Movie Review: Nightlight (2015)

The movie stars Shelby Young, Kyle Fain, Chloe Bridges, Taylor Murphy and Carter Jenkins.

I came across this film on one of our movie channels a couple days ago and, even though I had some doubts about it, the description intrigued me enough to record it. My wife and I watched it last night and, overall, I have to say it was better than I was expecting.

The movie, like a lot of low-budget films in this genre, did take a bit to get going and, before finally getting to the good parts, you do have to suffer through the stereotypical teenager stuff, including some really bizarre games, such as the one that consisted of them trying to pick up their flashlight before being hit by a train. But, once it did get going, the film actually proved to be much creepier than I thought it would.

Part of the reason for this, I think, is the fact we never really get a clear answer about what is stalking the friends. By the end of the film, the assumption is they are being stalked from beyond the grave by a classmate (Frain) that committed suicide in the same forest. But, that was never officially confirmed and there was plenty of evidence indicating the evil presence was around a lot longer than that.

I also liked the twist involving the forest, itself, seemingly working to keep the teenagers from escaping. This helped keep things interesting because, whenever it seemed like they might find their way out, something would happen that would get them even more lost. Not to mention, the one sanctuary (a deserted church) looked as unsafe as everything outside of it, especially since there was nothing to indicate the creature that was stalking them would even be deterred by a house of worship.

Also, I do have to admit, the idea of showing the entire film from the perspective of a flashlight was actually kind of cool because it gave a variety of angles and periods of darkness that helped keep the movie suspenseful simply because you don't see everything that is happening. Of course, i was also equally amazed by how much abuse that flashlight took (even being submerged under water and run over by a train) yet continued to work. I might have to buy myself one.

As I said, the movie does take a while to get started. But, once it does, it is actually a halfway decent thriller and one I would recommend.

My Grade: B