Our list of the worst science fiction and fantasy movies of the year doesn’t include films that practically nobody saw — for example, we left out Branded. Otherwise, a strong contender for inclusion would have been Red Lights, the weird paranormal thriller that has an A-list cast: Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro and Cillian Murphy. Red Lights had a short theatrical run and was playing on VOD for a while this fall, and we reviewed it at Sundance.
http://io9.com/5969645/best-and-worst-science-fictionfantasy-movies-of-2012?tag=2012inreviewwithio9
https://gizmodo.com/sigourney-weaver-and-robert-deniro-self-destruct-in-thi-5878568
Above is a clip of what Jordan Hoffman’s review calls De Niro’s “Razzie-worthy performance” as a spoonbending stage psychic who appears to have real mental powers, confounding the skeptical Murphy and Weaver. I’m just going to quote a bit more from Hoffman:
His risible stage harangues are the new nadir of this once commendable actor’s career. Travis Bickle is now officially a joke. He may as well have been shouting, “Not the bees!” I simply can’t wait for these clips to make their way to YouTube.
The film, in general, kind of collapses under its own weight, even as Weaver and Murphy strain to keep it going. The final reel dissolves into a giant soggy mess, and then there’s a last-minute “twist” that would make M. Night Shyamalan groan. It’s hard to believe a movie with such a great cast would wipe out so badly.
