Directed by: Rodrigo Cortés
Starring: Robert De Niro, Sigourney Weaver, Cillian Murphy, Joely Richardson, Elizabeth Olsen, Toby Jones, Leonardo Sbaraglia
Distributed by: Millennium Entertainment
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 113 minutes
Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars
Hold on a sec, a paranormal thriller/horror film with Robert De Niro, Sigourney Weaver and Cillian Murphy? Where do I sign up? This little film has flown under my radar this summer with big budget superhero movies taken the spotlight. “Red Lights” deserves some major attention. It is extremely well-done and really delivers from the moment it starts through the its shocking ending. I am a big fan of Rodrigo Cortés, especially after his film “Buried”. He is really able to do a lot in a film with not much. Cillian Murphy also gives an amazing performance and really carries this film.
The film follows psychologist and paranormal investigator, Margaret Matheson, (Weaver), and her physicist assistant, Tom Buckley (Murphy) as they aim to disprove the paranormal experiences with science and technology. When they get involved with investigating a famous psychic, Simon Silver (De Niro) things get a little too hot and they find themselves in deeper than they expected. Is Silver a true psychic medium or just another fraud?
“Red Lights” does a great job of blending its horror, thriller and drama aspects all together to one entertaining film. It has some good spooks but isn’t full blown horror. With the televisions and cinemas being flooded with films about paranormal activities and ghost huntings, this will probably be filed in with the rest but is actually able to stand on its own. It is not only well directed and executed but also packed with impressive performances, I highly recommend checking this film out.