First Light | SXSW 2018 Film Review

UFOs. Superpowers. Secret government baddies. All ingredients to a dish that gets my mouth watering.

First Light follows childhood friends Sean and Alex, on the run after Alex (Stefanie Scott) acquires new and dangerous abilities when coming into contact with some alien lights. Sean (Théodore Pellerin) is the creepy, friend-zoned bestie that can’t muster up the nerve to tell his friend exactly how he feels about her. His priorities lie with his disabled grandmother who is catatonic, and his irresponsible younger brother that does very little to assist him. After Alex’s encounter, however, he’s the only one by her side as her powers manifest and they try to stay out of the grasp of the authorities hunting them. The clock is ticking though, as Alex’s new abilities exposes Sean to new hazards.

The film, directed by Jason Stone (The Calling, Riverdale), feels as if it acknowledges a number of films and shows preceding it such as Close Encounters, Stranger Things, and X-Files while also using the causation of the struggle as a backdrop a la Cloverfield or Monsters. If that sounds as though there is much juggling of ideas at hand, you are on the right page. First Light seems to be as confused on what direction it wants to go as much as the lead characters do.

Though Pellerin does shine as the dedicated paternal figure for his small and troubled family, but the young love angle never seems to quite get off the ground either. In fact, the cast is more than game to head into this universe full-tilt, but the script is simply unable to keep up with the quality of the team emoting it.

To stay with the food analogy, the film felt as if the waiter kept promising the food is coming soon, even as he brings me bread and refills my glass to keep me satiated. But once the meal finally arrived, it was not at all what I ordered. Between the overuse of lens flares and the lack of emotional connection, First Light just doesn’t live up to its own expectations that it sets early on.