Review of Half Light

Introduction

Rachel Carlson (Demi Moore) is a successful American novelist living in London, with her son Thomas and husband Brian, himself an aspiring writer. One day when Rachel is engrossed in her work and then prepares tea rather than play with him as she had promised, Thomas drowns in the canal adjoining the house, sending Rachel into despair. After separating from Brian, Rachel decamps to Scotland hoping to leave her demons behind, but finds that Scotland is not the sanctuary that she had hoped for.

Video

The anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer is nigh on flawless and showcases the beautiful filming locations in Wales whilst losing nothing in the darker scenes of the film.

Audio

The only soundtrack available is the original Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, which is crisp and clear at delivering both the dialogue and the more atmospheric `scares`.

Features

None on this review disc.

Conclusion

After writing the screenplay for `Before the Sunset`, Australian writer/director Craig Rosenberg obviously fancied a change in direction and did some research prior to penning `Half Light` which unfortunately is all too obvious in the film. The premise for the first act seems almost entirely lifted from Nic Roeg`s 1973 psychological thriller `Don`t Look Now` and when Rachel moves to Scotland, she appears to have relocated into `The Wicker Man`, as the locals speak in Gaelic to alienate her. In addition, Rosenberg sticks closely to horror conventions (Rachel wakes up twice from the same dream, just as David Kessler did in `An American Werewolf in London`) and those familiar with the genre will not find much of the film particularly fresh or original considering the similarities that this shares with last year`s `The Dark`.

I found that the plot twists were telegraphed (and so will anyone else who pays attention early on) and that the third act denouement was just silly, yet other viewers (such as the one who watched the film with me) may find themselves pleasantly surprised by the revelations in the story and may enjoy the film a lot more than I did.

If you want a film to challenge, surprise and scare you, then I`d avoid `Half Light`, but if you want to see a bit of daft popcorn fluff and what has happened to Demi Moore`s career (and acting skills), then this is the film for you.