At First Light

Sci-fi with a serious dash of teen romance/drama. It's a thing of the 10s to dilute (or strengthen, depending on your point of view) core genre films with dramatic elements to create a more complex mesh of genres. While in itself not a bad evolution, the results rarely align with the intentions of the filmmakers.

At First Light is part social drama, part coming of age romance, part Close Encounters of the Third Kind. After a little party in the desert, some drugs and a late night swim in a pond nearby, Alex finds herself a new girl. Some strange lights came from the sky and gifted her special powers. I guess it's also a bit like Chronicle in that sense.

The two leads deliver strong performances, the rest of the cast isn't quite up to par. The sci-fi elements are nicely realized, the drama is a bit basic but solid and there's enough intrigue to keep things interesting. But all of that mixed together makes for a somewhat uneven film. Despite its broad range of influences, At First Light never feels quite as fresh or differentiating as it attempts to be.