Half Light

Plot synopsis:
Rachel Carlson (Moore) is a successful American murder mystery author living in London with her five-year-old son, Thomas (Balawi) and her second husband, Brian (Cusick), a successful book editor that has been unable to get any of his own works published. His mother being too busy working on her latest novel to play with him, Thomas goes outside to play outside their canalside home, only to accidentally drown, devastating Rachel and putting a tailspin on her marriage and her ability to finish her latest novel.
Several months later, Rachel still blames herself for the death of her son, and is not only unable to finish her book but is also a simple signature away from formally being divorced from her husband. In an effort to finish her novel and find some emotional peace, Rachel moves away to a remote cottage on the Scottish coast. However, she soon starts to see the ghost of her late son, who at one point drags her into the waters and at another point moves a set of magnets on the refrigerator. A local town psychic informs Rachel that the spirit of her son is trying to tell her something, but the rest of the locals warn Rachel that the psychic is just a troubled woman.
Troubled by the possibility that her son has returned from the grave, Rachel shares her troubles with a young and handsome lighthouse keeper named Angus (Matheson) and the two spark a romance that suddenly goes awry when she learns that Angus died seven years ago by committing suicide after murdering his wife and her lover in the lighthouse. Rachel fears that she may be going insane and her efforts to prove otherwise, and learn more about the suicide-murder of Angus, falter when the news articles about the tragedy have gone missing from the local library, and Sharon Winton, her best friend and writer for a British tabloid journal, goes missing after Rachel saw her killed by Angus in the lighthouse.
It eventually comes to light that her soon to be ex-husband has been having an affair with her best friend, and that they paid a man, Patrick, to pose as Angus in order to cause an already emotionally unstable Rachel to act crazy enough in public that, when they make her murder look like a suicide, no one will suspect foul play. Just as Rachel is about to leave town, convinced that her dead son is trying to warn her that her life is in danger, she is drugged and dumped into the sea, only to be saved when the keys to the chains she has been put into suddenly fall into the water and thus allow her to free herself and make her way to the lighthouse in an effort to seek some revenge. (It was previously written on a slate, "don't forget, look behind you" and Rachel heard her son repeating those lines in water).
However, after a brief fight at the lighthouse, Sharon hits her head and is killed in the kitchen, and Brian is murdered by Patrick, possessed by the spirit of Angus, in much the same way that Angus's wife and lover died seven years previously. Patrick then jumps from the tower, as Angus had done. Rachel leaves town, with the promise that the house that she rented is kept empty so that Angus's spirit can finally rest. She returns to her home in London, where her son died, having decided to celebrate his life instead of mourning his death.

Tags: violence, horror, murder, flashback

Review:
There are enough twists and turns in the plot to keep you guessing, even if you think you have it worked out within the first half, as we both did, you'll doubt yourself from then on in.My one criticism is the start of the film.
It feels somewhat piecemeal and directionless, perhaps on purpose to mirror the main characters state of mind, but it just doesn't seem to gel, and the scoring feels the same, however don't let that stop you watching this film as once past the first few scenes you will be tripping over yourself trying to figure it out.All told this was a well produced, well filmed, well acted movie, and don't believe any of the 'horror' tags, it's more suspense/thriller, and very good to boot!.
The film is about a writer, Rachel Carson (Demi Moore) who tragically loses her young son when he drowns by the dock near their house in England.
Real life terror and supernatural events drive Rachel into hysteria from there, as she tries to unravel a complex mystery.This was a surprisingly chilling little thriller film, the atmosphere of the whole secluded ocean village was unique and neat, the little village set itself sitting right on the sandy beach.
Overall, "Half Light" is a good little thriller film that caught me off guard, I was expecting something along the lines of cheap straight-to-video garbage.
I enjoyed this movie a lot since I love horror/mystery/thriller/ghost stories.
This movie is good, well acted, well scripted, well directed, and above all, it will keep you guessing to the end, I do not know enough about "The Technical Side" of movie making to comment, all i know is, if i see a film i like, or for that matter dislike, then i will make a comment on it, after all its only entertainment.
Too many times you read about the, ins and outs of film making, and all the back stage stuff, when really all you want to know is, will i enjoy this film, and the answer to Half Light is yes, no swearing, very little sex content,just a nice put together thriller, enough twists and turns to keep the momentum going.
i am trying to find something to moan about in this movie, and to be quite honest there is nothing, Demi Moore is very good in the lead role, and the mainly British cast is excellent Go see it, judge for yourself, i do not think you will be disappointed..
Writer Rachel Carlson played by Demi Moore is left unable to write after the tragic death of her son.In a hope to remove her writers block she moves to a remote island off Scotland.
There is an unfortunate plot stopper 3/4 of the way in the film where a conversation opens out the plot to a point you may think why continue watching, but there is still a twist in the end.R17 rating but no profanity or nudity (but did have short above the shoulders tasteful sex scene).
Demi Moore was excellent, but i felt like Hans Matheson really was the top performer in this movie.
The ending falls short, but the rest of the film is well planned.Moore is an odd choice for the lead, but she turns out pretty good - despite a general unbelievable reaction to later events in the story ( but this is more script ).some beautiful cinematography and settings, and a few creepy moments.
From a murder in the past to a mystery in the present, a dead child, a mystery writer trying to recover -- to a handsome, no, sexy lighthouse keeper and strange village folks nestled away in a small Scottish fishing village on the coast of the North Sea -- this movie was wonderful to watch.I don't understand why it wasn't at the movies when crappier movies are released weekly.
I think this movie was excellent...i really enjoyed watching it and the plot was extraordinary....this is a must see thriller...:)Demi Moore always gives it her best.
This movie had me surprised towards the end........but i wont say how u will have to see it to find out.....This is something different for her....she usually plays a role in a movie as a seductive person,but here she played as a loving,committed,,stressful mother who feels like she is guilty for the death of her son.
I love a good old-fashioned mystery / thriller and Half Light deliciously qualifies as one, with a generous touch of the supernatural thrown in.
There are some good, shocking moments as events unfold, and, all in all, it's a satisfying tale.The acting, scenery, music, and general mood of the film are what raise it to a level higher than the run-of-the-mill effort in this genre.Demi Moore plays a Rachel with whom it's easy to identify.
All of the actors in the film must have benefited from excellent direction so as to keep the story in the realm of reality.Probably, for me, the most outstanding features of Half Light are the scenery and locations.
I do know that Demi Moore caused me to believe Rachel and all that happens to her in contrast to the response that often comes when we see women in films of this sort shown as almost insane and hysterical.
Demi Moore,(Rachel Carlson), a successful author of mystery novels wants to have a different location away from everyone and finds this very spiritual place, or you could say a purgatory for the living dead.
From Soundtrack and Direction, to performance and screenplay; Rarely does a film come together with every element tucked so perfectly in place.After not Seeing Demi Moore in anything I'd really liked since...
But when we judge a movie, we need to look at it for what it is, every single part of it, not just how much it surprises us.Half-light has a beautiful soundtrack, and the scenery was spectacular as well.
Except that isn't: it's Half Light, with Demi Moore, and some bloke off the telly.But I'm sorry to have to tell the Director, Craig Rosenberg: Nicholas Roeg, you're not.And so the film goes on, a bit of this and a bit of that, a bit of Les Diaboliques, a bit more of Don't Look Now (fey psychic women), a bit of the Shining (writer's block), a bit of the Wicker Man, and none of it quite as good as the original.And I'm sorry, but while I'm being rude - the music.
The movie looks beautiful and the story has great surprises and twists, and it's just scary/spooky enough to keep you interested, but not enough to keep you awake at night.
When her son drowns in an accident, novelist Rachel Carlson (Demi Moore) moves to a small Scottish town where she hopes to pick up the pieces of her life.
Her dead son begins to send her messages from beyond the grave, the local medium starts to act strangely around her and then Rachel discovers something shocking about Angus....I hadn't really known that much about this movie before I picked it up at my local rental store.
The two main leads have a good chemistry allowing you to believe that they could fall in love and, about three quarters of the way into the movie, there is a nice twist which turns things on its head in a way that I didn't see coming.Demi Moore offers a very good performance here.
It's really fantastic all this natural beauty, and it's also a great place to be alone When I decided to watch the movie I was expecting a ghost story, a "typical one", and for many minutes, it really seems like one; calm, monotonous, where the main character "see" things that other people can't see but then something happenedit was a twist that didn't "ruin" the ghost story, but gave it a lot more of suspense and also something new/refreshing I guess I did like the movie even more because of that twist (which I won't spoil, of course!) The soundtrack is also great.
Written and directed by Craig Rosenberg (Hotel de Love) the story challenges the viewer to enter the strange world of afterlife and consider the fine differences between illusion and credibility.Rachel Carson (Demi Moore in a fine performance) is a successful writer living in London with her disillusioned editor husband Brian (Henry Ian Cusick) and her young son Thomas (Beans El-Balawi).
HALF LIGHT is a solid movie, filled with suspense and well-written story and character development and deserves far more attention than it received in the theaters.
It is a mystery of sorts, and yes, we may have seen it before, but I don't agree with many of the negative reviews.Demi Moore is believable as an American author, living in London, who loses her son to a tragic accident.
At first there are a few strange happenings, Rachel (Moore) thinks she sees her son, she is warned by a local psychic that she is being followed by a ghost.The scenes of the ocean, and the soundtrack are beautiful and escapist.
A beautiful and terrifying film with sublime arrangement, directing and acting that would grace the highest order, The plot as old as it is, is brought to life with a perfect and harmonious amalgamation of love to fear and back again.I believe that the loving false sense of security that is given to you by the behaviour of the film is as gripping as the sharp change in mood to the frightening.A film in which i could watch over and over again and still be intrigued and entertained, A masterful film that ultimately does everything right.
The film starts like a sweet idyll, a famous writer and her family enjoy life, everything goes on well, then, suddenly, the main heroine's son gets drowned, she is devastated, goes far away to the sea coast, to live her grief alone, and then the strange, mystical events start to pile up.
My husband and I rented this movie because I'm a Demi Moore fan.We didn't know what to expect but we were not disappointed.
We like good supernatural mysteries such as 'The Village' or 'Don't Look Now', but this is something altogether different.Ms. Moore sits in her Sunday Supplement house at a glass table, writing on an old manual typewriter.
Soon she's seeing her son's ghost and goodness knows what else.The shots of her driving up to the Highlands look like one of those car adverts on TV - designed to make people think that 'driving' involves speeding along a country lane with the sun shining, and not another car in sight.The first half of the film is simply terrible, and the second half not much better.
'Half Light' makes Neil La Bute's remake of 'The Wicker Man' look like the work of a Lean or a Scorsese.Favourite things I admire about this film: 1) The way the weather is either 'car advert' sunny OR 'horror movie' thunderous.
You can see that this man is no more a psychiatrist (and certainly not an NHS one) than Rachel is a 'writer.' 4) Rachel has her 'novel' all sketched out on little index cards which remind her things such as 'Character', 'Structure', and 'Tie up story ending.' Perhaps some people do write like this (Jeffrey Archer), but when we actually hear a few lines of one of her books it sounds like excerpts from Count Arthur Strong's pastiche of Raymond Chandler.'Half Light' is half dead (and that's a compliment), but it isn't half funny..
Having heard most of the critics take the life out of Demi Moore's new attempt, I couldn't help but wonder if this film really was that bad.
Demi Moore simply can't act and she must have been botoxed to near mummification because she had the same expression throughout.The plot was telegraphed and the 'twists' may as well have had Bendy Road Ahead signs put up as it was so obvious what was going to happen.Good points: The scenery - magnificent The story was actually good but ruined by the...Bad Points ...the acting and...
Half detective story and half fantasy and horror stuff,"Half Light" spares us the special effects and is thus a commendable work.Demi Moore has a decent part for once and the magnificent landscapes add to the pleasure.Not that the story is that new.The story borrows from Daphné du Maurier ("Don't look now" filmed by Nicholas Roeg) ,from Boileau-Narcejac ("Celle Qui N'Etait Plus" filmed by Clouzot as "Diaboliques" ) as well as Richard Loncraine's "Full circle " an obscure film featuring Mia Farrow .But the results are enjoyable,suspenseful.The director mixes supernatural and real life with talent.Another proof of the director's good taste as far cinema is concerned: the old couple is watching TV which screens the extraordinary movie made of sketches "Dead of Night" (1945).We can see a short extract of its best segment ,the ventriloquist one which inspired Richard Attenborough's "Magic" (1978)..
High on production values and low on any originality, plausibility or psychological authenticity - Half Light wheels out every Scottish/Celtic cliché amidst a plot as unlikely and half-witted as they come.Demi Moore does a tolerable turn with some pretty awful material, but that is as far as it goes.
Demi Moore was impressive in the movie especially since the director wisely concentrated a lot on her talents.The class that comes with age only adds to the charm that has always been associated with this beautiful actress.Although one does get the impression that she overacted during this particular film,but I attribute that to all that was lacking in the script.Something I really like about the movie-the music.Very well done,beautiful harmonies throughout the movie,celtic in nature and even irish at points.Very subtle mood changes,some interesting changes from major to minors and of course the entry of the b5 to signal the oncoming scene.NO blaringly obvious 'evil dead'-ish themes.Overall a good job.Something that really irked me was the 'cheap tricks' used to build up a scare.You will know once you watch it...scares that have absolutely no relation to the plot,the absolute proof of a lacking script.Overall,nothing great...no particularly memorable scenes...considering the remorse value..maybe a lil 'touching'..prolly more so if you go with ur girl!!.
I think this movie is an underdog and should be rated higher than it is right now.Good work, and I hope that Mrs Moore comes back to the big screen with such beauty, femininity and good acting.
recreation of atmosphere, fragile connection between death and life, delicate love story and nice performance of Demi Moore are good points.
The terrain of the movie "Half Light", looked so much like that beautiful and haunting place.
Not really a Demi Moore fan but this was the only thing that looked half decent in the video shop so I got it, and thought it would be rubbish but it actually wasn't bad at all.
It really has that feeling when you watch it when you see all that scenery of parts of Scotland (or its meant to be).Demi stars as Rachel Carlson, a successful novelist who lives in London with her husband and son Thomas.
The scenery does add a layer to the film and gives it atmosphere, but the second half of the film takes a stumble as it ends up becoming this investigatory mystery.One thing I liked a lot about this was the music - it has a very celtic feel to it and is something to relax to.
The scenery adds to the spookiness of the film, as not only is it beautiful but you can see how it has the potential to be mysterious and scary in this genre.But in the end, this is a movie that you would probably watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon and as one of the characters says 'eating scones'..
Actually the whole movie is very predictable.This is a light-weight, underwhelming, way below average "thriller" which didn't satisfy or "thrill" on any level.The only mystery in this movie is actually how Demi Moore manages it to look really good for her age.If you want to see this movie, rather rent or borrow..
Demi plays it pretty down the line - blandly, like the movie.One of the special effects during the film (zooming out from the top of the light house) was so poor quality it was laughable.
I really loved Harrison Ford's "What Lies Beneath" and was pretty disappointed with Kevin Costner's "The New Daughter", and now I had the chance to watch Demi Moore in Half Light.The build up and background story were both great, though seemed unoriginal...
I love Demi Moore but sorry honey we cannot watch repeated formulas of movie script.
I bought the DVD because I'm someone who used to dislike Demi intensely until "Passion of Mind" turned me into a super-fan, but the odds are that you probably won't do a lot of "repeat viewing" of this movie unless you really want to study Demi's performance, because once you know the ending the story itself might fall a little flat on a second viewing.But then, you probably wouldn't be watching "Half Light" in the first place if you weren't interested in Demi..
It's hard for me to be critical of any of Demi Moore's movies since I have been a long time fan.
Their romance forms the first half of the story which comes to a halt after she makes a shocking discovery.The troubled woman (Demi Moore in a very effective performance) finds kinship in another lost soul and this part of the film is touching and real.
Overall, Demi Moore is pretty solid in this, in fact made every bit to look like the wild Celtic woman she isn't.This is an average film really.
Even without the sound the scenery is BEAUTIFUL!I understand from other people who watched Half Light that it was a truly good movie and I would love to see it.
I'll continue to look.I understand Demi Moore is great in this one and always enjoy her movies..
Demi Moore gives credibility to her grieving character and in the end this movie is above average and a good entertainment.