Red Lights (2012) is the Most Confusing Film Ever

It’s an experiment we can make them believe.

Red Lights is a 2012 psychological thriller. A pair of paranormal investigators set out to debunk a renowned psychic's comeback, only to find themselves entangled in a web of supernatural mysteries that challenge their beliefs and sanity.

I’m going to be frank - I had no idea what was happening in Red Lights! The story of Red Lights is a jumbled mess that switches from one scenario to the next. Red Lights is a confusing movie, but it’s saved by its actors who thankfully understand what is happening.

The acting is the best part of Red Lights. Too bad talents like Sigourney Weaver, Cillian Murphy, and Robert DeNiro are wasted. Cillian Murphy and Sigourney Weaver worked well together as Margaret and Tom, a team of paranormal investigators who expose supernatural frauds.

Unlike the audience, thankfully both understood the story and delivered exceptional monologues and performances. Weaver achieved an excellent monologue about why people believe in ghosts. Based on her history in the film world, Weaver knows how to do horror films.

Now I have seen Murphy in a variety of roles, most recently playing the titular role in Oppenheimer. He has a knack for playing manic characters. What was the deal with Tom? He becomes so disjointed, running everywhere to figure out a puzzle we were never clued into.

Robert DeNiro’s role is somewhat corny. Simon Silver is supposedly the most gifted psychic the world has ever seen. After being retired for 30 years, now he's making a comeback tour. Silver’s over-the-top psychic abilities are baffling if they’re meant to be real.

As for Elizabeth Olsen, she is basically here to answer all the lingering questions in viewers' minds - which is every line. She asks questions like, ‘What’s going on’ and ‘What is this’ several times.

“What the heck am I watching?” That’s what I said to myself during every second of the film. I also wrote that down a lot in my notes for the film. At least the ensemble, filmmakers, and Rodrigo Cortes knew what they were doing because I was sure lost!

The first half of the movie is somewhat promising. There is potential in the story until everything unravels. But then, Red Lights becomes an episode of the Twilight Zone where it’s hard to predict where the heck this movie is going.

It's not just Silver's over-the-top psychic abilities that baffle the audience but the weirdly scripted subplots involving Tom’s affairs, a mysterious car crash, and some psychic cult. Cortes padded the film’s runtime with unnecessary scenes and several endless shots of characters staring dramatically into the camera.

To make Red Lights all the more ludicrous, filmmakers actually filmed a documentary of the events the scientists are studying. I am glad that somebody was at least paying attention or had an interest in a convoluted story like this.

Just when you think the movie can’t get any more ludicrous, the finale is so mind-boggling that the film jumped down the rabbit hole trying to find its plot. There was no success. It’s so sudden but one of the main characters just dies! It happens so fast without any explanation.

Red Lights is one of those cinematic disasters that makes you question not only your taste in movies but also the sanity of the people responsible for creating it. This film leaves viewers with more unanswered questions than a sensible plot.

Red Lights is not worth the watch. It is a confusing movie. Watch any other movie that doesn’t make you question every detail.