RED LIGHTS (REVIEW)

Dir. Rodrigo Cortés

Reviewer. Martyn Wakefield

With such a high profile cast it’s hard to ignore ‘Red Lights’. Its leads, Sigourney Weaver (Alien), Robert De Niro (Godsend) and Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins) have all lent their hands to the horror genre so it’s no surprise than when the supernatural co mes calling, pick the best.

And that’s exactly what Rodrigo Cortes (Buried) has done. Putting together Hollywoods finest with a tight knit plot can only mean that ‘Red Lights’ is a winner and if you’re not blind, there is no ignoring the hype around this film with quote upon quote from film reviewers across the globe plastering the city skyline calling this “the next The Sixth Sense”.

Beginning with the revealing of a fake paranormal event, paranormal investigators Margeret Matherson (Weaver) and her assistant Tom Buckley (Murphy) travel the country eradicating fraudsters who claim the paranormal in favour of the science and psychology of it all. But all is not as well as it first seems as the funding for their project starts falling and their credibility disappears, they have to do something big. When his tutor dies, Tomfinds new hope and takes it upon his self to bring down the world’s most famous psychic, Simon Silver (De Niro) and without Matherson holding him back, his sole intention is to bring the world’s biggest fake to rights.

Some intense scenes follow and the drama of Buckley’s whirlwind chase to bring down Silver never loses grip with the supernatural taking charge and the questioning of Silvers powers challenges the reality of psychics and the power they behold. Toms girlfriend Sally (Elizabeth Olsen) is his only believer and while Tom goes all out to bring down Silver, Sally stays calm to unravel the truth.

Brilliantly acted by all involved, Red Lights is definitely one of the best thought provoking films of the year and you won’t want to take a blink away for something missed. But behind the hype, ‘Red Lights’ falls down. The quote used earlier will have relevance and calling this the new ‘Sixth Sense’ is like saying Jason’s mom is the killer in Friday the 13th , The Wizard of Oz was all a dream, Bruce Willis is a Ghost etcetera etcetera, a twist so important in the film that you guess it before the film even starts running. Yet for all its credibility, Red Lights just doesn’t have that “wow” ending that we all had after Shyamalan’s classic and will be forgotten as quickly as it takes you to guess the twist.