Poltergeists attack a family in Yorkshire during the 1974 nationwide blackouts.
Writer/director Pat Holden’s horror film is reputedly based on real events, but seems to have more in common with the box office smash The Exorcist which it imitates in slavish fashion.
Aesthetically authentic and frightening in parts. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem all that different to what has come before it.
Pat Holden's chiller is a hokey effort but a decent cast.
Scares aren’t exactly forthcoming, unless you count the frightening facial hair and wig combo Martin Compston is forced to wear to play Sally’s supposedly crush-worthy teacher, or, indeed, the bizarre Irish accent Gary Lewis’s philandering priest seems to have adopted to make him sound more authoritative as the local exorcist.
Director Pat Holden delivers a few effective shocks but overcooks the climax.
Preposterous and cheesy, if occasionally oddly enjoyable.
Like Britain in 1974, it's underpowered.
When the Lights Went Out revives 1970s ghost story
General release. Check local listings for show times.