Half Light (2006)

Rachel Carlson, a successful novelist moves to a small Scottish village to move on with her life after the death of her son. Strange things start to happen when she is haunted by ghosts and real life terror.

Director:

Craig Rosenberg

Writer:

Craig Rosenberg

Stars:

Demi Moore, Henry Ian Cusick, Nicholas Gleaves

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Demi Moore	...	Rachel Carlson
Henry Ian Cusick	...	Brian
Jordan El-Balawi	...	Thomas Carlson (as Beans Balawi)
Kate Isitt	...	Sharon Winton
Nicholas Gleaves	...	Dr. Robert Freedman
James Cosmo	...	Finlay Murray
Joanna Hole	...	Mary Murray
Therese Bradley	...	Morag McPherson
Hans Matheson	...	Angus McCulloch
Mickey Wilson	...	Reverend James McMahon (as Michael Wilson)
Polly Frame	...	Librarian
Ceit Kearney	...	Gaelic Speaking Woman
Nichola Bee	...	Kate McCulloch (as Nichola B)
Jamie Edgell	...	Gordon McCloud
Anne Smith	...	Bingo Announcer

Storyline

After the tragic drowning of her 5 year old son, best selling thriller novelist Rachel Carlson moves to a remote cottage on the Scottish coast. But Rachel's demons have followed her as loneliness and paranoia leave her not knowing what's real and what's imagination in the fight to save her life.

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Plot Keywords:

sex | accidental drowning | woman in jeopardy | death of a child | author | 

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Taglines:

Believe in the beyond.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some images of violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

The inn in the film, An Taigh Ruadh (the Red House), really is called "The Red House", but in Welsh (Ty Goch). The real inn doesn't have a back room.

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Goofs

While talking to the "psychic" lady for the first time, Rachel holds the shoulder strap of her bag with her left hand. In the reflection in the window behind the lady her hand is down, however.

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Quotes

Rachel Carlson: Why is it everyone paints their boats the exact same color as their houses?
Angus McCulloch: Well, that's actually a tradition here. The wife needs to be able to look out on the water and know her husband's okay.
Rachel Carlson: That's very romantic.
Angus McCulloch: And we also get a tax-break on the paint, which is also very romantic.

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Connections

Features Dead of Night (1945)

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Soundtracks

Happy Birthday To You
Written by Patty S. Hill and Mildred J. Hill

User Reviews

Surprisingly Chilling Little Movie.

"Half Light" is one surprise of a movie. 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. Devastated from the event, Rachel's friend rents her a secluded island cottage on the Scotland coast so she can relax and recover in the comfortable atmosphere, and conquer her current writer's block. But when she arrives to the little old cottage on the edge of the ocean, weird things start to happen. She has strange visions of her son, she spends time with a man living in a lighthouse who has supposedly been dead for seven years, and the townspeople are also quite strange. 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. There are a lot of dark gray and foggy tones in the film, which add even more to the atmosphere. I liked the whole feeling the film had, it was isolated and eerie. It's kind of hard to explain, I can't really put my finger on it, but the whole atmosphere was foreboding and spooky. Demi Moore was great, she's a pretty believable actress from what I've seen. Her performance was realistic and fit the film well. The settings are great and really spooky on many occasions, particularly the small cottage and the old lighthouse. The story was rather original, and very subtle with overall good writing. The ending was a bit of a twist-ending, blending real-life horror with a supernatural addition, but it fit well and I wasn't disappointed with it (like some twist-endings leave me).

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. It's quite the contrary though. The Gothic, seaside atmosphere was excellent and well put-to-use in the film, and the creepy little story was well written with a satisfying conclusion. Fans of supernatural thrillers will definitely want to check this one out, it's a good one for sure. 7/10.

Details

Official Sites:

Filmfax [Spain] Official soundtrack

Country:

Germany UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Half Light

Filming Locations:

Cornwall, England, UK

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,598,371

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lakeshore Entertainment, Samuels Media, VIP 3 Medienfonds

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1