Don't Turn Out the Lights (2024)

**_A group of college youths in an RV face… something in the woods_** Released in 2023, this features the set-up of movies like “Jeepers Creepers 2” and “Roadkill” (2011), just with a different antagonist. While it’s an indie written and directed by the same person, the filmmaking is proficient and the acting convincing. The first half is quite entertaining with several highlights (including an altercation reminiscent of “Duel”), but the second half morphs into a confined back road flick along the lines of “Wind Chill” and “The Toll.” Petite Crystal Lake Evans stands out in the female cast as birthday girl Olivia, but Amber Janea is also a highlight as Sarah. On the other side of the gender spectrum, John Bucy stands out as a kick-axx ex-Marine. Regrettably, the two most interesting characters are removed in the second half, and the proceedings start to become tedious. Easily 15 minutes of filler could’ve been cut for a more streamlined experience. The ambiguous climax doesn’t help. Yet I did like the theory postulated by one of the characters that it’s all an elaborate prank. Is it? I’ll leave that for you to discover. It runs 1 hour, 49 minutes, and was shot in Kingston, New York, which is on the west side of the Hudson River, 100 miles north of Manhattan. GRADE: B-