The first thing the All Light Will End movie reminded me of was a poor man’s Incident in a Ghostland. The stories are quite different of course, and the reference to Ghostland plot-wise isn’t nearly as clever. All Light Will End does, however, feature a young author called Savannah (Ashley Pereira) returning home, haunted by the past. Night terrors plague this author, but her fears might turn out to not be just in her dreams. All Light Will End comes to you from Gravitas Ventures.
Why Are Horror Characters Always Stupid?
To begin with, All Light Will End is a horror-thriller chock full of coincidences and characters who make bad decisions. So many films dictate that this is the way it must be in horror that it begs the question of why writers keep on doing it. Aren’t the films that choose clever characters and intricate plots the ones that are highly successful? In the case of this film, it just gives it an air of unoriginality. Fortunately, the overall picture does make up for this with some clever pacing and enough meat to the story to string you along.
The story is pulled out in tiny, tiny pieces linked by a novel Savannah is famous for. Clues are brought to the surface through quick discussions with a therapist and some flashbacks of the night terrors she had as a child while hinged to the bond she had with her mother. There is always a hint of something simmering beneath the surface as the layers are quietly peeled back. Maybe some will guess way ahead of time where all the events are leading but I remained quite mystified for at least half of the movie.
If you’re a fan of I Spit on Your Grave (2010), you’ll be pleased to see a familiar face in Dianna played by Sarah Butler. Butler’s performance is solid and here she is cast as the mother of Savannah.
Ashley Pereira stars in All Light Will End
Savannah (Ashley Pereira) does a decent job with the tools she has but the relationship with her boyfriend left me feeling uninspired. They have zero chemistry and despite him calling her babe throughout any screen time together, they seemed more like brother and sister.
The details within the story are what ultimately let the All Light Will End movie down. Within the fugue states, night terrors, and mom’s suicide to name a few plot points it feels as though her friends and her boyfriend don’t know her at all. If they do care about her it’s weird that they would think a trip to where Savannah’s childhood monsters live is appropriate.
The reason All Light Will End got a pass instead of a fail, is that I really wasn’t sure if the monsters were real or imagined. In this respect, the storytelling is quite good. Some of the details are held back just long enough to make you question a few aspects of the narrative. Was a monster going to appear from behind that door?
Character Depth in All Light Will End
Within the depths of the story are some cops that do a stellar job of injecting some distraction into the bulk of the situation. Their stupidity both with inaction and talking to witnesses is a sight to behold. It’s these characters that bring in a real indie feel to it, whereas for the most part, you wouldn’t really know it was low budget.
Back to the film though. The cinematography is also pretty decent. There is even a moment where the 4th wall seems to have breached and some blood sprays onto the screen. Whether or not you like that voyeur-type thing or whether it takes you out of the moment in a scene will depend on how invested you are. I kind of liked it in this instance.
Overall, by the time the hammer drops in All Light Will End, it becomes somewhat confusing but still engaging. Some may have already thrown in the towel before then, I hung in there for the twist I felt coming. I could sense there was a sub-plot underfoot. In spite of it being a little rushed in finally bringing it all to light, I think this isn’t a bad film. I really like what I know it was trying to achieve.
I give All Light Will End
3 faced fears out of 5
