Lights Out (2013 film)

Lights Out
Directed by David F. Sandberg
Produced by David F. Sandberg
Lotta Losten
Screenplay by David F. Sandberg
Starring Lotta Losten
Music by David F. Sandberg
Cinematography David F. Sandberg
Release date
  • December 30, 2013 (2013-12-30)
Running time
 3 minutes
Country Sweden
Language English

Lights Out is a 2013 Swedish supernatural horror short film directed, written, co-produced, shot and scored by David F. Sandberg and co-produced by and starring Lotta Losten. The film was released online on 30 December 2013 on both Vimeo and YouTube. The short film was the basis of an eponymous 2016 film adaption, also directed by Sandberg and featuring Losten.

Plot

A woman (Lotta Losten) comes out of a room and turns off the hallway light, but sees a silhouette of a woman. After turning the light off and on, the woman appears closer and she tapes the switch on to keep her from coming back.

The woman then goes into a small bedroom with only a lamp and tucks herself in, leaving the door slightly open. She then hears creaking and sees the hallway light turn off. Confused, she then hears rampant footsteps coming towards her room and hides under the blanket. She then peeks out to find the door wide open and the lamp flickering, being loose from a power strip. She then plugs it back and everything reverts. Peeking out again, she calms down but then looks around and sees the face and hands of a monstrous humanoid with pupil-less eyes and open mouth, which turns off the lamp.

Production

The film had practically zero budget as it involved only Sandberg and Losten.[1] The film involved two lights and two rooms.[2] In particular, he used: "Blackmagic cinema camera with Tokina 11-16 lens. Zoom H4n with Rode Ntg1 mic. A paper lantern from ikea. A 375w photo bulb. A Chinese knockoff redhead light from eBay. A Manfrotto tripod. A home made dolly with pvc pipe, a piece of shelving from ikea and skate wheels."[3]

The special effects of having the ghost appear and disappear were mostly done by using a split-screen technique. In an interview with AV Club about the 2016 film which used the same technique, Sandberg said "Whenever she’s in frame with another character, it’s basically just a split screen. So you shoot it with her and without her. You turn the camera on with her, you turn it off and she walks off, and then you turn it on again. It’s super simple, actually." [4]

Release and reception

The short film was first released to a film festival called the Bloody Cuts Horror Challenge, where it was a finalist, and where Sandberg won Best Director in 2013.[5] Some months later, the short film became popular online on Vimeo and YouTube,[2] going from about 8000 views to over a million, and attracting Hollywood directors and producers.[6][7][8]As of July 29, 2017, the video has over 13.5 million views on YouTube.

References

  1. ↑ "Lights Out Interview: Director David F. Sandberg". slashfilm.com. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Make sure you go to bed with the lights on! Scary horror short film that will make you think twice about sleeping in the dark sweeps the internet". dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  3. ↑ Sandberg, David F. (2016-08-17). "dauid comments on What Makes a Movie Scary?- Now You See It". Reddit. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  4. ↑ "Lights Out director David Sandberg defends the ending of his horror hit". avclub.com. 30 July 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  5. ↑ "Lights Out - Best Director - Bloody Cuts". bloodycuts.co.uk. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  6. ↑ Woerner, Meredith (26 March 2016). "How the horror short 'Lights Out' went from 3-minute film to Hollywood feature". Retrieved 22 July 2017 – via LA Times.
  7. ↑ "Lights Out Interview: Director David F. Sandberg". slashfilm.com. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  8. ↑ ponysmasher (29 December 2013). "Lights Out - Who's There Film Challenge (2013)". Retrieved 22 July 2017 – via YouTube.
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