the family being terrified following violent events and rolling their eyes in boredom as yet another coffee jar shatters, yet more objects go missing.
Possibly the best part of the film though is its insightful look at the realities of living in 1970’s Britain. Throughout, there are well placed, subtle scenes of impoverished family life - constant arguments about money, power-cuts, horrendous, horrendous interior design, clothing, TV and Saturday night entertainment. Whilst many horror films, particularly those shot on a budget, suffer from a lack of character development that creates a kind of apathy in the audience (Be honest, we’ve all played the ‘who dies first?’ game at some point), Here the very real, flawed, struggling family at risk of disintegrating does build a genuine relationship with the audience.
Top mention should be given to Len (Steven Waddington) and brilliantly cynical, flawed Father Clifton (Gary Lewis).
When The Lights Went Out faces a challenge here. It’s not stabby-stabby-screamy-screamy enough to build a must-see DVD following, nor is it likely to go cult-film. It is however a fantastically put together piece of British Cinema, both a good story and a good straight up horror.
Go See It.
7/10.
Alasdair Byers
