Red Lights: Review By The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

I remember seeing trailer for this, and being very gripped by it. Me, being attracted to the idea of ghosts, or a spirit world; more on track with the theme of Red Lights- the hacks who claim to be psychic and the mystery of wondering if any of them actually might be legitimately psychic, was very drawn to the idea of this movie. Not to mention the great cast it includes. I nearly instantly looked it up on Amazon, and a few weeks later purchased it. Sadly there was a delay on watching the damn thing, since I recently went out of town, but right when I got home, I postponed unpacking for two hours to watch Red Lights.

I was very impressed by the opening scene. It was so odd, and yet intriguing. It was not exactly what I had expected, with me expecting De Niro's character to be a key role from the get go, but it certainly had it's meaning. The film is about, if you don't already know, partners named Margret and Tom (Sigourney Weaver and Cillian Murphy) who work at a college. Basically, they try to figure out who the hacks are in the psychic business. They also try to disprove every ghostly, spiritual and psychic phenomena they hear about. There is unfortunately, an underdeveloped love story between Tom and eager student Sally (Elizabeth Olsen). Their relationship felt as though an important scene between them ended up on the cutting room floor. However, despite this "flaw", the film still flows very well, and you get enough of a sense of their relationship to nod your head and continue one enjoying the film anyhow.

Simon Silver (Robert De Niro) is an extremely well-known psychic. When Margret and Tom hear about Simon Silver's upcoming show in town, Tom must do an investigation of him, even though Margret is reluctant. The film goes from there, and gets extremely interesting, proposing some unexpected twists. I honestly did not know if Simon Silver was a hack or not. I felt either way the film took, to be or to appear to be, would have been interesting. Might I add that the conclusion that the film does pick, is quite satisfying.

As I mentioned, the film includes a star-studded cast. Sigourney Weaver has been doing some interesting roles lately. She's had some unnecessary and weird cameos, and seemingly forgotten about, in my opinion. But I think if this film had gotten a higher recognition, then it would have put her back on the map. She plays her role well, and surprisingly has great chemistry with the cast. This mostly shows with her partner Cillian Murphy, which even though I have not seen all his films, I still call myself a fan, since I enjoyed his performances in Batman Begins, Peac*ck, Red Eye and 28 Days Later. Murphy very convincingly played the role of Tom. His unheard, but seen acting was great, including his body language. Not to mention the conclusion, where his acting towards Simon Silver is probably the highlight of the film. And of course, Elizabeth Olsen, who got her start in a widely hated film called Silent House. Even though no one (except me and a few choice others) liked that film, everyone still mentioned her acting skills were top notch. She is now a surprisingly well known actress, even though she has a very small filmography. With that said, she of course nailed her small, but effective role. Her role while was seemingly not essential, added depth to Murphy's character, making you care about both characters.

Overall, Red Lights is not a perfect film. It may have a few underdeveloped themes in the end, but I think it is a film that can still be highly appreciated, and enjoyed immensely. Pay close attention is my final word of advice, other than to go and see this movie.