Ranking July 2016's Movies - From Worst To Best

6. Lights Out

Ghostbusters Jason Bourne Ice Age
Warner Bros.

RottenTomatoes Score: 76% (6.3/10)

Box Office: Sticking smartly to the low-budget horror film model, Lights Out cost a tiny $4.9 million and has made over $60 million to date, substantially surpassing expectations and making a sequel pretty damn likely.

Verdict: The marketing really didn't do this one justice at all: they made it look generic and predictable, but instead, it's proof that simple efficiency can be the key to a great horror film.

It also helps when you've got an actor of Teresa Palmer's caliber (even though she rarely truly proves herself), allowing Lights Out to exploit our collective fear of the dark in imaginative and visually intriguing ways. It's short and sweet, avoids more cliches than you'd expect, and is effective at that most basic, visceral level that horror needs to be. Not bad at all.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.