Skeptics, of which there are many, generally scoff at the existence of any horror movie that comes bearing the preface of being “inspired by true events.” On the other side of the coin, there are plenty of believers in the supernatural who would have found When the Lights Went Out even more terrifying given its newsworthy premise.
Back in 1974, it made national news in the United Kingdom when the Maynard family was terrorized by a specter that gained a reputation for being the most violent poltergeist in recorded history. Not quite what you want when moving into your brand new dream home, but the devil doesn’t make many concessions for new homeowners.
As well as the unwanted tenants, the family’s daughter seems to be of particular interest to the malevolent entity, leading the clan to call in a priest to try and exorcise the demons. Based on respective Rotten Tomatoes scores of 36 and 26 percent from critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, even the lure of “genuine” occurrences being retold wasn’t enough to win over the doubters.
However, streaming audiences have been sufficiently won over after FlixPatrol named When the Lights Went Out as one of the top-viewed features on ad-supported platform Freevee, a position it’s been holding onto with a grip worthy of Lucifer’s cold, gnarled fingers. Horror is basically bulletproof on-demand, so the fact nobody was particularly won over by the film’s charms hasn’t had any sort of tangible impact on drawing in a brand new crowd.