Millenium recently settled on a U.S. theatrical release date for the indie paranormal drama/thriller Red Lights. The studio was quick to secure the film (appropriately) a Friday the 13th release date this summer - one which opened up after Ted moved forward to take the June date previously claimed by G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
Red Lights' noteworthy cast is headed by Sigourney Weaver and Cillian Murphy as a pair of scientists, who make a living debunking "ghost whispering, faith healing and other psychic phenomena" by revealing the practical tricks (or "red lights") used to create such illusions. That is, until the duo come up against their greatest challenge yet: a seasoned, blind psychic (Robert De Niro) whose abilities not only force his detractors to question their core beliefs - but could potentially threaten their very lives.
Rounding out the acting team for Red Lights are renowned character thespians like Toby Jones (The Hunger Games, Captain America), Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Burn Gorman (Torchwood, The Dark Knight Rises) and Screen Rant Underground favorite/acclaimed actress Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene, Silent House). Writing and directing duties were handled by Rodrigo Cortés, who made a name for himself as a filmmaker with the much buzzed-about Ryan Reynolds-in-a-coffin thriller Buried (back in 2010).
Similar to the international trailer (which features much of the same footage), this new Red Lights theatrical promo outlines the central narrative of the film, but paints a pretty vague picture, when it comes to the little details about why De Niro's character represents such a physical threat to Murphy's skeptic (... or does he?). In this writer's opinion, it feels as though the movie is being (mis-)marketed as a mix of fast-paced thrills and spooky jump scares - when, in reality, Red Lights may be closer to a slow-burn, psycho-drama, where it's not always clear what is really happening to Murphy's character (and what he's just imagining).
The 2010 Sundance crowd was pretty receptive to Cortés' work on Buried, but the overall early response to Red Lights (which showed at this year's festival) has been more lukewarm by comparison. It probably won't help that the latest trailer is heavy on the cheesy one-liners, offering tired variations on over-used phrases like "You don't know what you're dealing with!" (among others). Still, the cast and personnel working behind-the-scenes on Red Lights is enough to suggest this flick could be better than the promos indicate.
With that said - check out the official poster for Red Lights below:
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Red Lights opens in theaters around the U.S. on July 13th, 2012. Will you be giving it a look?
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Source: iTunes Movie Trailers