Psychological thrillers stay and die by the minds of their protagonist and, when these show untrustworthy, the viewers is left with nothing however themselves to make sense of what is on the display earlier than them. In Neon Lights, Clay Amani (Dana Abraham) is on the middle of the narrative and might be seen as a typical unreliable narrator — if there have been any narrative cohesion to what’s occurring within the hour and a half placed on movie. Neon Lights reveals promise, however it shortly buckles underneath the load of an id disaster. The movie is uncertain if needs to be a portrait of a person on the verge, a slasher, or a psychological chamber piece, and it in the end fails to stay as much as any of those concepts.
Neon Lights follows Clay, a person getting ready to shedding the CEO place at his firm Tempest Tech and in addition, fairly probably, his thoughts. His personal ambiguous psychological well being points plague him throughout an interview early within the movie, one which shortly goes off the rails when the reporter refuses to lob softball questions his approach. After this breakdown, Clay goes off the grid, retreating to an property the place he goals to reconnect along with his household and floor himself amidst the tumultuous days earlier than Tempest’s IPO. What begins as a household reunion, although, shortly takes a darkish flip, devolving right into a haphazard nightmare.
Whereas Neon Lights initially seems to have rather a lot occurring (and the set-up itself fairly promising), it actually loses the plot as, like Clay himself, the narrative spins uncontrolled. Threads which are seemingly essential — together with the tech firm subplot and invasive flashes of a remedy session that solely is smart on the finish of the movie — are included, however do not serve to contextualize a lot of something. It is clear the viewers is not alleged to belief Clay, however Neon Lights spends so little time permitting viewers to get to know him that his complete character is undermined.
This goes for the remainder of the characters within the movie as nicely. Whereas the forged does their finest with what they’re given, Neon Lights is populated by thinly sketched and wholly unlikeable characters. With not a lot to hinge upon, the movie seemingly throws the whole lot on the wall in an try and see what sticks. From a quick foray into slasher horror to what seems to be a trippy subplot involving the eponymous lights, Neon Lights tries to juggle an excessive amount of and finally ends up dropping the ball.
Probably the most fascinating issues concerning the movie, together with the tech firm subplot, the questions surrounding psychological well being, and the makes an attempt at household reconciliation, are glossed over in service of a plot that does not totally come collectively, even when the ultimate twist is revealed. Though the twist does assist make sense of what got here earlier than it, it is just about too late to justify the earlier hour and a half, leaving the viewer with extra questions slightly than solutions. Whereas ambiguous endings might be utilized fairly successfully, ambiguity cannot stand in for substance on this case.
In the end, Neon Lights has the bones of a very good premise, however the script’s need to obfuscate plot to drum up thriller leaves a lot to be desired and does a disservice to the viewers. From the unclear connections between the members of the family and unanswered questions that go away plot threads dangling, the movie fails to conjure up a potent mix of psychological terror and one thing significant to say about its characters. Whereas Neon Lights is visually fascinating, it sadly leaves a whole lot of potential behind in favor of pulling out the rug from underneath audiences on the finish. It simply would not fairly work the way in which it is supposed.
Neon Lights will likely be accessible on demand and digital on July 12. The movie is 94 minutes lengthy and rated R for violence, language, some sexual content material, and drug use.
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