Red Lights

Right now you can watch Red Lights in the US on Amazon Prime Video and fuboTV, and in the UK on Lionsgate+ Amazon Channels — and it earns its twists rather than manufacturing them. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. A 6/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Watch Cillian Murphy work — the performance is a masterclass in restraint. Available now on Amazon Prime Video — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

There is a reason Red Lights keeps coming up in conversation. The plotting gives Red Lights its backbone, but it is the characters you come back for. Two investigators of paranormal hoaxes, the veteran Dr. Margaret Matheson and her young assistant, Tom Buckley, study the most varied metaphysical phenomena with the aim of proving their fraudulent origins. Simon Silver, a legendary blind psychic, reappears after an enigmatic absence of 30 years to become the greatest international challenge to both orthodox science and professional sceptics. Cillian Murphy and Sigourney Weaver lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2012. Red Lights is at its best in the quiet scenes between the plot beats, where the character work actually happens. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

If you cannot walk away from a good mystery, Red Lights will keep you hooked. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Cillian Murphy's performance is the kind that shows up on best-of lists years later. If you have been looking for something to fill the gap left by a recently finished story, this is a reliable answer.