Half Light
Encyclopedia
Half Light is a 2006
Mystery/Horror Film
starring Demi Moore
and Henry Ian Cusick
in the lead role. It was directed by Craig Rosenberg, who also penned the screenplay.
The score was composed by Craig's brother, Brett Rosenberg.
with her five-year-old son, Thomas (Balawi) and her second husband, Brian (Cusick), a successful book editor that has been unable to get any of his own works published. His mother being too busy working on her latest novel to play with him, Thomas goes outside to play by their upper-class canalside home, only to accidentally drown, devastating Rachel and putting a tailspin on her marriage and her ability to finish her latest novel.
Several months later, Rachel still blames herself for the death of her son, and is not only unable to finish her book but is also a simple signature away from formally being divorced from her husband. In an effort to finish her novel and find some emotional peace, Rachel moves away to a remote cottage on the Scottish coast. However, she soon starts to see the ghost of her late son, who at one point drags her into the waters and at another point moves a set of magnets on the refrigerator. A local town psychic informs Rachel that the spirit of her son is trying to tell her something, but the rest of the locals warn Rachel that the psychic is just a troubled woman.
Troubled by the possibility that her son has returned from the grave, Rachel shares her troubles with a young and handsome lighthouse keeper named Angus (Matheson) and the two spark a romance that suddenly goes awry when she learns that Angus died seven years ago by committing suicide after murdering his wife and her lover in the lighthouse. Rachel fears that she may be going insane and her efforts to prove otherwise, and learn more about the suicide-murder of Angus, falter when the news articles about the tragedy have gone missing from the local library, and Sharon Winton, her best friend and writer for a British tabloid journal, goes missing after Rachel saw her killed by Angus in the lighthouse.
It eventually comes to light that her soon to be ex-husband has been having an affair with her best friend, and that they paid a man, Patrick, to pose as Angus in order to cause an already emotionally unstable Rachel to act crazy enough in public that, when they make her murder look like a suicide, no one will suspect foul play. Just as Rachel is about to leave town, convinced that her dead son is trying to warn her that her life is in danger, she is drugged and dumped into the sea, only to be saved when the keys to the chains she has been put into suddenly fall into the water and thus allow her to free herself and make her way to the lighthouse in an effort to seek some revenge.
However, after a brief fight at the lighthouse, Sharon hits her head and is killed in the kitchen, and Brian is murdered by Patrick, possessed by the spirit of Angus, in much the same way that Angus's wife and lover died seven years previously. Patrick then jumps from the tower, as Angus had done. Rachel leaves town, with the promise that the house that she rented (which just happen to be the former home of Colin, Katie's - Angus's wife - lover) is kept empty so that Angus's spirit can finally rest, since that house is the closest to Angus's home in the lighthouse. She returns to her home in London, where her son died, having decided to celebrate his life instead of mourning his death.
Released by Universal/UIP
Release Dates -January 12, 2006 (Hungary)
January 17, 2006 (USA)
May 18, 2006 (Germany)
June 23, 2006 (UK)
June 2, 2006 (Italy)
July 20, 2006 (Australia)
MPAA Rating - R (for some images of violence) BBFC - 15(UK)
UK Premiere - The UK Premiere of Half Light took place on 18 June 2006 at the Ucheldre Arts Centre in Holyhead
, Anglesey
, Wales
. Various people who took part in the film were invited to the event. Filming Half Light has benefited the island economy by over £1.5 million ($2.7m) according to Anglesey County Council.
2006 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
Mystery/Horror Film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
starring Demi Moore
Demi Moore
Demi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
and Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick is a Scottish-Peruvian actor of stage, television, and film. He is well-known for his role as Desmond Hume on the United States television series Lost, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination....
in the lead role. It was directed by Craig Rosenberg, who also penned the screenplay.
The score was composed by Craig's brother, Brett Rosenberg.
Plot
Rachel Carlson (Moore) is a successful American murder mystery author living in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with her five-year-old son, Thomas (Balawi) and her second husband, Brian (Cusick), a successful book editor that has been unable to get any of his own works published. His mother being too busy working on her latest novel to play with him, Thomas goes outside to play by their upper-class canalside home, only to accidentally drown, devastating Rachel and putting a tailspin on her marriage and her ability to finish her latest novel.
Several months later, Rachel still blames herself for the death of her son, and is not only unable to finish her book but is also a simple signature away from formally being divorced from her husband. In an effort to finish her novel and find some emotional peace, Rachel moves away to a remote cottage on the Scottish coast. However, she soon starts to see the ghost of her late son, who at one point drags her into the waters and at another point moves a set of magnets on the refrigerator. A local town psychic informs Rachel that the spirit of her son is trying to tell her something, but the rest of the locals warn Rachel that the psychic is just a troubled woman.
Troubled by the possibility that her son has returned from the grave, Rachel shares her troubles with a young and handsome lighthouse keeper named Angus (Matheson) and the two spark a romance that suddenly goes awry when she learns that Angus died seven years ago by committing suicide after murdering his wife and her lover in the lighthouse. Rachel fears that she may be going insane and her efforts to prove otherwise, and learn more about the suicide-murder of Angus, falter when the news articles about the tragedy have gone missing from the local library, and Sharon Winton, her best friend and writer for a British tabloid journal, goes missing after Rachel saw her killed by Angus in the lighthouse.
It eventually comes to light that her soon to be ex-husband has been having an affair with her best friend, and that they paid a man, Patrick, to pose as Angus in order to cause an already emotionally unstable Rachel to act crazy enough in public that, when they make her murder look like a suicide, no one will suspect foul play. Just as Rachel is about to leave town, convinced that her dead son is trying to warn her that her life is in danger, she is drugged and dumped into the sea, only to be saved when the keys to the chains she has been put into suddenly fall into the water and thus allow her to free herself and make her way to the lighthouse in an effort to seek some revenge.
However, after a brief fight at the lighthouse, Sharon hits her head and is killed in the kitchen, and Brian is murdered by Patrick, possessed by the spirit of Angus, in much the same way that Angus's wife and lover died seven years previously. Patrick then jumps from the tower, as Angus had done. Rachel leaves town, with the promise that the house that she rented (which just happen to be the former home of Colin, Katie's - Angus's wife - lover) is kept empty so that Angus's spirit can finally rest, since that house is the closest to Angus's home in the lighthouse. She returns to her home in London, where her son died, having decided to celebrate his life instead of mourning his death.
Cast
- Demi MooreDemi MooreDemi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
- Rachel Carlson - Henry Ian CusickHenry Ian CusickHenry Ian Cusick is a Scottish-Peruvian actor of stage, television, and film. He is well-known for his role as Desmond Hume on the United States television series Lost, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination....
- Brian - Hans MathesonHans MathesonHans Matheson is a British actor.-Life and career:Matheson was born in Stornoway, Scotland, the son of Sheena, a therapist, and Iain , a folk musician and painter. He made his feature film debut as Johnny Silver in Jez Butterworth's critically acclaimed directorial debut, Mojo...
- Angus - Beans El-Balawi - Thomas Carlson
- Kate IsittKate IsittKate Isitt is an English actress who is best known for her role as beauty therapist Sally Harper in the BBC television situation comedy Coupling....
- Sharon Winton - Nicholas GleavesNicholas GleavesNicholas Gleaves is an English actor best known for his role as Rick Powell in the television drama series Playing the Field. He also appeared as Tom Bedford in The Chase, from 2006-2007....
- Dr. Robert Freedman - James CosmoJames CosmoJames Cosmo is a prolific Scottish actor, with numerous credits in film and television since the late 1960s and Cosmo is still currently acting. Cosmo was born in Clydebank, Scotland, the son of actor James Copeland...
- Finlay Murray - Joanna HoleJoanna HoleJoanna Hole is a British actress, possibly best known for her role as Sally Markham in the 1980s BBC television drama series Tenko.Other credits include: A Very Peculiar Practice, Miss Marple, The Upper Hand, Judge John Deed, Holby City and The Bill.-External links:...
- Mary Murray - Therese Bradley - Morag MacPherson
- Michael WilsonMichael WilsonMichael Wilson may refer to:*Michael Wilson , member of the South Australian House of Assembly, 1977–1985*Michael Wilson , former player of the Harlem Globetrotters and the University of Memphis, also known as 'Wild Thing'*Michael Wilson , American theater director*Michael Wilson , former...
- Reverend James McMahon
Released by Universal/UIP
United International Pictures
United International Pictures is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios , to distribute some of the two studios' films theatrically outside the United States , Canada, and the Anglophone...
Release Dates -January 12, 2006 (Hungary)
January 17, 2006 (USA)
May 18, 2006 (Germany)
June 23, 2006 (UK)
June 2, 2006 (Italy)
July 20, 2006 (Australia)
MPAA Rating - R (for some images of violence) BBFC - 15(UK)
UK Premiere - The UK Premiere of Half Light took place on 18 June 2006 at the Ucheldre Arts Centre in Holyhead
Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....
, Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Various people who took part in the film were invited to the event. Filming Half Light has benefited the island economy by over £1.5 million ($2.7m) according to Anglesey County Council.
Filming locations
- Ynys LlanddwynYnys LlanddwynYnys Llanddwyn or Llanddwyn Island is a small tidal island off the west coast of Anglesey, North Wales. The nearest town is Newborough.-Geology and geography:...
, AngleseyAngleseyAnglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
, WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²... - Llanddwyn Beach, Anglesey, Wales
- Newborough Beach, Anglesey, Wales
- Malltraeth Bay, Anglesey, UK
- LlanbadrigLlanbadrigLlanbadrig is a parish in the cwmwd of Talybolion, on the island of Anglesey, north Wales. The parish includes the township of Clygyrog and the little port of Cemaes . The region has extensive quarries of limestone and marble....
Church, Cemaes Bay, Anglesey, Wales - Prichard Jones Institute, Newborough, Anglesey, Wales (Library & Bingo scene)
- PorthdinllaenPorthdinllaenPorthdinllaen , is a small coastal village in the Dwyfor locality on the Llŷn Peninsula within Gwynedd, North Wales, previously in Caernarfonshire. It is near the larger village of Morfa Nefyn....
, GwyneddGwyneddGwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, Wales - Ty Coch Inn, Porth Dinllaen, Gwynedd, Wales
- Betws-y-CoedBetws-y-CoedBetws-y-Coed is a village and community in the Conwy valley in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It has a population of 534. The name Betws or Bettws is generally thought to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon Old English 'bed-hus' - i.e. a bead-house - a house of prayer, or oratory...
, ConwyConwyConwy is a walled market town and community in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales. The town, which faces Deganwy across the River Conwy, formerly lay in Gwynedd and prior to that in Caernarfonshire. Conwy has a population of 14,208...
, Wales (Scottish Highlands Aerial Shots) - Millbrook, CornwallMillbrook, CornwallMillbrook is a civil parish and village in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated on the Rame Peninsula four miles south of Saltash....
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... - Bodmin and Wenford RailwayBodmin and Wenford RailwayThe Bodmin & Wenford Railway is a heritage railway, based at Bodmin in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It has an interchange with the national rail network at Bodmin Parkway railway station, the southern terminus of the line.-History:...
, Cornwall, England - Primrose HillPrimrose HillPrimrose Hill is a hill of located on the north side of Regent's Park in London, England, and also the name for the surrounding district. The hill has a clear view of central London to the south-east, as well as Belsize Park and Hampstead to the north...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK - Ealing StudiosEaling StudiosEaling Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
, EalingEalingEaling is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
, London, UK (Studio)