Lights Out
Directed by David S. Sanberg
Starring: Lotta Losten
Channel: Ponysmasher
Uploaded Dec. 29, 2013
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Watch our review of Lights Out!
Logline: When you are all alone in a small, dark room, what do you fear the most? Is it the disorienting temporary blindness, or does your instinct tell you that someone, or rather something, is watching your every move?
Pictures taken from LIGHTS OUT (2013) Review by Paul Catalanotto
Any list seeking the 100 scariest shorts streaming has to start with Lights Out by David F. Sandberg. One of the first major examples of the YouTube to feature film pipeline, Lights Out is an impressive short that knows exactly what it wants to be: scary.
At under three minutes long, the film begins with a woman home alone on a rainy night. She appears to be getting ready for bed, but when she turns off the hallway light, she notices a figure standing in the darkness. Her reaction mirrors the audience’s own growing fear. Is there really something there at the end of the hall? Click. Click. She keeps flicking the switch on and off until finally the entity is suddenly right in front of her.
The woman flips the light back on, and she is safe. At least for now. Impressively, Sandberg establishes the rules of the short without a single line of dialogue. The woman, along with the audience, realizes that light means safety.
The woman responds by taping the switch on. It is not the most believable reaction, as I would have spent the night at a hotel, but that strange decision is part of the short’s charm. You do not question it, at least not on a first viewing. You simply accept it, the same way a child accepts the impossible rules of a nightmare. That image of the taped switch would later become central to the feature film’s marketing.
The woman goes to bed believing she is safe, but this is a horror movie after all. She soon hears the pitter patter of something insidious moving through the apartment, which may be the best scare in the entire short. She hides under the covers as the light beside her bed begins to blink. She checks the lamp and discovers the plug dangling from the power strip. She quickly shoves it back into the outlet, and for a moment it seems the haunting is over. Then Sandberg delivers one final scare with a monster that is not only terrifying, but apparently understands how electricity works.
The creature looks delighted in its victory. It is menacing but strangely gleeful, almost excited about the horror it is about to inflict.
The cinematography in Lights Out knows exactly how to weaponise darkness. The editing is sharp. The monster appears only briefly, but every appearance lands. The suspense feels immediate and primal, like the fear of staring into a dark hallway as a kid and convincing yourself something was waiting there.
The film won the "Who's There?" Short Challenge hosted by the British horror production company Bloody Cuts in 2013. The contest required filmmakers to create a horror short that cost less than $1,000, ran under three minutes, and revolved around the prompt "Who's there?".
According to a Reddit interview, Sandberg used a Blackmagic Cinema Camera with a Tokina 11-16 lens, a Zoom H4n with a Rode NTG1 microphone, a paper lantern from IKEA, a 375w photo bulb, a Chinese knockoff Redhead light from eBay, a Manfrotto tripod, and a homemade dolly built with PVC pipe, IKEA shelving, and skate wheels. None of the equipment was especially expensive, reinforcing the idea that creativity mattered more than budget.
But why does it work so well? Because the movie runs on child logic. Darkness is dangerous. Light is safety. The rules are simple, instinctive, and terrifying.
As of writing this review, the short has over 18 million views and more than 10,000 comments. It continues to inspire filmmakers and eventually became a feature film.
Director David F. Sandberg turned a tiny horror short into a Hollywood career after the film went viral. Producer James Wan soon came calling, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Lights Out is proof that a strong idea and solid execution can completely change the course of a career.
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