‘HIDE IN THE LIGHT’ is a horror film now available On Demand. It follows a group of friends that break into an abandoned orphanage and once inside are threatened by an unnatural force that may not let them leave alive.
I had some fun watching this film. It’s a routine set-up and follows a lot of the genre beats as it progresses. However there are some good moments that pull off a couple of good frights with some creepy imagery. It’s a predictable film but many like these are.
The key is being able to add a new imprint on the common story with some unique elements, and there were a couple of times this one did just that. It provides some solid jump-scares that I feel work mostly because of their simplicity, meaning not over-doing it, or coming off as trying too hard.
The cast is filled with a collection of young actors that all show some effort. Maybe too much effort in certain moments where there was some mild over-acting. But you can’t be too hard on someone for bringing extra effort to a role when you are trying to build a career in this business.
The characters are not overly fleshed out and you don’t really connect with them too much. However in films of this type, the setting and the main ‘problem’ are much more the focus than getting to know characters that will more than likely not see the end of the film. So in that case, I felt this one delivered some serviceable characters that fall apart as they always do when trying to get out of a sinister location they shouldn’t be at.
Horror films like these are turn-your-brain-off fun. Something this one did provide at times as I put myself in the characters positions and thought about what I would do to escape from a haunted orphanage. The direction was capable and does capture the locations nicely with a great use of lighting and shadows to create a constantly ominous backdrop.
However, this film did feel too much like a patchwork of other movies in the genre, without enough of its own identity to build strong intrigue. It followed too many of the genre tropes and thus wasn’t as engaging as I was hoping. It was very predictable and when things unfold like clock-work it’s hard to maintain interest. If you really enjoy these types of horror films there is some fun to be found, but regardless it won’t necessarily provide some memorable moments either.
Grade: 60%
