Review for The Lights

(Originally posted on fight-evil.com)

There's basically only two reasons, as far as I can tell, to really seek this movie out. One, if you're a slasher fan, and two, to see if Oscar Lusth can act (the answer is not really).

Who? Well, many years back, I was a fan of the reality show Survivor, and Oscar, or Ozzy, has been a repeat contender, well-known for his strong athletic ability, outstripping almost every peer. In fact, since he first appeared on Survivor back in 2006, I'm surprised this DVD copy I have doesn't milk the fact that they have Ozzy in the movie.

As it is, while it's nice seeing a familiar (and unexpected) face, the novelty doesn't really take long to wear off. That said, his character, Steve, is a decently fun guy. Other actors worth mentioning include the killer Kerry Wallum (not great acting, but a somewhat charming personality) and Joe Estevez (who has had well over two hundred roles). On the flipside, Elizabeth Jauregui had some of the worst delivery I've seen in a while. Part of the fault might lie with the script-writer (seriously, she was expected to tell a serial killer that the law says he shouldn't kill her with a straight face?), but bad script aside, she was pretty weak.

None of the kills in the flick are excellent. Some quick-paced hammer attacks are nice, and an individual gets his arm chopped off in what's probably my favorite scene, but overall, nothing really comes across as that memorable (including a dismemberment). And that final kill just didn't look good.

There's not really much to this movie, when all's said and done. Some funny lines, some hammy acting, and sure, seeing half naked women is never bad, but the meandering start to the film, along with unspectacular kills, really don't make this film one that stands out. I saw this in October of 2017, and for all the good a re-watch has done, I'd have been better served watching a plethora of other flicks. Not terrible, but below average. 6/10.