‘Lights Out’ is a smart little horror movie

Have you ever seen something in the shadows, some ominous outline that made you uneasy, and then watched it vanish when you turned on the lights?

“Lights Out” takes that common source of unease and crafts a smart little horror movie around it, one that neither goes for cheap effects nor overstays its welcome.

The gimmick here is that there is a monster of some kind — an evil spirit, a psychological emanation, something bad for sure — that only has power in darkness.

“Lights Out” presents actual characters that are interesting, that have rough edges, that act like real people, not victims in waiting.

[...] the boy’s real problem is that his mother — an increasingly wiggy Maria Bello — is entertaining a malicious evil spirit.

[...] there is Teresa Palmer as Rebecca, a young woman who has confidence and strength but a real problem when it comes to emotional commitment.

The good idea at the heart of “Lights Out” gives it an advantage, but the truth is, bad horror movies have been made from good ideas.

[...] it’s just a little horror movie, but the director knows that and doesn’t overplay his hand.

Sandberg gets the job done in 81 minutes, and in the process shows that he knows how to make a horror movie and that he has the talent to make other kinds of films as well.