The Overlook Theatre Reviews: Nightlight

8 of 8 viewers "Liked" "Nightlight" (USA, 2015)

Here's what the citizens of the Overlook Theatre had to say:

Book Wyrm - "The suspense in Nightlight was killing me. What also killed me was Robin's blatant disregard for her dog's life when she left him tied to a tree!!! I found myself asking the same questions as everyone in the movie "when will it end" and "I want to go home." Sometimes it just got to be too much but overall I enjoyed it." - 3 Stars

Huntress - "Nightlight was an hour and a half of found-footage done right! The film felt like it had no budget to speak of, but looked like no corners were cut. This is the kind of innovative film making that big Hollywood releases would never take a chance on and it's their loss. The Forest wishes it had half of the impact of Nightlight." - 5 Stars

Lord Battle - "Nightlight is an amazingly directed found-footage film, with a fresh concept, likable characters and topical themes; it's a shame no one has seen this film." - 4.5 Stars

KillDozer - "A movie shot through the view of a flashlight with more atmosphere and tension than I have seen in a "found footage/first person" since the first time I viewed The Blare Witch Project opening night. For someone who shudders at the thought of more "found-footage" films being made I really took to this story. The acting was solid and believable (unless you have forgotten how lame you were as a teenager), the editing and cinematography were beautiful and the tone stayed true throughout the film. I was throughly engulfed in this viewing experience, even feeling anxiety at some points, wondering where this flashlight would take me. I look forward to seeing what this writer/director duo have in store for us next." - 4 stars collection worthy (better if watched alone)  

Dabbles - "I hate paranormal or found-footage horror, but even though I turned my head 90% of the movie, I liked the concept and that the audience got to experience everything with with main character." - 4 Stars

The Impostor - "A flashlight is the sole viewpoint of the story, which really heightened the suspense. I was on the edge of my seat the whole 90 mins. There were a few jump scares that were pretty effective and surprisingly startled me. I felt like I was in the forest with the characters. Nightlight is one of the better found-footage films I've seen lately. I'm hoping for more fresh takes like this in future found footage films. Overall I'd recommend checking this out." - 3.5 Stars

Creature of the ComiCombs - "Found-footage can be a tricky thing to pull off and there are plenty of bad attempts already out there. Nightlight has a fresh take on the genre. The flashlight as the camera makes for some really cool shots and helps draw you in as you watch. I enjoyed this one. There's an engaging story going on and it keeps you on edge until the end. Definitely give this a shot." - 4 Stars

The Overlook Theatre Final Rating*

(Below is for after you've seen the film)

After The Pyramid, The Gallows, and Paranormal Activity 5: The Ghost Dimension all flopped, it would appear that the found-footage phenomena had officially died, at least as far as studios were concerned. Thankfully the indie scene has been keeping the flame alive in 2015 with films like the self-aware Creep and the found-footage narrative justification of Nightlight. 
Nightlight is much more than just an awesome gimmick; it employs plenty of long shots, multiple animal actors, and some very real stunts. Nightlight is so good at disguising itself as a standard found-footage film that it's a shame so many people will take it as just that.

Now instead of going on about how under appreciated Nightlight will inevitably be, I'm going to attach a video the co-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods did and just let them speak for themselves. The video below is a bit long with a run time of 21 minutes but I highly recommend you hear at least half of the interview, seeing as they talk about using practical effects (like repelling down a cliff with a red camera or how the train was real!), how Darren Aronofsky is producing their next film, and maybe even a tie-in to last week's reviewed film "The Forest".

Now I can't finish this wrap up without at least a little speculation about the story. I feel that Ethan clearly wasn't the one tormenting these kids. I actually think this movie lends itself to the demon theory that Paranormal Activity is based on. I first came to this conclusion after the entity became outwardly cruel to Robin's merely annoying friends, as Ethan only had motive (as much motive as any ghost needs) to murder Ben. I was convinced Ethan wasn't the one haunting them as the entity began to obviously draw Robin down into the earth, I got a very "old evil" kind of vibe from the cave and just knew these kids had no idea what they had gotten into. Now even though nothing is really laid out clearly by the end of the film, I feel like Ethan wouldn't have ignored Robin's pleas and he definitely wouldn't have written his name on the confessionals wall. The church in general seemed like a huge indicator that this land had seen much darker days in the past, kind of like the actual forest  that the Covington woods are based on...

- Lord Battle

*Based on the star ratings turned in by character reviewers, others viewed and got to "Dislike" or "Like" but that does not effect the rating.