In 2010, director Rodrigo Cortes brought us Buried, where he was able to wring buckets of tension and suspense while pretty much staying within the confines of a coffin. Now with Red Lights, Cortes is stretching his legs and presents us with a supernatural mystery with the question of whether or not the paranormal exists at it's core.
Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy) and Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) are two college professors who spend their free time debunking people with supposed paranormal abilities, such as mediums and psychic. When Simon Silver (Robert De Niro), a world renowned blind psychic, comes out of retirement after thirty years, Buckley begins to investigate him, despite Matheson's ardent protests. The deeper the investigation goes, the more obsessed Buckley becomes to expose Silver as a fraud.
Working from his own script, Cortes has constructed a compelling mystery that keeps it's tricks close to it's chest until the very end. The paranormal investigator angle is nothing new in these types of movies, but Red Lights uses it to good effect, constructing a strong story from the premise, but not one without it's stops and starts. It builds the necessary amount of suspense to keep the audience interested, with help from some near faultless direction. The story does drop it's fair share of red herrings to throw us off the scent of what is really going on, but those paying really close attention will be able to figure out what is going on before the ending which, while clever, did grate on me as it did feel like a cop out in the end.
While a very strong cast has been assembled, it's really only the three leads who get anything to do, with Toby Jones and Elisabeth Olsen spending large chunks of the movie absent, and having no real impact on the story. Murphy plays Buckley as a very likable guy, and pulls off his descent into madness quite well. He plays off Weaver nicely, creating a good rapport between the pair. Weaver herself is great in her role, adding real emotion to the story, and delivers a heartbreaking scene explaining her motivations into investigating these frauds. As Silver, De Niro could have gone over the top, and in some scenes it does look that way, but he grounds the character, delivering a suitably menacing performance.
Red Lights is a solid enough thriller, with some great acting and a compelling mystery at it's heart. While not perfect, it does add up to an entertaining night at the cinema.
Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy) and Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) are two college professors who spend their free time debunking people with supposed paranormal abilities, such as mediums and psychic. When Simon Silver (Robert De Niro), a world renowned blind psychic, comes out of retirement after thirty years, Buckley begins to investigate him, despite Matheson's ardent protests. The deeper the investigation goes, the more obsessed Buckley becomes to expose Silver as a fraud.
Working from his own script, Cortes has constructed a compelling mystery that keeps it's tricks close to it's chest until the very end. The paranormal investigator angle is nothing new in these types of movies, but Red Lights uses it to good effect, constructing a strong story from the premise, but not one without it's stops and starts. It builds the necessary amount of suspense to keep the audience interested, with help from some near faultless direction. The story does drop it's fair share of red herrings to throw us off the scent of what is really going on, but those paying really close attention will be able to figure out what is going on before the ending which, while clever, did grate on me as it did feel like a cop out in the end.
While a very strong cast has been assembled, it's really only the three leads who get anything to do, with Toby Jones and Elisabeth Olsen spending large chunks of the movie absent, and having no real impact on the story. Murphy plays Buckley as a very likable guy, and pulls off his descent into madness quite well. He plays off Weaver nicely, creating a good rapport between the pair. Weaver herself is great in her role, adding real emotion to the story, and delivers a heartbreaking scene explaining her motivations into investigating these frauds. As Silver, De Niro could have gone over the top, and in some scenes it does look that way, but he grounds the character, delivering a suitably menacing performance.
Red Lights is a solid enough thriller, with some great acting and a compelling mystery at it's heart. While not perfect, it does add up to an entertaining night at the cinema.
